A society that puts freedom ahead of “equality” will have a great deal of both. A society that puts “equality” ahead of freedom will have neither. - Milton Freidman.
The left loves to twist the language. Where in the world is “income equality” a real thing? North Korea, maybe. Nowhere in the “free” world, that’s for sure. Where in the world does a street sweeper make the same income as a neurosurgeon? The left is insane via their uncontrollable emotions and rejection of common sense.
Ford. Gates. Build a better mouse trap, and all that . . .
Great. I agree. We are all better off for it.
But we have Crony Capitalism, and that isn’t the way forward.
Enough money spread out across the right levers, and you can move the world. And it’s at every level of Goobermint.
From your local Electrician’s licensing board, to the Teacher’s Unions, to State Econ Dev Agencies, to regional Milk Pacs, up to every US Dept and Agency.
Pay the Pols to get what you want and Grift the system.
It’s easier than building a new mousetrap, quicker than bogus food additives, and safer than robbing banks.
“The poor you will always have with you” (Mk 14:7)
The key is to optimize your inputs (food, housing, friends, entertainment, etc.) and to produce outputs to enable you to obtain those inputs.
We live in a socialist country where ownership and wealth are every much likely to be lost as they were in 1933 National Socialist Germany.
Look, even “poor” people have cell phones, health care and food. That those with jobs pay for.
My resentment of the billionaires is because many of them use their wealth to corrupt the political system in their favor further screwing over the “little guy”. Monopolies are a well known disadvantage of capitalism that must be reined in but the Dems who once went after these monopolies quit doing so after they made a deal with big tech to lay off of them if they cooperated with the Dem agenda. Republicans are hardly blameless in this either.
The system itself is definitely out of whack since wealth disparity is at its highest level in all of history. If this isn’t corrected somewhat don’t be surprised when the zoomer generation starts pushing socialism or even communism as corrective measures.
Income inequality is always present in a free market capitalist economy. The problems isn’t that some make too much money, it’s that some make too little. That is where to concentrate, there’s generally no good reason for people to make “too little” other than themselves being the problem.
I made too little 40 years ago. So, I added two side-hustles, which I dropped later and then retired at 60. It wasn’t “hard” it just required work and most of all, learning how handle money and turn it into more. The goal, like Buffet says, is to eventually make money while you sleep. Real estate, stocks and bonds all do that when used properly, as well as investments that are beyond my knowledge.
A poor person who had nothing 30 years ago is the same as a person who has nothing today.
“a new sort of tycoon who looks to form a public-private consortium between business and government”
Or allow government to turn a blind eye and operate a monopoly as with some big tech, the defense sector, in pharma...
Many of us believe in the competitive free market where consumers define it with a supply and demand curve. But we realize that’s not really what you have anymore unless you’re talking fast food.
I DEMAND income equality with Musk.
Poverty then:
* no water
* no food
* no heat
* no house
Poverty now:
* no iPhone
* no porn
* no Christianity