3 ms·

> For every Charlie Munger there are tons of working poor that get up everyday Not tons. Millions. If not hundreds of millions.

happytiger 3y ago
Billions. It is literally most of us. Wealth concentration is unintuitive in the extreme. But let’s debate the merits of yet another billionaire lecturing everyone about the merits of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not being a victim. Hard work doesn’t make billionaires. Systems that accelerate privileged positions and concentrate wealth to the top do. And that’s not necessarily bad. But it’s generally bad when it’s this extreme. That said I wish his family well and am sorry for his passing. He was always a gentleman and kind to the core.
- zozbot234 3y ago
  And most of those billion people will never be on HN. The average HNer is just as wealthy when compared to them as a billionare is when compared to us. > Hard work doesn’t make billionaires. Systems that accelerate privileged positions and concentrate wealth to the top do. ¿Por qué no los dos? Jeff Bezos worked pretty hard to end up where he is now.
  - supertimor 3y ago
    >”And most of those billion people will never be on HN. The average HNer is just as wealthy when compared to them as a billionare is when compared to us.” You’re severely underestimating how much a billion dollars is if you really think this is true. The wealth of an average HNer is much more comparable to the average American than to the wealth of billionaires.
  - happytiger 3y ago
    I like the theory that Hacker news seems to follow the human development index fairly accurately. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35567986 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35567986 But of course the truth is it’s a 42 year old (avg) man (91%) that makes $88,716 per year so you’re NOT wrong. But the idea that Jeff Bezos got where he is because of hard work is inverted. Many work hard, few become billionaires. So what is wrong with the argument of los dos? This: it may be true that hard work is generally a prerequisite for becoming a billionaire, it is a correlation and not causative effect. The cause of billionaires is wealth concentration itself and a system of overly generous tax advantage for equity owners. That is why the majority of billionaires have sprung from finance and investments — highly leveraged paper wealth from paper products — and not from the likes of Amazon. I subscribe to the idea that billionaires are a product of the tax system and not the result of some kind of superhuman top-of-heap exceptional personal merit.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y ago
  At least some billionaires created something useful. Finance guys don't create anything, they are just leeches who found ways to game the system.

happytiger 3y ago

Billions. It is literally most of us. Wealth concentration is unintuitive in the extreme. But let’s debate the merits of yet another billionaire lecturing everyone about the merits of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not being a victim. Hard work doesn’t make billionaires. Systems that accelerate privileged positions and concentrate wealth to the top do. And that’s not necessarily bad. But it’s generally bad when it’s this extreme. That said I wish his family well and am sorry for his passing. He was always a gentleman and kind to the core.

zozbot234 3y ago
And most of those billion people will never be on HN. The average HNer is just as wealthy when compared to them as a billionare is when compared to us. > Hard work doesn’t make billionaires. Systems that accelerate privileged positions and concentrate wealth to the top do. ¿Por qué no los dos? Jeff Bezos worked pretty hard to end up where he is now.
- supertimor 3y ago
  >”And most of those billion people will never be on HN. The average HNer is just as wealthy when compared to them as a billionare is when compared to us.” You’re severely underestimating how much a billion dollars is if you really think this is true. The wealth of an average HNer is much more comparable to the average American than to the wealth of billionaires.
- happytiger 3y ago
  I like the theory that Hacker news seems to follow the human development index fairly accurately. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35567986 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35567986 But of course the truth is it’s a 42 year old (avg) man (91%) that makes $88,716 per year so you’re NOT wrong. But the idea that Jeff Bezos got where he is because of hard work is inverted. Many work hard, few become billionaires. So what is wrong with the argument of los dos? This: it may be true that hard work is generally a prerequisite for becoming a billionaire, it is a correlation and not causative effect. The cause of billionaires is wealth concentration itself and a system of overly generous tax advantage for equity owners. That is why the majority of billionaires have sprung from finance and investments — highly leveraged paper wealth from paper products — and not from the likes of Amazon. I subscribe to the idea that billionaires are a product of the tax system and not the result of some kind of superhuman top-of-heap exceptional personal merit.
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y ago
At least some billionaires created something useful. Finance guys don't create anything, they are just leeches who found ways to game the system.