Fat cats out of control: 1% owns 82% of wealth

[Regalia]

I am generally ''on the right'' but I have to agree what the wealth inequality in our Western countries has become too great.

I don't know the solution for it and I am suspicious of anyone who claims to have the formula for it - especially general left.

A progressive tax would not undo it. Trickle down economics rarely result in anything tangible.

Actually there are many economic models America can try improving on or try to adapt. The German model is by far one of the best ones in an Economic Standpoint.

[Tiwack]

Who is part of the 1%? How much wealth do you need to own to be part of the top 1%?

700k $ of assets or 30k $ income a year depending on your choice of metric.
Basically making a living in the west or owning decent amounts of stocks.
E: iirc, I didn't save the source sorry, you're welcome to try and figure it out yourself it if it bothers you but it's really the 0.01% that's the problem - just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[breadisfunny]

I have no problems supplying people with NEEDS, but people complaining about wants...

what are needs and wants in your opinion? i am curious.

[schwarzkopf]

You do understand a lot of posters here are part of that 1% purely based on where we live.

I'm not .... not by a long shot.

[GhostShaman]

Oh boo freaking hoo. Why is everyone so obsessed with the rich all the damn time? Someone will always have more than you...always. It took me a while, but I have a decent career, and I am supporting my family, and am on a great path to retire without worry....and Im fine with that. What else are we going to whine about?

[schwarzkopf]

trickle down economics would work

Nope - it can't work. Want to know why:

You give a trillion dollars to the wealthiest - who aren't even spending the masses of wealth they already have, the money stagnates in their coffers.
You give a trillion dollars to the poorest - who can barely afford to eat, and almost of that money will be SPENT, in businesses and guess what - the rich people get their dosh and the poor people get to eat, educate themselves and get medical care and maybe even go on a holiday or something.

[Toogoodman]

what are needs and wants in your opinion? i am curious.

Needs:
1) Section 8 housing for low income families
2) Tuition assistance programs
3) Food stamps for single mothers
4) Charter schools for children in bad school systems
5) Children's healthcare insurance programs

Wants:
1) Brand new car
2) living in the BEST neighborhood
3) Money for sitting on your ass for 5 years
4) Complaining about material wants

[Deleted]

Oh I forgot to mention

Everyone being angry and depressed at all this is a dumb loser for this simple reason

The poor are just as greedy as the rich

And you can bet if the positions were reversed, the exact same people bemoaning current wealth inequality would do the very same things rich people are doing now

We blame the banks for the 2008 financial crisis, but in the end it was the greed of people that caused it, it was the greed of ordinary people thinking getting mortgages to flip houses for profit was a normal thing to be doing when working at Wal-Mart

You want proof?

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency speculation -- a bigger bubble than any other in history -- all done without the involvement of banks or governments or elites, by ordinary not-rich people driven by human greed and get-rich-quick-envy

The moral of the story?

In life, like in nature, there's just winners and losers - so don't be a feminist SJW loser

[Deletedaccount1]

Won't understand it properly without a good professor to educate me on errors I make.

Any university in the US that is not a small liberal arts college is going to have classes with 50+ students so there is almost no chance your professor will ever get to help you with anything beyond a few simple questions. TAs might help you but they aren't always helpful and they are also usually busy. Most professors don't have time to grade your paper in good enough detail to really help you either from my experience.

You can get a college degree's worth of knowledge in practically any field through the internet. Schools like MIT have put their entire curriculum online for free.

[Regalia]

The poor are just as greedy as the rich

because American Society encourages you to be.

[schwarzkopf]

Oh boo freaking hoo. Why is everyone so obsessed with the rich all the damn time? Someone will always have more than you...always.

Just because you totally missed the point, doesn't make your incorrect point of view any more valid.

Be rational dude ... a little thinking and common sense can go a long way.

The blue line is the wealthy people getting richer, and the orange line is the majority of the people getting screwed over for them to do so.

[petej0]

fair enough. But people complain about wants for various reasons.

I agree, and there is nothing wrong with that. Wants vs needs. Someone wanting a new computer doesnt equate to bashing the rich and how its their fault you dont have one, especially when the one you have is only 2 years old

I'm actually one of those people who felt the rich kids did not deserve what happened to them in Fyre Festival.

Ha! I cant help to laugh at this. Wealthy yuppy larva getting scammed and played like us real people kinda put a smile on my face.

[Projectmars]

And, like Warren Buffet, he will continue to do so until he dies and then his entire fortune will go into a trust for a whole host of charities and organizations. He's stated on multiple occasions that his money will not go to his kids, but to better the world as a whole.

It cracks me up that during the 90s and early 2000s Bill Gates was constantly villified based on an external lens people saw him through at Microsoft. "BILL GATES JUST WANTS TO CONTROL THE WORLD!"

Literally makes me shake my head and laugh.

Now, Jeff Bezos on the other hand. Naw, that dude is pure evil.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are evil and should be stripped of all their ill-gotten wealth. They claim to be doing good but they aren't doing nearly enough.

[Regalia]

Any university in the US that is not a small liberal arts college is going to have classes with 50+ students so there is almost no chance your professor will ever get to help you with anything beyond a few simple questions. TAs might help you but they aren't always helpful and they are also usually busy. Most professors don't have time to grade your paper in good enough detail to really help you either from my experience.

You can get a college degree's worth of knowledge in practically any field. Schools like MIT have put their entire curriculum online for free.

Again, because you got the proper education and the proper teacher for Guidance. You're telling me those lectures did nothing?

[Elba]

Oh I forgot to mention

Everyone being angry and depressed at all this is a dumb loser for this simple reason

The poor are just as greedy as the rich

Actually poor people are far more generous and willing to give and help others than rich people.

[Deletedaccount1]

If anyone wants a free, practically complete understanding of graduate economics then here you go. Complete with homework and answer keys as well.

[breadisfunny]

Needs:
1) Section 8 housing for low income families
2) Tuition assistance programs
3) Food stamps for single mothers
4) Charter schools for children in bad school systems
5) Children's healthcare insurance programs

Wants:
1) Brand new car
2) living in the BEST neighborhood
3) Money for sitting on your ass for 5 years
4) Complaining about material wants

how is complaining a want? why would anyone want to have a reason to be miserable?
please elaborate on #3 as it is not specific enough.
i agree with #1
#2 is something i rarely hear people asking for just wishing about.
all in all your wants just seem like republican talking points that are caricatures of what you think poor people are like based off of outliers.

[Deletedaccount1]

Again, because you got the proper education and the proper teacher for Guidance. You're telling me those lectures did nothing?

You can watch lectures online. MIT has full lectures for practically every course they teach online for free.

[Elba]

Posting a picture of a guillotine in context with killing rich people for the sake of the majority is pretty much self explaining

Yes? How does that relate to the rest of your post?

[Toogoodman]

how is complaining a want? why would anyone want to have a reason to be miserable?
please elaborate on #3 as it is not specific enough.
i agree with #1
#2 is something i rarely hear people asking for just wishing about.
all in all your wants just seem like republican talking points that are caricatures of what you think poor people are like based off of outliers.

What are you talking about? The wants are simply that, wants that people constantly complain about not having because the rich are keeping it from them, when in reality it doesn't even really matter anyways.

#2 - I am willing to help anyone who wants to help themselves, if you're busting your ass in college and cant afford it, you should be helped
#3 - Someone in a desperate situation, like a single mother or father who works multiple jobs trying to produce for a family should be helped, people become widows, people get fucked over, not their fault.

Im not sure that anything I said was a republican talking point lmao, have you listened to a lot of the rhetoric being spouted from some people? People literally crying about having a generation old iphone lmfao.