As Go Tunisia and Egypt, So Goes US?

[California Girl]

Difference between the US and Egypt. Americans can still work their way out of poverty. In the US, through hard work, education and some luck, a poor person can become a wealthy person. We have free elections every four years. We (in theory at least) choose the path our country takes. We are founded on government 'of the people, by the people, for the people'..... that is the fundamental difference.

The uprising in Egypt was not based on 'poverty', it was the burning desire for freedom.

 

[georgephillip]

The inequity in income and wealth in the US is a cause for concern. The last time it was near where it is at present, was 1929. We have exceeded the inequity of that period. When the prices for food and energy start soaring, there will be some major unrest among the citizens of this nation.

The question then will they address the root causes, or be caught up in an ideological nightmare such as happened in the Germany in the 1930's? From the number of people that identify with the idiocies of the Teaparty, I fear the latter for this nation.

The Main Problem...

"The main problem with the system of distribution of wealth in this country is the TOTAL LACK of distribution.

"Of course you don’t see that when you are in the deep end of the distribution pool… 10,000 people make 30% of the income in the United States of America and the next 29.99M people make another 40% and the next 30M people make 12% and THE OTHER 240M people have to fight over the remaining 18%.

"This is your idea of fair?

"Let’s say it’s a poker tournament:

* Table 1 has 10,000 people who have $1M each to play with
* Table 2 (top 10-0.01%) has 30M people who have $433 each to play with
* Table 3 (top 20-10%) has 30M people who have $133 each to play with
* Table 4 (bottom 60%) has 240M people who have $25 each to play with."

Phil's Stock World

 

[Samson]

What if the Federal Reserve turned every $10 bill in the country into a $5?

Or worse??

All the mexicans would return to mexico?

With your car.

And job.

Um.....

You still haven't 'splained why they are coming here to get their own cars and jobs

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

George seems to think money is supposed to be distributed like a monopoly game .

 

[georgephillip]

All the mexicans would return to mexico?

With your car.

And job.

Um.....

You still haven't 'splained why they are coming here to get their own cars and jobs

Ginni Coefficients for starters

"This (Ginni) index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country.

"The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest.

"The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line.

"The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25.

"The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50.

"If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100."

Mexico: 48.2 (2008)

US: 45.0 (2007)

I'm sure we'll catch up with Mexico shortly, and we can all hang out in Home Depot parking lots.

 

[georgephillip]

Difference between the US and Egypt. Americans can still work their way out of poverty. In the US, through hard work, education and some luck, a poor person can become a wealthy person. We have free elections every four years. We (in theory at least) choose the path our country takes. We are founded on government 'of the people, by the people, for the people'..... that is the fundamental difference.

The uprising in Egypt was not based on 'poverty', it was the burning desire for freedom.

"Most Americans realize that the United States has become more unequal over the past three decades or so.

"But it's unlikely that most Americans have a full grasp of the sheer magnitude of the change in the distribution of wealth since the end of the 1970s, or its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.

"Many data point to what the political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, in their important new book, Winner Take-All Politics, call 'trickle up' economics.

"For example, according to the Congressional Budget Office, via Lane Kenworthy, the lowest twenty percent of households in America saw their post-tax wages increase from $15,500 in 1979 to $17,500 in 2007 (in constant, inflation- adjusted dollars).

"The middle sixty percent saw their incomes increase from $44,000 to $57,000 during that period.

"And the top one percent saw their post-tax incomes explode from $350,000 to $1.3 million, a near quadrupling.

"The increases for the top one-tenth of one percent and top-hundredth of one percent were greater still."

Would you agree freedom and abject poverty are mutually exclusive in today's world?

Jonathan Weiler..

 

[California Girl]

Difference between the US and Egypt. Americans can still work their way out of poverty. In the US, through hard work, education and some luck, a poor person can become a wealthy person. We have free elections every four years. We (in theory at least) choose the path our country takes. We are founded on government 'of the people, by the people, for the people'..... that is the fundamental difference.

The uprising in Egypt was not based on 'poverty', it was the burning desire for freedom.

"Most Americans realize that the United States has become more unequal over the past three decades or so.

"But it's unlikely that most Americans have a full grasp of the sheer magnitude of the change in the distribution of wealth since the end of the 1970s, or its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.

"Many data point to what the political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, in their important new book, Winner Take-All Politics, call 'trickle up' economics.

"For example, according to the Congressional Budget Office, via Lane Kenworthy, the lowest twenty percent of households in America saw their post-tax wages increase from $15,500 in 1979 to $17,500 in 2007 (in constant, inflation- adjusted dollars).

"The middle sixty percent saw their incomes increase from $44,000 to $57,000 during that period.

"And the top one percent saw their post-tax incomes explode from $350,000 to $1.3 million, a near quadrupling.

"The increases for the top one-tenth of one percent and top-hundredth of one percent were greater still."

Would you agree freedom and abject poverty are mutually exclusive in today's world?

Jonathan Weiler..

So you have no opinion of your own, just drivel from the HuffPuff. I am not interested in having a discussion with Mr Weiler. I am not surprised you have big red stars for rep. So..... 'unsubscribe'.

 

[mudwhistle]

Do you have any thoughts on how rich US generals and admirals would respond to that uprising?

Do you have any thoughts on what happens when military leaders are poorly paid?
Yeah...it would be a great idea to pay lousy wages to the people that control the most powerful military in the world...brilliant.

Being well paid is evil....unless you're a Democrat.

 

[GHook93]

"One cause of the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt is popular outrage over the monopolization of wealth by a small cadre of elites.

"The grievances of the Middle East's dispossessed probably seem justified to most Americans, who view the region as a relic of feudalism and stomping ground for despots.

"But what about America itself?

"As has been widely noted over the past few days, income inequality in the United States is actually much worse than in Egypt, Tunisia, or Pakistan.

"Could the US government feel the push of inequality's domino effect?

Comparative prosperity seems to argue otherwise since, as a group, America's poor have about as much wealth as India's richest.

"Yet those arguments neglect some of the major disadvantages of being modestly middle class in a wealthy country: A much higher cost of living and a perceived need to keep up with the Joneses, which fueled the explosion of subprime home loans that caused the recession.

"'Global unemployment remains at record highs, with widening income inequality adding to social strains,' Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the chief of the IMF, said this week during a speech in Singapore, citing turmoil in North Africa as a prelude to what may happen elsewhere.

"'We could see rising social and political instability within nations—even war.'"

And he wasn't referring to banana republics exclusively.

As Go Egypt...

LOL, you're a self-proclaimed poverty case that worked minimum wage jobs your entire life! Usually the lazy Americans are the self-haters, because they don't want to work or better themselves, yet they expect the government via theft from the wealthy to provide everything for them!

You want to revolt, then bring it on! Back in the day when enjoyed the phish scene, I used to love hippies like you. They were the easiest to take things from!

 

[Jos]

You're a wage slave yourself

 

[georgephillip]

George seems to think money is supposed to be distributed like a monopoly game .

For thousands of years all governments have functioned to redistribute wealth by socializing cost and privatizing profit for a select few.

Much of the money the richest 1% of the US population has acquired in the last four decades came from Republicans AND Democrats redistributing national income, largely through tax biases that favor debt over equity investments.

You and Toto aren't playing board games in Kansas anymore, and the US rich will continue looting this country until they're dealt with like Mubarak and his sycophants.

 

[Flagwavrusa]

George seems to think money is supposed to be distributed like a monopoly game .

For thousands of years all governments have functioned to redistribute wealth by socializing cost and privatizing profit for a select few.

Much of the money the richest 1% of the US population has acquired in the last four decades came from Republicans AND Democrats redistributing national income, largely through tax biases that favor debt over equity investments.

You and Toto aren't playing board games in Kansas anymore, and the US rich will continue looting this country until they're dealt with like Mubarak and his sycophants.

It certainly won't happen at the ballot box. No matter who gets elected, the oligarchy remains ensconced in power. Supposedly Obama was going to remedy inequality in America, but look how they turned out. You really can't beat em, the only thing you can do is try to join them.

 

[georgephillip]

Or you can FLUSH them.

If 100, 200 or more Republicans AND Democrats are purged from DC in November 2012, Wall Street and the Pentagon will be feeling the same heat that Mubarak and rich Egyptian generals have been feeling.

Just as the Egyptian dictator's fall was orchestrated through cyberspace, the internet can serve to crucify the US rich.

And all across the globe.

 

[California Girl]

Or you can FLUSH them.

If 100, 200 or more Republicans AND Democrats are purged from DC in November 2012, Wall Street and the Pentagon will be feeling the same heat that Mubarak and rich Egyptian generals have been feeling.

Just as the Egyptian dictator's fall was orchestrated through cyberspace, the internet can serve to crucify the US rich.

And all across the globe.

Perhaps you should stop wasting your time here and go start the revolution. Drop by in a few months and let us know how it's going.

 

[georgephillip]

The internet is revolution.

Or maybe you're too busy being bitchy to notice

 

[hortysir]

Do you have any thoughts on how rich US generals and admirals would respond to that uprising?

What "Rich US Generals and Admirals?"

Like who?

Like:

"Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired four-star General in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

"In 2002, he was selected to be a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While serving as special envoy, Zinni was also an instructor in the Department of International Studies at the Virginia Military Institute.

"Presently, he is an instructor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, a public speaker, and an author of two best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs, most recently Battle for Peace.

"He also is involved in the corporate world, joining M.I.C. Industries as its president for International Operations in 2005."

Around 2005 I heard Zinni interviewed on CSPAN. In response to a question about whether he had ever considered running for congress, the first words from his mouth revealed he would take a 90% cut in pay to serve in the House.

Your Class Envy is showing, idiot.

He didn't make his millions as a general.

Did you not read the part about his 2 best-sellers?
And, so what if he has a corporate job.
Maybe if you got an education and quit posting from your mom's basement you could make some money also.

 

[georgephillip]

Do you have any thoughts on how rich US generals and admirals would respond to that uprising?

Do you have any thoughts on what happens when military leaders are poorly paid?
Yeah...it would be a great idea to pay lousy wages to the people that control the most powerful military in the world...brilliant.

Being well paid is evil....unless you're a Democrat.

Or Ronald Reagan.

 

[georgephillip]

"One cause of the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt is popular outrage over the monopolization of wealth by a small cadre of elites.

"The grievances of the Middle East's dispossessed probably seem justified to most Americans, who view the region as a relic of feudalism and stomping ground for despots.

"But what about America itself?

"As has been widely noted over the past few days, income inequality in the United States is actually much worse than in Egypt, Tunisia, or Pakistan.

"Could the US government feel the push of inequality's domino effect?

Comparative prosperity seems to argue otherwise since, as a group, America's poor have about as much wealth as India's richest.

"Yet those arguments neglect some of the major disadvantages of being modestly middle class in a wealthy country: A much higher cost of living and a perceived need to keep up with the Joneses, which fueled the explosion of subprime home loans that caused the recession.

"'Global unemployment remains at record highs, with widening income inequality adding to social strains,' Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the chief of the IMF, said this week during a speech in Singapore, citing turmoil in North Africa as a prelude to what may happen elsewhere.

"'We could see rising social and political instability within nations—even war.'"

And he wasn't referring to banana republics exclusively.

As Go Egypt...

LOL, you're a self-proclaimed poverty case that worked minimum wage jobs your entire life! Usually the lazy Americans are the self-haters, because they don't want to work or better themselves, yet they expect the government via theft from the wealthy to provide everything for them!

You want to revolt, then bring it on! Back in the day when enjoyed the phish scene, I used to love hippies like you. They were the easiest to take things from!

Just for YOU (and Adolph), Phishguts.

Israeli Apartheid:

"Israel was established as a Jewish state.

"It was not intended as a state for all of its citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike. Rather, it was primarily envisaged as a state for Jews, that is, a state of which every Jewish individual throughout the world would be a potential citizen.

"Thus, when the state was unilaterally established on 15 May 1948, it became imperative for its legislative body, the Knesset, to define in law those persons who would qualify as actual or potential citizens, and those who would be excluded - that is, non-Jews in general, and Palestinian Arabs in particular.

"This was done without undue delay.

"In 1950 the Israeli Knesset passed two laws: the Law of Return, defining the boundaries of inclusion ('every Jew has the right to immigrate into the country') and the Absentee Property Law, defining the boundaries of exclusion ('absentee').

"Under these laws, every Jew throughout the world is legally entitled to become a citizen of the state of Israel upon immigration into the country, while some two million people, the 1948 Palestinian Arabs and their descendants, who were exiled as a consequence of the 1948-9 and the 1967 wars, are denied the rights of citizenship.

"Nevertheless, their right of return is universally recognized in international law and in repeated UN resolutions (beginning with Resolution 194 (III), 11 December 1948).

"They clearly exist.

"Yet, they are defined in Israeli law as 'non-existent', and as 'absentees', and they are excluded by law from actual or potential citizenship in the Jewish state."

Something Hitler might have conjured for Aryans.

 

[Samson]

With your car.

And job.

Um.....

You still haven't 'splained why they are coming here to get their own cars and jobs

Ginni Coefficients for starters

"This (Ginni) index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country.

"The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest.

"The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line.

"The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25.

"The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50.

"If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100."

Mexico: 48.2 (2008)

US: 45.0 (2007)

I'm sure we'll catch up with Mexico shortly, and we can all hang out in Home Depot parking lots.

I assume that you don't understand your own "cut-and-paste" faux-answer to a relatively simple question. Not really much of a surprise.

I'll answer for you:

Mexicans are migrating to the USA because they have a much better chance to increase their wealth and standard of living.

Until they cease their migration, then you're absurd notions of Egyptian Style class warfare in the USA will remain rediculous.

 

[georgephillip]

What "Rich US Generals and Admirals?"

Like who?

Like:

"Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired four-star General in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

"In 2002, he was selected to be a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While serving as special envoy, Zinni was also an instructor in the Department of International Studies at the Virginia Military Institute.

"Presently, he is an instructor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, a public speaker, and an author of two best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs, most recently Battle for Peace.

"He also is involved in the corporate world, joining M.I.C. Industries as its president for International Operations in 2005."

Around 2005 I heard Zinni interviewed on CSPAN. In response to a question about whether he had ever considered running for congress, the first words from his mouth revealed he would take a 90% cut in pay to serve in the House.

Your Class Envy is showing, idiot.

He didn't make his millions as a general.

Did you not read the part about his 2 best-sellers?
And, so what if he has a corporate job.
Maybe if you got an education and quit posting from your mom's basement you could make some money also.

Do you think war whores make responsible citizens?

"In 2004, Zinni was singled out by The New York Times investigative reporter Diana Henriques for serving on First Command's board of advisors.

"Henriques alleged that First Command used its military connections 'to lend credibility to their sales efforts'.[5]

"First Command defended its affiliation before the U.S. House of Representatives stating, 'It would be unfortunate if anyone inferred that these honorable individuals would take any action or support any organization that did not act in the best interests of service members.'[6]

"The SEC and NASD concluded that First Command willfully violated the Securities Act of 1933 Section 17(a)(2) dealing with inter-state fraud.

"First Command settled without admitting guilt."

In case you haven't noticed, Einstein, "honorable individuals" like Zinni take money to kill other people's children.

Maybe you don't get the corporate connection to that.

Yet.