Posted on 11/03/2008 7:25:29 PM PST by Kaslin
For years, we've debated rising economic inequality. On one side, liberals denounce it as unjust. Redistribute wealth to the poor and middle class, they say. On the other, conservatives minimize its importance. What matters most is overall economic growth, they retort.
Well, the conjunction of the presidential campaign and the financial crisis is giving the debate a curious twist. Liberals have triumphed politically; soaking the rich has become more acceptable. But conservatives may have won the intellectual argument; making the rich poorer doesn't make everyone else richer.
If Barack Obama and John McCain agreed on anything, it was this: Greed is bad. They competed in denunciations of reckless investment bankers and avaricious CEOs.
Obama proposed raising taxes on higher incomes (couples above $250,000); though McCain didn't, he suggested that much recent wealth accumulation was ill-gotten. Unintentionally, perhaps, he buttressed the moral case for more redistribution. Let's tap the gold mine of the rich.
Unfortunately, the mine has less gold. All the financial turmoil has left the wealthy — however defined — much less wealthy. Stock ownership is highly concentrated. In 2001, the richest 1% owned 34% of stocks and mutual funds, estimates economist Edward N. Wolff of New York University. Let's see. Since the market's high in October 2007, stocks are down (through Oct. 31) 38%, or $7.5 trillion, reports Wilshire Associates.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
No joke...the poor are poor because they have babies before they finish college...they don’t graduate high school.....they have drug, alcohol and violence problems....they don’t stay married to the same person or get married at all....they don’t get a job and stay at it for years and years.....
“No joke...the poor are poor because they have babies before they finish college...they don’t graduate high school.....they have drug, alcohol and violence problems....they don’t stay married to the same person or get married at all....they don’t get a job and stay at it for years and years.....”
Truthful....
But, the ObamaPelosiReids will track you down and step on your neck......
Rich people don't put their money in mattresses. If they put it in the bank most of it is put right back into the economy in the form of loans to other people/businesses. If they put it in the stock market it helps other businesses. Even if they spend it on extravagant stuff it goes into the pockets of waitresses, yacht builders, car builders etc etc.
The only time wealth doesn't continue to circulate is when the government sucks it up. I'd much rather rich people circulate their wealth than the government stop its circulation.
No, the poor are poor because they are not smart. If a smart person has a child before they finish college they figure out a way to make it work out for them. They come up with intelligent solutions to their problems and learn from their mistakes.
The Bell Curve was universally banned by most people but the book makes a great point that when you factor in IQ, blacks and whites have very similar incomes. The common denominator in poverty was IQ, not race.
Bump
General lack of initiative has caused this malaise in our population. Why work when the Government will supply your ever need.
I made my way through college working two jobs. (drove cabs four nights a week and bounced in a local bar on the weekends). The Government promised me nothing and my family couldn’t help. I had a desire to accomplish something other than working in a factory for the rest of my life. And, I refused to accept any government assistance.
I don’t want to hear it!
the poor are poor because they live in liberal areas
we should only have a safety net for people who simply can’t work. The very old, the sick and truly disabled. There are too many govt goodies for everyone just to win votes.
If poor people work hard, they will succeed. They may not necessarily be an engineer working for IBM but they can make a lot of money as a plumber. Just ask Joe.
Excellent observations. One other thing that has boosted the Messiah...after the primaries he moved closer to the center in his speeches and has done a good job of talking around his real plans. If we credit him with nothing else, we have to give him credit for being able to lie so well.
Smart people figure out that by working hard they will get ahead. Dumb people just can't see the correlation between hard work and success. When I say "smart" I mean they are not stupid.....they don't have to be very smart to see how to get out of their predicament.
My point is that the Bell Curve demonstrated that people with similar IQs receive similar compensation for comparable work.
don't believe me?
Then explain Papa Joe and his demon spawn.
IE: the Kennedys
(Proverbs 13:18 KJV) Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
(Proverbs 23:21 KJV) For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
(Proverbs 28:19 KJV) He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
(Proverbs 28:22 KJV) He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
(Proverbs 10:4 KJV) He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
“For the poor will never cease to be in your land...”
—Deuteronomy 15:11
Every time I hear the righteous moralizers telling me to work hard if I want to success, I feel like smacking them.
And btw, "Ill-gotten gains" have no moral connection to "redistribution of wealth." This moron really should stick to Newsweak filler pieces because he doesn't do reality very well.
True, but that's a problem with law enforcement not economics.
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