▲
0
6
▼

How Do We Solve The Problem Of Inequality Between The Rich And The Poor?


 invite response                
2022 Jun 23, 5:55am   1,272 views  37 comments

by ohomen171   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

#inequality One of our readers who lives in Montreal called me a few days ago. He had just returned from a business trip to Vancouver. He had come face to face with people living in tents, drug usage, and homelessness. He had always been very proud of Canada for avoiding this blight that curses many American cities including nearby San Francisco. He blamed it on inequality.
He was correct. Vancouver is one of the most attractive destinations for people wanting to relocate to another county. It has beautiful scenery, a low crime rate, a stable government, and wonderful things to do and see. This has led to affluent people from all over the world moving to live there. Housing prices have literally "gone crazy."
This has led to heated investor interest that has driven up the price of housing and rents even more. The middle class, once the centerpiece of Vancouver life, has been driven out. This has created a vacuum that is prompting the rise in homelessness, drug usage, etc. I have a dear swim friend whose brother lives in Vancouver and owns a condominium there. He says that the problems there are not as bad as those in American cities yet.
In 4 months, I will make it to 74 years of age. A question haunts me. I do not have an answer for it. How do we solve the problem of the economic inequality between the rich and the poor? Russia and China launched a massive experience with Marxism, The goal was to solve the inequality issue. This experiment failed. In the US and England, the income tax rates on the highest wage earner were raised to 90%. Inheritance taxes were raised to assure that parents could not transfer their wealth to their children and their other family members. This did not work.
I lived through 5 years of socialism in Australia. Income taxes were 50% or higher. The economy was heavily regulated including rent control. There were very few rich people and very few poor people. But life was far from perfect.
There are all sorts of suggestions about how to solve the problem. We could get into intense political discussions. I shall pass on this.
I'm going to surprise you and praise my native state of Texas. Years ago, they had an idea to increase prosperity and wages. It started with making education either free or very low cost. At the same time, an economic environment that encouraged companies to invest and grow. As skilled workers got their education, they went to well-paying jobs. Sadly, Texas of today has veered away from the original idea that created prosperity.
Elena has a very fatalistic idea about inequality as follows:
"Either one is born with money or they will never get it."
I calmly point out to her the history of her life. Elena was born in a very lower-middle-class family that was what I call "one-click above the slums." I also point out the history of my domestic partner in the 1980s-Antonieta. She literally was born in a Guatemala slum to a mother with no husband. Both women now live upper-middle-class lives here in California. Elena says she and Antonieta are exceptions to the rule. I disagree. There is a saying that I love as follows:
"Cream rises to the top." Elena and Antonieta are both most remarkable women in intellect, talent, character, and a strong work ethic.

Comments 1 - 37 of 37        Search these comments

1   Ceffer   2022 Jun 23, 5:59am  

This is the last time you disagree with Elena before she cuts you loose to fend on your own, parasite!
2   BayArea   2022 Jun 23, 6:06am  

ohomen171 says

One of our readers who lives in Montreal called me a few days ago.


Lol, come on, cut the shit… One of our readers called me
3   Bd6r   2022 Jun 23, 6:09am  

KILL THE POOR!
5   clambo   2022 Jun 23, 6:22am  

The reason there is poverty is poor women continue to have children regardless of their economic circumstance.

I’m in Baja California Sur Mexico and I am near a little ejido which is a small town with dirt streets.
I’m staying with a girl whose grandmother came here 50 years ago from Guerrero.
She had 14 children, 12 of which survived. The husband was a drunk who barely fed his family.
He’s deceased, he drowned in a ditch.
Because of the ejido structure, she receives money which she does not spend rather hoards.

Elena’s view is wrong but reflects her background; I know a lot of people who made money who came from modest backgrounds. In a poor country with a tiny economy of course the opportunities are non existent for advancement. The great thing about the USA is the economy grew enough to produce jobs in recent decades. It was not always thus.

After working in Mexico for a while in the early 80’s I returned to the USA and told everyone that jobs are our greatest resource and we should not be giving them to foreigners.

Ignorance is a problem in religious countries too; I have heard several people say to me that “god will provide” for them. Really? I’m certain most Muslims are poor in their home country, it’s not just Latin America.

There’s no solution for it because 1 women want children 2 men want pussy
Almost all men know “The very thing that makes you rich, made me poor.”
6   Ceffer   2022 Jun 23, 6:26am  

Al_Sharpton_for_President says







Is that a Politburo in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?"
7   WookieMan   2022 Jun 23, 6:39am  

ohomen171 says

One of our readers who lives in Montreal called me a few days ago. He had just returned from a business trip to Vancouver. He had come face to face with people living in tents, drug usage, and homelessness. He had always been very proud of Canada for avoiding this blight that curses many American cities including nearby San Francisco. He blamed it on inequality.

It's not inequality at all. Fact is don't be a loser. Be social. Get to know people. Network. And it's not about education necessarily.

My uncle had no dad basically, my grandma (his mom) was a drunk and didn't make much. My uncle as a poor(ish) kid could barely read or write, still really can't. He bought a skid steer and started working. 40 years later he's worth 9 figures and figured out real estate and general contracting. He lives next to some very famous/rich people in Desert Mountain, AZ. He'll come back to Chicago in the summer and rent a $30k/mo penthouse (not sure he does this anymore).

He is the classic case of someone making it from nothing into something. My dad was successful from the same situation, but he relied too much on residential real estate and got burned during the crash. Overall my dad and uncle did not come from money, had no father themselves with a drunk mom.

There is no inequality, just laziness. If you can read, write and know some basic math you can do anything.
8   GNL   2022 Jun 23, 6:47am  

There are many more roadblocks today than there ever has been. Today's environment is nothing like 50 or 100 years ago. Clambo makes a very good point from the social aspect though.

Lazy or not, it's a problem that can and most likely will effect all of us. Imagine 100 million or more (billions worldwide) "useless eaters" rampaging because of poor economic conditions.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. Either that or genocide at some point. I can envision a genocide similar to what happened to the American Indian. Pushed out and/or onto reservations/FEMA camps to live a miserable existence.

You cannot have endless growth in population and resource extraction. Unpossible.
9   porkchopXpress   2022 Jun 23, 7:08am  

The world needs ditch-diggers too.
10   WookieMan   2022 Jun 23, 7:24am  

WineHorror1 says

Pushed out and/or onto reservations/FEMA camps to live a miserable existence.

Lol, I'm going to the reservation tomorrow. Doing some rafting up in Wisconsin on a reservation. Interested to see how they exist. I know the Canadian ones they drink Scope (mouthwash) to get drunk...

Actually a reservation is a perfect example of getting something for free destroying drive. A few smart ones will take advantage of it, but most sit back on their free land and do little to nothing. And yes, we took a lot of their land, but not that much. We gave them more than they generally would occupy during those times. Most Indians in modern times don't do a whole lot. And none of them have experienced what their ancestors did. Similar to slavery and blacks. Move on. Stop feeling bad for yourself for something you never experienced.
11   clambo   2022 Jun 23, 7:51am  

Want fewer poor? Stop importing the poor, ignorant breeders from the third world.

Stop giving them jobs, assistance, drivers licenses, rights.

Stop government rewards and incentives (earned income credit) for welfare queens from the hood.

Stop allowing immigration of family members of females who convinced an American to marry her.
I know 4 Japanese girls who married to stay in the USA, 1 Chinese, 5 Peruvians, and 5 or more Mexicans who did the “pussy arbitrage”.

I was dating a Mexican girl who was endlessly fascinated by “90 day fiancé” which refers to guys bringing foreign girls to marry.

I told her 100 times “marriage isn’t an option” but she loved the dumb show.
12   RC2006   2022 Jun 23, 8:08am  

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled "slave/dividing" labor to the United States.
Naturalization Act was written by Emanuel Celler.
13   RWSGFY   2022 Jun 23, 8:50am  

Take Elena's money and redistribute it among crazy junkies on Skid Row - that will make a dent. Sell her house and $120K minivan too - nobody NEEDS that. Redistribute the proceedings.
14   NDrLoR   2022 Jun 23, 9:01am  

RC2006 says


The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin
Teddy Kennedy or Robert Kennedy I don't remember which was ashamed of the way we had favored Western Europeans by law since 1924. Decided to change the law to favor people from Eastern Europe and poor, black and brown nations. He was already middle-aged and rich, didn't have to live another 50 years in a society that would attract many more losers whose instinct was to immediately wind up on the dole, not go to work and the least likely to assimilate. How has that worked out?
15   Al_Sharpton_for_President   2022 Jun 23, 9:11am  

NDrLoR says

Eastern Europe and poor, black and brown nations.

That would be the Johnson-Reed act, or Immigration Act of 1924, which ended in 1965.

So then Eastern Europeans are POC's?
16   GNL   2022 Jun 23, 9:14am  

WookieMan says

WineHorror1 says


Pushed out and/or onto reservations/FEMA camps to live a miserable existence.

Lol, I'm going to the reservation tomorrow. Doing some rafting up in Wisconsin on a reservation. Interested to see how they exist. I know the Canadian ones they drink Scope (mouthwash) to get drunk...

Actually a reservation is a perfect example of getting something for free destroying drive. A few smart ones will take advantage of it, but most sit back on their free land and do little to nothing. And yes, we took a lot of their land, but not that much. We gave them more than they generally would occupy during those times. Most Indians in modern times don't do a whole lot. And none of them have experienced what their ancestors did. Similar to slavery and blacks. Move on. Stop feeling bad for yourself for something you never experienced.

You made an assumption and you missed the point.
17   AD   2022 Jun 23, 11:40am  

ohomen171 says

He blamed it on inequality.


As long as the poor today are better off than the poor of yesterday, then we should not be as concerned.

We should focus on improving the standard of living for the poor, not about equalizing wealth and income.

.
18   zzyzzx   2022 Jun 23, 11:46am  

Al_Sharpton_for_President says

So then Eastern Europeans are POC's?


As an ethnic Eastern European I'm insisting that being pale white is a color!
19   Ceffer   2022 Jun 23, 11:53am  

White is all colors of the spectrum. Being anti-white is being anti universal color.
20   Patrick   2024 Jan 1, 5:08pm  




A bit sad, but true.

Bill Gates, for example, started out rich.

Still, our system is way better than communism.
21   GNL   2024 Jan 1, 5:23pm  

Patrick says




A bit sad, but true.

Bill Gates, for example, started out rich.

Still, our system is way better than communism.

I've never seen that before. Yes, I believe this is mostly true but, imo it really is about IQ + sticktoitiveness.
22   HeadSet   2024 Jan 1, 7:35pm  

Patrick says




A bit sad, but true.

Bill Gates, for example, started out rich.

Still, our system is way better than communism.

This assumes that unless one strikes it very rich, one has failed. All those successful non-chain restaurants, shops, bars, and stores you see are "entrepreneurships." They won't all get rich, but can make a good middle class living. It ain't the offspring of the wealthy that built the barber shops, beauty shops, lawn services, used car dealerships, janitorial services, HVAC companies, et al. Even some Law Offices and Accounting forms were started by a kid who worked his way through college. And true, Bill Gates started out rich, but fellows like Starbuck Schwartz did not.
23   RWSGFY   2024 Jan 1, 7:52pm  

Al_Sharpton_for_President says

NDrLoR says


Eastern Europe and poor, black and brown nations.

That would be the Johnson-Reed act, or Immigration Act of 1924, which ended in 1965.

So then Eastern Europeans are POC's?


I heard Slavs were not welcome in KKK as "not White enough".
24   komputodo   2024 Jan 1, 8:04pm  

Quit looking at it as if were a problem
25   GNL   2024 Jan 2, 5:44am  

komputodo says


Quit looking at it as if were a problem

You are saying that it isn't a problem or it is a problem and we should just ignore it? I think it is a problem. I don't want to live in a 3rd world shithole but, I believe we will at some point if we can't or refuse to grow the middle class.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I haven't looked at the stats. I do know that it takes a hell of a lot longer nowadays to get started as a young person.
26   zzyzzx   2024 Jan 2, 6:26am  

GNL says

You are saying that it isn't a problem or it is a problem and we should just ignore it? I think it is a problem. I don't want to live in a 3rd world shithole but, I believe we will at some point if we can't or refuse to grow the middle class.


Thread isn't about the middle class, it's about poor people, who in my opinion already get way too many handouts.
27   NuttBoxer   2024 Jan 2, 9:58am  

GNL says

Still, our system is way better than communism.

I've never seen that before. Yes, I believe this is mostly true but, imo it really is about IQ + sticktoitiveness.


Our system has been heavily Communist since the 30's thanks to FDR. On the hard work can make anyone rich, read the Harvard paper that found 90% of wealth is inherited. Not saying to give up, just don't play their game if you want to succeed.
28   NuttBoxer   2024 Jan 2, 10:00am  

HeadSet says

All those successful non-chain restaurants, shops, bars, and stores you see are "entrepreneurships." They won't all get rich, but can make a good middle class living.


Might have been true in the past, but the Scamdemic targeted these people heavily, and inflation continues to pound them. Most will barely eek out a living the way things are going.
29   RWSGFY   2024 Jan 2, 10:42am  

NuttBoxer says

HeadSet says


All those successful non-chain restaurants, shops, bars, and stores you see are "entrepreneurships." They won't all get rich, but can make a good middle class living.


Might have been true in the past, but the Scamdemic targeted these people heavily, and inflation continues to pound them. Most will barely eek out a living the way things are going.


They were also showered with gubmint cheese in form of grants and cheap loans during that very "pandemic". It's also very easy for them to cheat on taxes, so I would't cry a river over their supposedly horrible fate. And, unlike your average working stiff with a W-2, they can actually raise their prices whenever they feel the need, whereas all the W2 guy can do is ask for a raise and then look into switching jobs if denied. Which is not as easy as changing numbers in the price list/menu.
30   RWSGFY   2024 Jan 2, 10:45am  

Drugs are expensive, aren't they? So are the drug users really that poor or they just choose to spend on different neccessities/luxuries than you and me? Isn't it "you can afford anything you want, just not everything at the same time" kinda situation?
31   AmericanKulak   2024 Jan 2, 11:03am  

Urban Wokester places are padding the bills with percentages for "Employee Health Care" or adding "Mandatory 20% gratiuity" for one-two person tables or putting in "20%? 25%? 30%? as a choice on a payment screen" or asking for tips for take out counter personnel.

All of this is to deliberately mislead the customer as to the cost of a meal.







Started in Commiesota, too:
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/what-is-this-health-and-wellness-charge-on-my-food-bill/89-605763428

Apparently customers are now expected to pay benefits to servers.
32   SunnyvaleCA   2024 Jan 2, 1:39pm  

RWSGFY says

Drugs are expensive, aren't they? So are the drug users really that poor or they just choose to spend on different neccessities/luxuries than you and me? Isn't it "you can afford anything you want, just not everything at the same time" kinda situation?
Drugs are plentiful and inexpensive in San Francisco. That, in addition to government handout programs, an easy beggar situation, an even easier shoplifting situation, and a mild climate, are some of the top reason people move to SF. People can afford the $20/day for opiates and live otherwise productive lives. The problem is that the opiates soon destroy their productivity, which means they use all their money for opiates and scrounge for the minimum of life's necessities.
33   SunnyvaleCA   2024 Jan 2, 1:45pm  

GNL says

I don't want to live in a 3rd world shithole but, I believe we will at some point if we can't or refuse to grow the middle class.

The current "immigration" situation means it's not possible to avoid the shithole. Even if the USA could put lots more people on the path to middle-class, that would just incentivize even more poor 3rd-worlders to move here. With open borders (actually, worse the "open", as there are programs to help move people here) the equilibrium of immigration will be reached when the USA is no better than the places these people are coming from. If the USA somehow managed to soak up and make middle-class the words' 2 billion poor people — completely depopulating all poor countries — then the USA would be far and away out of natural resources.
34   SunnyvaleCA   2024 Jan 2, 2:04pm  

Here's a thought: Change immigration to resemble that of many other sensible countries. The idea is that you only let in people who immediately enter the middle class. Some basics for the USA should be: proficient in written and spoken English, possessing job skills that are in high demand, and (during the 5-year probationary period) earning at least middle-class income.
35   HeadSet   2024 Jan 2, 3:13pm  

RWSGFY says

And, unlike your average working stiff with a W-2, they can actually raise their prices whenever they feel the need, whereas all the W2 guy can do is ask for a raise and then look into switching jobs if denied. Which is not as easy as changing numbers in the price list/menu.

No business can raise prices without losing sales. If so, and you sell 100 hamburgers a day, just boost the price from $10 to $20 per burger and make twice as much! Also, businesses around here had to seriously raise wages just to get employees at all. Owning a business is not the license to print money you think it is.
36   Tenpoundbass   2024 Jan 2, 8:01pm  

With thorough antitrust laws being enforced diligently and a robust Small Business Administration.
37   stereotomy   2024 Jan 2, 8:49pm  

In the ancient Greek Polis, any citizen who became too rich or powerful was subject to censure and banishment, their fate decided by the other citizens. They used discarded pottery shards (called _ostraka) to record their votes. This is the origin of word "ostracize."

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions