Fixing Inequality

[The Rabbi]

95% of economic gains during the recovery went to 1% of the population.

95% of the money made in the past 5 years was divided between 1% of the population.

When 95% of the money goes to 1% of the population, and most of those gains came after the 1% received multi-billion dollar bailouts at the expense of American workers, (there's also a decade-long useless, endless war without reason costing us billions every week) then even the dumbest red state voters should be able to admit that this system is flawed.

95% of economic gains went to the richest 1%. So why haven't the 1% job creators created any jobs? Do the job creators need more money than just a meager 95% before they create any jobs?

So Obama's policies are total failures. Right?

 

[Brain357]

Looks like 67% agree inequality is a problem. That's a pretty big number. And it appears more and more people think you can't get ahead just by working hard. In 2001, 76% of people thought you could, now that's just 54%. Something tells me that number is going to keep on dropping unless we actually do something.

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2...atisfied-with-income-and-wealth-distribution/

 

[Jarhead]

I'm not saying it's impossible to get ahead or that nobody has. I'm saying fewer people are and stats support that. Meanwhile stats show american workers are more productive. Yet this hard work gets them nothing, why is that?

So what state school did your son go to? Some of them can still be rather expensive for the poor. Is he actually showing upward mobility or are his parents pretty well off and he's just doing as stats show?

If one can do it without mega cash or connections, then why cant others?

Yes, stats show American workers are more productive....but that is because technology allows them to be such. Something as basic as "spell check" makes an executive assistant a better executive assistant than he/ she was before spell check was invented.

A receptionist is much more efficient having to answer only 20 calls a day as opposed to the amount of calls she had to answer before individual voice mails per line in an office.

A CNC lathe operator can produce 10 times the product than he was able to when he had to turn the lathe manually.

The general public is not working harder by any means. They work. Period.

As for my son, he went to SUNY Buffalo. Same price as the others. All he got from my wife and I was a lesson about work ethic and how it got us to where we are today.

We explained to him that he needed to stand out in the marketplace and stand out in the office. Not as a suck up......but as one that WANTS to get ahead.

His degree was not marketing....but he found an interest in it when he was a sales assistant and took marketing courses after work.....2 nights a week his first year and 3 nights a week his second.

In other words....HE MADE IT HAPPEN.

The children of the better off tend to do better (as stats show) for only one reason.....because they teach their children how to achieve individual success.....you know...lead by example.

So the son of rich parents is doing well. That sure proves the American dream is still alive. How did he pay for school?

Of course people aren't actually working harder. And those CEOs who made 42x the average worker in 1980 and now make 354x the average worker, how are they more productive? Those CEOs in 1980 must have been real lazy eh?

you refuse to get it.

How did the parents get rich? Sure, some simply inherited it. But most "rich people"....(not the mega rich), but most rich people got that way by pushing for success. And their children see it day in and day out and follow the lead...and they, too, achieve success.

You see, your issue is you categorize all successful people as "rich" like Trump and Soros....but most successful people are wealthy, comfortable, living in a nice house with 2 cars; but living within a budget.....and THOSE people teach their children the importance of hard work; not counting personal days off; not making excuses to not to go to work.

My family is an excellent example of that. I have never been mega wealthy. Heck, at one point I didn't have a bank account. But I watched my dad over the years and how he would sometimes work 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day....and I finally dug in and did it myself. Sure there was pain and "suffering" to achieve success. My friends would go on vacations and out 3 nights a week....while I busted my ass learning to be as best as I can in my industry of choice....and I made it.

And now?

My children are young adults and have the same work ethic.

Your problem is you don't understand what working hard is.

To you...and to our politicians.....all working Americans are HARD WORKING AMERICANS....

But they are not.

Most Americans are working Americans....but not doing anything above and beyond than what their salary warrants.

 

[Jarhead]

Looks like 67% agree inequality is a problem. That's a pretty big number. And it appears more and more people think you can't get ahead just by working hard. In 2001, 76% of people thought you could, now that's just 54%. Something tells me that number is going to keep on dropping unless we actually do something.

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2...atisfied-with-income-and-wealth-distribution/

inequality DOES exist. No one denies it.

But YOUR solution is spread the wealth.

My solution is work hard.

But you see it as "hey, a guy working 5 days a week with 2 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, 3 personal days (and taking everyone of them), who goes home at the end of the day and watches TV as one who is a hard working American.

If that is true....

Then what do you call me...who while learning under my former employer, I worked 6 days a week BY CHOICE and took evening courses BY CHOICE to better myself.....and then when I branched out and opened my own, I worked 7 days a week for the first year and did not take a vacation for the first 2 years.....

How would you define me?

 

[Jarhead]

The spending power of the top 1% has absolutely no affect on the pricing of goods and services.

No, it has to do with the amount of money that is supposed to "trickle down" to the workers who create the goods and provide the services which make the company successful.

Trillions of dollars in cash are sitting in the bank accounts of the 1%. Just cash and "liquid assets". Wealth that can easily trickle down from their bank accounts to the general public, if they spent it. But billionaires don't become billionaires by sharing their wealth with everyone else, because if billionaires shared their wealth then they wouldn't be billionaires anymore.

Trickle-down economics does not work if the "job creators" aren't creating any jobs or letting any wealth trickle down. 95% of the economic gains since 2009 went to the richest 1%. This means that 99% of the population made 5% of the money. When does the rest of that 95% begin to trickle down?

We are talking about trillions of dollars being hoarded by a few hundred-thousand people. These are numbers that the average Republican voter simply does not have the mental capacity to comprehend, so they throw up their defense of "go get a job, loser". Again, there aren't that many jobs because trillions of dollars are sitting in the bank accounts of the super rich who outsourced all of the jobs, and they're not creating new jobs, not letting any of their billions of dollars trickle down, not doing anything for anyone except themselves and their shareholders.

There are currently 4 million jobs available for hire in the US.

There goes YOUR sorry ass theory.

 

[Jarhead]

The spending power of the top 1% has absolutely no affect on the pricing of goods and services.

No, it has to do with the amount of money that is supposed to "trickle down" to the workers who create the goods and provide the services which make the company successful.

Trillions of dollars in cash are sitting in the bank accounts of the 1%. Just cash and "liquid assets". Wealth that can easily trickle down from their bank accounts to the general public, if they spent it. But billionaires don't become billionaires by sharing their wealth with everyone else, because if billionaires shared their wealth then they wouldn't be billionaires anymore.

Trickle-down economics does not work if the "job creators" aren't creating any jobs or letting any wealth trickle down. 95% of the economic gains since 2009 went to the richest 1%. This means that 99% of the population made 5% of the money. When does the rest of that 95% begin to trickle down?

We are talking about trillions of dollars being hoarded by a few hundred-thousand people. These are numbers that the average Republican voter simply does not have the mental capacity to comprehend, so they throw up their defense of "go get a job, loser". Again, there aren't that many jobs because trillions of dollars are sitting in the bank accounts of the super rich who outsourced all of the jobs, and they're not creating new jobs, not letting any of their billions of dollars trickle down, not doing anything for anyone except themselves and their shareholders.

There are currently 4 million jobs available for hire in the US.

There goes YOUR sorry ass theory.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

January 17, 2014


There were 4.0 million job openings on the last business day of November, little changed from October. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and the separations rate (3.1 percent) were unchanged in November.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Home Page

 

[Jarhead]

Looks like 67% agree inequality is a problem. That's a pretty big number. And it appears more and more people think you can't get ahead just by working hard. In 2001, 76% of people thought you could, now that's just 54%. Something tells me that number is going to keep on dropping unless we actually do something.

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2...atisfied-with-income-and-wealth-distribution/

Please define "working hard"

 

[Bombur]

If you are arguing about the importance of hard work or the futility of it you are missing the point.

 

[Brain357]

If one can do it without mega cash or connections, then why cant others?

Yes, stats show American workers are more productive....but that is because technology allows them to be such. Something as basic as "spell check" makes an executive assistant a better executive assistant than he/ she was before spell check was invented.

A receptionist is much more efficient having to answer only 20 calls a day as opposed to the amount of calls she had to answer before individual voice mails per line in an office.

A CNC lathe operator can produce 10 times the product than he was able to when he had to turn the lathe manually.

The general public is not working harder by any means. They work. Period.

As for my son, he went to SUNY Buffalo. Same price as the others. All he got from my wife and I was a lesson about work ethic and how it got us to where we are today.

We explained to him that he needed to stand out in the marketplace and stand out in the office. Not as a suck up......but as one that WANTS to get ahead.

His degree was not marketing....but he found an interest in it when he was a sales assistant and took marketing courses after work.....2 nights a week his first year and 3 nights a week his second.

In other words....HE MADE IT HAPPEN.

The children of the better off tend to do better (as stats show) for only one reason.....because they teach their children how to achieve individual success.....you know...lead by example.

So the son of rich parents is doing well. That sure proves the American dream is still alive. How did he pay for school?

Of course people aren't actually working harder. And those CEOs who made 42x the average worker in 1980 and now make 354x the average worker, how are they more productive? Those CEOs in 1980 must have been real lazy eh?

you refuse to get it.

How did the parents get rich? Sure, some simply inherited it. But most "rich people"....(not the mega rich), but most rich people got that way by pushing for success. And their children see it day in and day out and follow the lead...and they, too, achieve success.

You see, your issue is you categorize all successful people as "rich" like Trump and Soros....but most successful people are wealthy, comfortable, living in a nice house with 2 cars; but living within a budget.....and THOSE people teach their children the importance of hard work; not counting personal days off; not making excuses to not to go to work.

My family is an excellent example of that. I have never been mega wealthy. Heck, at one point I didn't have a bank account. But I watched my dad over the years and how he would sometimes work 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day....and I finally dug in and did it myself. Sure there was pain and "suffering" to achieve success. My friends would go on vacations and out 3 nights a week....while I busted my ass learning to be as best as I can in my industry of choice....and I made it.

And now?

My children are young adults and have the same work ethic.

Your problem is you don't understand what working hard is.

To you...and to our politicians.....all working Americans are HARD WORKING AMERICANS....

But they are not.

Most Americans are working Americans....but not doing anything above and beyond than what their salary warrants.

Answer why CEOs are making so much more now doing the same job. If it's really just about working hard then clearly they are working much harder than those lazy CEOs in 1980. Please explain how that is.

 

[The Rabbi]

So the son of rich parents is doing well. That sure proves the American dream is still alive. How did he pay for school?

Of course people aren't actually working harder. And those CEOs who made 42x the average worker in 1980 and now make 354x the average worker, how are they more productive? Those CEOs in 1980 must have been real lazy eh?

you refuse to get it.

How did the parents get rich? Sure, some simply inherited it. But most "rich people"....(not the mega rich), but most rich people got that way by pushing for success. And their children see it day in and day out and follow the lead...and they, too, achieve success.

You see, your issue is you categorize all successful people as "rich" like Trump and Soros....but most successful people are wealthy, comfortable, living in a nice house with 2 cars; but living within a budget.....and THOSE people teach their children the importance of hard work; not counting personal days off; not making excuses to not to go to work.

My family is an excellent example of that. I have never been mega wealthy. Heck, at one point I didn't have a bank account. But I watched my dad over the years and how he would sometimes work 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day....and I finally dug in and did it myself. Sure there was pain and "suffering" to achieve success. My friends would go on vacations and out 3 nights a week....while I busted my ass learning to be as best as I can in my industry of choice....and I made it.

And now?

My children are young adults and have the same work ethic.

Your problem is you don't understand what working hard is.

To you...and to our politicians.....all working Americans are HARD WORKING AMERICANS....

But they are not.

Most Americans are working Americans....but not doing anything above and beyond than what their salary warrants.

Answer why CEOs are making so much more now doing the same job. If it's really just about working hard then clearly they are working much harder than those lazy CEOs in 1980. Please explain how that is.

It has nothing to do with how hard you work. You do not get paid simply for working hard. Working hard frequently is a necessary condition, but it is not a sufficient condition.
The reason for higher pay is because with globalization the stakes are higher. A talented CEO who makes the right decisions will add vastly more to the bottom line than the same CEO 35 years ago could, With greater opportunity comes greater reward, as well as greater risk.

 

[Jarhead]

If you are arguing about the importance of hard work or the futility of it you are missing the point.

Why wont you define hard work for me?

I am not missing the point at all.

The truth of the matter is those that work harder than others usually achieve greater success.

Many work for their paychecks.

Others go above and beyond regardless of their paychecks.

We are now in an environment where those that work for their paychecks are deemed as hard working Americans and are being led to believe by politicians and activists that they deserve more than they get.

If such is true, then what do those that go above and beyond deserve?

 

[Jarhead]

So the son of rich parents is doing well. That sure proves the American dream is still alive. How did he pay for school?

Of course people aren't actually working harder. And those CEOs who made 42x the average worker in 1980 and now make 354x the average worker, how are they more productive? Those CEOs in 1980 must have been real lazy eh?

you refuse to get it.

How did the parents get rich? Sure, some simply inherited it. But most "rich people"....(not the mega rich), but most rich people got that way by pushing for success. And their children see it day in and day out and follow the lead...and they, too, achieve success.

You see, your issue is you categorize all successful people as "rich" like Trump and Soros....but most successful people are wealthy, comfortable, living in a nice house with 2 cars; but living within a budget.....and THOSE people teach their children the importance of hard work; not counting personal days off; not making excuses to not to go to work.

My family is an excellent example of that. I have never been mega wealthy. Heck, at one point I didn't have a bank account. But I watched my dad over the years and how he would sometimes work 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day....and I finally dug in and did it myself. Sure there was pain and "suffering" to achieve success. My friends would go on vacations and out 3 nights a week....while I busted my ass learning to be as best as I can in my industry of choice....and I made it.

And now?

My children are young adults and have the same work ethic.

Your problem is you don't understand what working hard is.

To you...and to our politicians.....all working Americans are HARD WORKING AMERICANS....

But they are not.

Most Americans are working Americans....but not doing anything above and beyond than what their salary warrants.

Answer why CEOs are making so much more now doing the same job. If it's really just about working hard then clearly they are working much harder than those lazy CEOs in 1980. Please explain how that is.

Quite simple.

They earn more now than years ago for the same reason athletes earn more than 30 years ago; Why actors earn more.

There is a greater demand for their expertise and dedication.

Lower level employees can earn the same respect of demand by WORKING HARD and create a differential....do not be like the masses at your level of expertise.

Bear in mind.....a firm hiring someone of talent has two benefits.....

1) The firm gets to capitalize on the talent of that person

and

2) The competition of that firm DOESNT!

You know...it is funny when I have these debates with people anonymously on a forum such as this.

It is so easy to pick out the guy that never owned his own. Never took the risk. Never strove above and beyond. Never did more than his salary warranted.

 

[Jarhead]

Looks like 67% agree inequality is a problem. That's a pretty big number. And it appears more and more people think you can't get ahead just by working hard. In 2001, 76% of people thought you could, now that's just 54%. Something tells me that number is going to keep on dropping unless we actually do something.

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2...atisfied-with-income-and-wealth-distribution/

Please define "working hard"

Brain....please....explain the difference between a Working American and Hard working American.

Or is there no difference?

 

[Bombur]

If you are arguing about the importance of hard work or the futility of it you are missing the point.

Why wont you define hard work for me?

I am not missing the point at all.

The truth of the matter is those that work harder than others usually achieve greater success.

Many work for their paychecks.

Others go above and beyond regardless of their paychecks.

We are now in an environment where those that work for their paychecks are deemed as hard working Americans and are being led to believe by politicians and activists that they deserve more than they get.

If such is true, then what do those that go above and beyond deserve?

Markets determine what things are worth. Markets can and are impacted by outside factors which change the value of things including labor. Just because the value of labor is changing that doesn't mean that change in value has anything to do with hard work.

You are thinking small and personal when the issue is about entire markets and how they are changing over time. It is not about the fact that there is rich and poor.

 

[Bombur]

you refuse to get it.

How did the parents get rich? Sure, some simply inherited it. But most "rich people"....(not the mega rich), but most rich people got that way by pushing for success. And their children see it day in and day out and follow the lead...and they, too, achieve success.

You see, your issue is you categorize all successful people as "rich" like Trump and Soros....but most successful people are wealthy, comfortable, living in a nice house with 2 cars; but living within a budget.....and THOSE people teach their children the importance of hard work; not counting personal days off; not making excuses to not to go to work.

My family is an excellent example of that. I have never been mega wealthy. Heck, at one point I didn't have a bank account. But I watched my dad over the years and how he would sometimes work 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day....and I finally dug in and did it myself. Sure there was pain and "suffering" to achieve success. My friends would go on vacations and out 3 nights a week....while I busted my ass learning to be as best as I can in my industry of choice....and I made it.

And now?

My children are young adults and have the same work ethic.

Your problem is you don't understand what working hard is.

To you...and to our politicians.....all working Americans are HARD WORKING AMERICANS....

But they are not.

Most Americans are working Americans....but not doing anything above and beyond than what their salary warrants.

Answer why CEOs are making so much more now doing the same job. If it's really just about working hard then clearly they are working much harder than those lazy CEOs in 1980. Please explain how that is.

Quite simple.

They earn more now than years ago for the same reason athletes earn more than 30 years ago; Why actors earn more.

There is a greater demand for their expertise and dedication.

Lower level employees can earn the same respect of demand by WORKING HARD and create a differential....do not be like the masses at your level of expertise.

Bear in mind.....a firm hiring someone of talent has two benefits.....

1) The firm gets to capitalize on the talent of that person

and

2) The competition of that firm DOESNT!

You know...it is funny when I have these debates with people anonymously on a forum such as this.

It is so easy to pick out the guy that never owned his own. Never took the risk. Never strove above and beyond. Never did more than his salary warranted.

Actually high end salaries with athletes are examples of unhealthy markets where supply is so low that demand is inelastic. Markets like this are way different than the healthy/perfect markets laissez faire economics is based on.

 

[Jarhead]

If you are arguing about the importance of hard work or the futility of it you are missing the point.

Why wont you define hard work for me?

I am not missing the point at all.

The truth of the matter is those that work harder than others usually achieve greater success.

Many work for their paychecks.

Others go above and beyond regardless of their paychecks.

We are now in an environment where those that work for their paychecks are deemed as hard working Americans and are being led to believe by politicians and activists that they deserve more than they get.

If such is true, then what do those that go above and beyond deserve?

Markets determine what things are worth. Markets can and are impacted by outside factors which change the value of things including labor. Just because the value of labor is changing that doesn't mean that change in value has anything to do with hard work.

You are thinking small and personal when the issue is about entire markets and how they are changing over time. It is not about the fact that there is rich and poor.

I am sorry...but I can not continue this debate if you keep diverting from the questions and instead stating theory.

For example...

You said:

"markets determine what things are worth"..

Yes, I know. But the debate at hand has to do with income inequality...and how Americans believe that hard work will not allow them to achieve financial security..

The whole thing about income equality is a farce. Yes, it exists....that is obvious. But how much a billionaire makes has absolutely no affect on how much I can make.

How much a billionaire has absolutely no affect on how much I can have.

The spending power of a billionaire has absolutely no affect on my spending power.

And I continually cited examples of how and why what I say is true.

And I also explained WITH EXAMPLES how the real problem Americans have is that they are not aware of what "hard work" is. Hard work is NOT doing what you need to do to get a paycheck. That is work. And it will get you nothing more than a paycheck....because you do not stand out and have a differential.

Anyway, continue to cite theory. Go for it.

But....


That is not debating.

 

[dannyboys]

"Who helped create this mess by shipping jobs out of the country?"
Proving again there literally are no dumber people on the planet than ***** men who pee sitting down than American LIBs.
"I have a small factory in NC making T shirts. The union has bullied me over the years to the point I'm paying my semi literate thirty employees 18 bucks an hour with full family medical and dental and a premium retirement package. My net profit on every T shirt sold to the distributors is now 11 cents. Not to mention I've always had to deal with the Mafia/union leaders.
It's costing me more money to keep the doors open than it's worth. I wasstill working 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
Some dude from China came by and offered me a premium price for my machines and nice amount of cash and they'll pay my managers a years wages to go to China to teach them how to run the equipment. I can retire after thirty years busting my ass. And that union asshole thug 'organizer' who would show up in his new Cadillac every year to 'shake me down' every Christmas can stick it up his ass!
Multiply this story by a hundred thousand and you may understand why the manufacturing industry is over in the US for all time.
"I worked as hard as any one could to provide a secure future for my family. I did everything I could to help my employees. Over time I was able to invest some of my profits and I lost some and made some.
Now a Socialist wants to take my hard earned money away and give it to others.
Note to Ed Schultz. The MSNBC 'picture boy' of a union thug' you can go **** yourself. Or maybe you'd like your boy friend Hoffa who you have on your show once a week to do it for you.
Me? I'm retiring to Canada. And I'm taking every nickel I have with me.

 

[Jarhead]

Answer why CEOs are making so much more now doing the same job. If it's really just about working hard then clearly they are working much harder than those lazy CEOs in 1980. Please explain how that is.

Quite simple.

They earn more now than years ago for the same reason athletes earn more than 30 years ago; Why actors earn more.

There is a greater demand for their expertise and dedication.

Lower level employees can earn the same respect of demand by WORKING HARD and create a differential....do not be like the masses at your level of expertise.

Bear in mind.....a firm hiring someone of talent has two benefits.....

1) The firm gets to capitalize on the talent of that person

and

2) The competition of that firm DOESNT!

You know...it is funny when I have these debates with people anonymously on a forum such as this.

It is so easy to pick out the guy that never owned his own. Never took the risk. Never strove above and beyond. Never did more than his salary warranted.

Actually high end salaries with athletes are examples of unhealthy markets where supply is so low that demand is inelastic. Markets like this are way different than the healthy/perfect markets laissez faire economics is based on.

Now you are saying something outright foolish.

Supply is so low?

No. Supply is quite high.

But the massive amount of revenue a team or league can generate allows them to take from that massive supply and cherry pick the epitome.

Supply is vast.

 

[Jarhead]

"Who helped create this mess by shipping jobs out of the country?"
Proving again there literally are no dumber people on the planet than ***** men who pee sitting down than American LIBs.
I have a small factory in NC making T shirts. The union has bullied me over the years to the point I'm paying my semi literate thirty employees 18 bucks an hour with full family medical and dental and a premium retirement package. My net profit on every T shirt sold to the distributors is now 11 cents.
It's costing me more money to keep the doors open than it's worth. I'm still working 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
Some dude from China came by and offered me a premium price for all my machines/and nice amount of cash and they'll pay my managers a years wage to go to China to teach them how to run the equipment. I can retire with at least my shirt on after thirty years busting my ass. And that union asshole thug 'organizer' who was 'shaking me down' every Christmas can stick it up his ass!
Multiply this story by a hundred thousand and you may understand why the manufacturing industry is over in the US for all time.

Get ready Danny...

Whereas the scenario you describe is true, you will have many on here tell you how you are full of shit and probably never owned anything on your own and you are likely a 35 year old man sitting in mommy's basement in your underwear pounding on your computer.

Many on the left in here don't like to debate scenarios. They simply discount them as "lies".

 

[Bombur]

Why wont you define hard work for me?

I am not missing the point at all.

The truth of the matter is those that work harder than others usually achieve greater success.

Many work for their paychecks.

Others go above and beyond regardless of their paychecks.

We are now in an environment where those that work for their paychecks are deemed as hard working Americans and are being led to believe by politicians and activists that they deserve more than they get.

If such is true, then what do those that go above and beyond deserve?

Markets determine what things are worth. Markets can and are impacted by outside factors which change the value of things including labor. Just because the value of labor is changing that doesn't mean that change in value has anything to do with hard work.

You are thinking small and personal when the issue is about entire markets and how they are changing over time. It is not about the fact that there is rich and poor.

I am sorry...but I can not continue this debate if you keep diverting from the questions and instead stating theory.

For example...

You said:

"markets determine what things are worth"..

Yes, I know. But the debate at hand has to do with income inequality...and how Americans believe that hard work will not allow them to achieve financial security..

The whole thing about income equality is a farce. Yes, it exists....that is obvious. But how much a billionaire makes has absolutely no affect on how much I can make.

How much a billionaire has absolutely no affect on how much I can have.

The spending power of a billionaire has absolutely no affect on my spending power.

And I continually cited examples of how and why what I say is true.

And I also explained WITH EXAMPLES how the real problem Americans have is that they are not aware of what "hard work" is. Hard work is NOT doing what you need to do to get a paycheck. That is work. And it will get you nothing more than a paycheck....because you do not stand out and have a differential.

Anyway, continue to cite theory. Go for it.

But....


That is not debating.

I agree that we are not really debating but that is because we have spent most of the time talking about completely different topics. You want to talk about hard work and I want to talk about changes in income inequality and the reasons and consequences thereof.

If you really want examples that is fine.

When China buys billions of USD this hurts US labor as it opens up US labor to Chinese competition while also limiting their capacity to sell to China. It also helps some high end US labor who can benefit from the supply of capital, the lower prices, and the downward pressure on wages. Overtime you will see capital owners benefit from this relationship and lower end wage earners be harmed by this relationship. You claim that the PP of a billionaire has no impact on your spending power might be true but it is irrelevant. What is relevant is how certain groups of people will have a harder time finding work and demanding wages and others will see their wages increase.

The causation is based on the underlying change that leads to the income inequality in this instance.

As for direct causation between the PP of a billionaire and someone who isn't you can look at land ownership and prices for land. Increases in property values most certainly impact those who are making less.

As long as you keep arguing about hard work you are just missing the point.