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Inequality of wealth means inequality of power. High levels of inequality mean a small number of people have vastly disproportionate power to shape society in t
by anon1385 14y ago
Inequality of wealth means inequality of power. High levels of inequality mean a small number of people have vastly disproportionate power to shape society in their own interest, at the expense of the majority. Now whether or not you think that is a problem depends on whether you care about things like self determination, democracy and social justice.
- philwelch 14y agoRich people don't act as a cabal though. For every Koch there's a Soros. So while individual billionaires do have a lot of power, probably more than they should, it's still very strongly tempered by the mob, so to speak.
- dfc 14y agoYou think there is a one to one ratio between Koch and Soros type billionaires?
- philwelch 14y agoNot exactly, but then again the country is neither as libertarian as Koch would like or as progressive as Soros would like. And frankly, there are things that Koch and Soros probably agree on that aren't the status quo either, so how do you explain that? The fact is, there are as many viewpoints as there are billionaires, and that's what keeps them from forming a cabal. If you want to find someone who can form a cabal to bend the system for private profit, look for a corn farmer.
- dfc 14y agoWhy do corn farmers have more homogenous viewpoints than billionaires?
- MartinCron 14y agoCorn farmers all get their money in the same way. Billionaires? Not so much.
- dfc 14y agoCorn farmers who grow corn for human consumption, feed and ethanol are all the same? Small family farmers are the same as giant agri-business farms? Corn farmers in Iowa are the same as corn farmers in New York?
- matwood 14y agoWell the corn farmers have helped the economy by getting ethanol into all of the gas. Doing that has lowered mileage (so we spend more) and destroyed engines (so we pay for more service). This doesn't count the extra stuff I now have to buy to keep the ethanol from destroying my engines. At least many gas stations are starting to offer completely ethanol free gas now, although at a premium.
- philwelch 14y agoThey've managed to get the government to subsidize them heavily, price their competitor, cane sugar, out of the market, and support corn-based ethanol production. Of course, HFCS is worse for you and doesn't taste as good, corn in general isn't a particularly healthy staple food, and it makes no technical sense to make ethanol fuel out of corn in the first place. The point is, policy isn't corrupted by billionaires, it's corrupted by large, politically powerful blocs, which may or may not have individual rich people in charge. It helps if the blocs are geographically concentrated, because the political system works state-by-state.
- dfc 14y ago"because the political system works state-by-state." Hamilton is rolling in his grave...
- tommorris 14y agoTechnically, there's two Kochs and one Soros. The whole brothers thing. ;-)