Wealth concentration returning to ‘levels last seen during the Roaring Twenties' (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

I agree with you in a vacuum but that's not what is happening.  Money has influenced policy, so there is no balance.  The middle class has not got a raise in 40 years.  We just had a 1.8 trillion tax cut for the wealthy.  Guess who is paying for it?  

We are the richest country in the world and only first world country with people uninsured, dying and declaring bankruptcy because of it.  So, let's just say, I'm pretty sure the rich have been take care of enough.  I believe 20% of people own 80% of the stock market.  This isn't capitalism, it's corporate socialism.

Such a shame how people with medical issues are treated in this country. This guy literally advances human understanding in ways that will benefit billions of people and his family is left to sell off his Nobel Prize to pay his medical bills as he dies. 

Leon Lederman, a major figure in physics who won the Nobel Prize for discoveries that broadened the understanding of subatomic particles that are considered the building blocks of the universe, and who became a passionate voice for science education, died Oct. 3 at a care facility in Rexburg, Idaho. He was 96.

His death was announced by the University of Chicago, where he had been a professor. He had dementia, according to reports from 2015, when Dr. Lederman and his family sold his Nobel Prize gold medal for $765,000 to pay medical expenses.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/leon-lederman-who-won-nobel-prize-for-key-discoveries-in-particle-physics-dies-at-96/2018/10/04/2993dd42-c7e4-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html?utm_term=.0b52de62c610

 

[Ilov80s]

They effectively use the fed and state govt to subsidize their payroll since wo many of those employees are on an ent card and/or other assistance. Sure that's supply side economic working as intended.

Right, if we don't want to raise taxes or add in wealth taxes, how about we just find a way to ensure employees get paid more? 

 

[culdeus]

Actually Otis, this is unfortunately completely wrong for many of these folks that have a #### ton of money.  These folks typically have significant equity in ongoing businesses.  This isn't stagnant money.  This is ownership of a dynamic corporation(s) that employs people, invests in itself, buys products and raw materials, etc., etc..  I'm sure one can find example of folks that have huge piles that do nothing but move money around :cough:GeorgeSoros:cough:, but there are are large percentage where their money is anything but stagnant.

That's not how this works.  

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Read this article and thought of this thread:

Link

 

[eoMMan]

Good article here (which is about a book called The Myth of Capitalism):

Capitalism does not exist.

The authors argue, rather convincingly, that less competition has resulted in fewer jobs, fewer startups, less economic growth, and lower wages. They cite a recent study by Credit Suisse that we found especially mind-blowing: in the 20 years between 1996 and 2016, roughly half of all U.S. public firms had disappeared. There are now less publicly-listed U.S. firms today than there were in the 1970s, when real GDP was about a third of what it is today.

Tepper and Hearn end the book with some suggestions on what to do about this decline in competition. They are highly critical of the Department of Justice and the FTC in how they approve mergers in the country. They are proponents of tougher antitrust laws and advocate that previous mergers which have reduced competition should be reversed. They also propose some ideas which would lead to more and better regulation to avoid monopolistic behavior and promote competition.

 

[Sand]

So the Walton's stock they own in Walmart is helping keep people employed and used to invest to buy products and raw materials?

Negative ghost rider. 

If that equity didn't exist, yes, that would indicate a smaller company, less employees, less economic activity, etc.

I get the sense we're talking more about - "let them grow it, then confiscate it".  

 

[wikkidpissah]

Good article here (which is about a book called The Myth of Capitalism):

Capitalism does not exist.

The whole concept of free markets is based on inferior or over-priced goods and services creating vacuums into which competitors rush, giving the consumer the best product at the best price. Think about how free our markets are next time you pay your cable bill.

 

[culdeus]

If that equity didn't exist, yes, that would indicate a smaller company, less employees, less economic activity, etc.

I get the sense we're talking more about - "let them grow it, then confiscate it".  

That is the normal human story since we put figleafs on.  Confiscated has meant different things at different times.  Usually at one end of a sharp pointy thing or a gas chamber or a blanket with bacteria.  

It's the one thing humans are uniquely suited for. Let people pile up lots of things then eventually you get momentum to go in and take it by force or by surrender. 

 

[AAABatteries]

Good article here (which is about a book called The Myth of Capitalism):

Capitalism does not exist.

Acquisition of competitors is the en vogue thing.  Some of the biggest companies truly innovate but a lot of them just sit back and let others pay the price of innovation (read: targeted failure).  Then once they hit on something the mega company buys them out and takes over the product/IP, etc.

 

[Sand]

Good article here (which is about a book called The Myth of Capitalism):

Capitalism does not exist.

That's interesting because we are at a stage right now where a huge number of old, mature companies are failing, being eaten alive by smaller startups.  Look at Kraft, Coke, etc.  This paradigm may well be ending.

That is the normal human story since we put figleafs on.  Confiscated has meant different things at different times.  Usually at one end of a sharp pointy thing or a gas chamber or a blanket with bacteria.  

It's the one thing humans are uniquely suited for. Let people pile up lots of things then eventually you get momentum to go in and take it by force or by surrender. 

This be true.

 

[DallasDMac]

I agree with those that have already stated: The issue is wages. Those at the top take a hugely disproportionate amount of the wealth earned by the businesses while distributing little to those that actually produce that which generates the profit. It's ludicrous.