3 ms·
> It's not about inequality, it's obvious that the rich should get richer faster. That the rich get richer faster and hoard more and more wealth while others f
by king_jester 13y ago
> It's not about inequality, it's obvious that the rich should get richer faster.
That the rich get richer faster and hoard more and more wealth while others fine their wealth decreasing over time is inequality.
> And it's not necessarily a problem, because even the super rich can't spend all of what they earn, and that money ends up being recycled in the economy (investment, etc..).
This is the trickle down theory, which is not true in any way whatsoever. Wealth does not get reinvested or redistributed in a way that reduces wealth disparity.
> It's rather about: is everyone getting richer ? And the answer is clearly yes.
This is demonstrably false. Don't confuse the availability of consumer goods with wealth. In the US, for example, actual wealth for low and middle class people/families has been declining for the last 30 years or so.
> Even the poorer people are getting a bit more than before and can afford a better life than their parents.
This is not true either. Homelessness, poverty, and unemployment rates are measured and we know that there is no long term downward trend for these things even as wealth disparity gets worse.
> That's what abundance mean: it's not about who gets the biggest share of the cake, it's the fact that cake is growing and everyone gets more cake than before.
Tell that to the people that are homeless or go hungry every day.
- precisioncoder 13y agoI've heard multiple references of the world wide poverty rate dropping by half in the last 20 years, here's a summary. http://finallygoodnews.net/2013/06/20/half-way-there-world-wide-poverty-rate-drops-by-half/ http://finallygoodnews.net/2013/06/20/half-way-there-world-w... and the original article http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21578665-nearly-1-billion-people-have-been-taken-out-extreme-poverty-20-years-world-should-aim http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21578665-nearly-1-bill...
- king_jester 13y agoThe article talks about reductions in extreme poverty, that is living on less than $1.25 a day. Note that doesn't really address wealth disparity, only that more people, esp. in China, are living with higher income. However, this change doesn't make any statements about increasing equality for different economic classes nor does it talk about sustainability of a lowering extreme poverty rate. It also doesn't talk about various aspects about living just above that extreme poverty line or the challenge facing those people not living in places like China that have seen a big economic boom and are not likely to.
- precisioncoder 13y agoStill it's nice to know that at least people in extreme poverty are having their numbers decreased so drastically.