Where Do Billionaires Come From?

[Grumblenuts]

Trickle down created them

How did you arrive at that idiocy?

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

70% of all billionaires started out poor

Unsubstantiated "FActs"!

 

[sparky]

along with the usual gaggle of unsubstantiated contrarians ....~S~

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Trickle down created them

How did you arrive at that idiocy?

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

70% of all billionaires started out poor

Liar

 

[Jitss617]

Trickle down created them

How did you arrive at that idiocy?

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

70% of all billionaires started out poor

Liar

Facts

 

[Grumblenuts]

I like the inequality. Poor people like you make me feel better about myself. Thanks.

Then you'll be in heaven when the dollar crashes.....

~S~

39 year-old punk thinks he's in The Big Club or something, LMAO

 

[dblack]

"Most typically these debates take the market distribution of income as a given, and then ask the extent to which we might want to redistribute to have less inequality...."

In a free market, "market distribution" is up to society. It's the aggregate result of all our individual choices. Why do you presume government should be empowered to overrule it?

 

[Harpy Eagle]

How did you arrive at that idiocy?

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

inauguration

Liar

Facts

Liar. Back it up. Provide that data.

Otherwise it is just one more in a long line of lies from you.

 

[Jitss617]

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

inauguration

Liar

Facts

Liar. Back it up. Provide that data.

Otherwise it is just one more in a long line of lies from you.

Look it up

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Trickle down created them

How did you arrive at that idiocy?

FActs

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

70% of all billionaires started out poor

Unsubstantiated "FActs"!

no, they are lies he just made up in his head.

He does it a lot

 

[Harpy Eagle]

What evidence do you have to support your alleged facts?

inauguration

Liar

Facts

Liar. Back it up. Provide that data.

Otherwise it is just one more in a long line of lies from you.

Look it up

Can't look up what does not exist. You just made that number up. All you do is lie.

 

[georgephillip]

Do the richest among us owe their wealth to hard work and high IQs or government monopolies like patents and copyrights, minimum wage laws, or campaign finance contributions?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"The basic story is that if we have a market economy, some people can get very rich.

"If we buy the right-wing story, the super-rich got their money from their great contribution to society.

"If we look at it with clearer eyes, the super-rich got their money because we structured the economy in a way that allowed them to get super-rich..."

"This is a point which seems very obvious, but for some reason is largely ignored in policy debates.

"Most typically these debates take the market distribution of income as a given, and then ask the extent to which we might want to redistribute to have less inequality...."

"But it is completely absurd to treat the market distribution of income as given.

"The market is incredibly flexible and it can literally be structured in an infinite number of different ways."

Instead of arguing over a redistribution of income, restructure markets in such a way that vast private fortunes never come into existence in the first place.

Just think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

ust think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

Is this an example of your definition of success?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"One of the ways people get very wealthy is finance is by buying or selling stocks or commodities a short time ahead of the market, thereby pocketing large profits.

"It’s pretty hard to see the contribution to society in this story.

"Their actions mean, for example, that GE’s stock price may adjust to new information about its profits five or ten minutes earlier than might otherwise have been the case.

"The benefit to the economy from this faster adjustment is essentially zero. These high rollers’ profits come at the expense of ordinary traders who are less informed."

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Do the richest among us owe their wealth to hard work and high IQs or government monopolies like patents and copyrights, minimum wage laws, or campaign finance contributions?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"The basic story is that if we have a market economy, some people can get very rich.

"If we buy the right-wing story, the super-rich got their money from their great contribution to society.

"If we look at it with clearer eyes, the super-rich got their money because we structured the economy in a way that allowed them to get super-rich..."

"This is a point which seems very obvious, but for some reason is largely ignored in policy debates.

"Most typically these debates take the market distribution of income as a given, and then ask the extent to which we might want to redistribute to have less inequality...."

"But it is completely absurd to treat the market distribution of income as given.

"The market is incredibly flexible and it can literally be structured in an infinite number of different ways."

Instead of arguing over a redistribution of income, restructure markets in such a way that vast private fortunes never come into existence in the first place.

You’re a jealous little piggy aren’t you? Asshole.

The Rising Costs of U.S. Income Inequality | HuffPost

I like the inequality. Poor people like you make me feel better about myself. Thanks.

A lot of people that suck at things look to those worse than them to help make themselves feel better. It saves them from needing to put forth the effort to actually better themselves.

 

[SweetTea]

Do the richest among us owe their wealth to hard work and high IQs or government monopolies like patents and copyrights, minimum wage laws, or campaign finance contributions?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"The basic story is that if we have a market economy, some people can get very rich.

"If we buy the right-wing story, the super-rich got their money from their great contribution to society.

"If we look at it with clearer eyes, the super-rich got their money because we structured the economy in a way that allowed them to get super-rich..."

"This is a point which seems very obvious, but for some reason is largely ignored in policy debates.

"Most typically these debates take the market distribution of income as a given, and then ask the extent to which we might want to redistribute to have less inequality...."

"But it is completely absurd to treat the market distribution of income as given.

"The market is incredibly flexible and it can literally be structured in an infinite number of different ways."

Instead of arguing over a redistribution of income, restructure markets in such a way that vast private fortunes never come into existence in the first place.

Just think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

ust think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

Is this an example of your definition of success?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"One of the ways people get very wealthy is finance is by buying or selling stocks or commodities a short time ahead of the market, thereby pocketing large profits.

"It’s pretty hard to see the contribution to society in this story.

"Their actions mean, for example, that GE’s stock price may adjust to new information about its profits five or ten minutes earlier than might otherwise have been the case.

"The benefit to the economy from this faster adjustment is essentially zero. These high rollers’ profits come at the expense of ordinary traders who are less informed."

So you are saying they are all committing insider trading? That is illegal and if so they will be prosecuted. Maybe they follow the trends and use their knowledge of the news to make trades. They win some and lose some. Most money is made by long term holds, not day trading. Guess who is benefitting from the long term holds.

 

[dblack]

Do the richest among us owe their wealth to hard work and high IQs or government monopolies like patents and copyrights, minimum wage laws, or campaign finance contributions?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"The basic story is that if we have a market economy, some people can get very rich.

"If we buy the right-wing story, the super-rich got their money from their great contribution to society.

"If we look at it with clearer eyes, the super-rich got their money because we structured the economy in a way that allowed them to get super-rich..."

"This is a point which seems very obvious, but for some reason is largely ignored in policy debates.

"Most typically these debates take the market distribution of income as a given, and then ask the extent to which we might want to redistribute to have less inequality...."

"But it is completely absurd to treat the market distribution of income as given.

"The market is incredibly flexible and it can literally be structured in an infinite number of different ways."

Instead of arguing over a redistribution of income, restructure markets in such a way that vast private fortunes never come into existence in the first place.

Just think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

ust think about how much better your life could have been if you spent as much time working to better yourself as you do bitching about how you failed

Is this an example of your definition of success?

Should We Have Billionaires?

"One of the ways people get very wealthy is finance is by buying or selling stocks or commodities a short time ahead of the market, thereby pocketing large profits.

"It’s pretty hard to see the contribution to society in this story.

"Their actions mean, for example, that GE’s stock price may adjust to new information about its profits five or ten minutes earlier than might otherwise have been the case.

"The benefit to the economy from this faster adjustment is essentially zero. These high rollers’ profits come at the expense of ordinary traders who are less informed."

So you are saying they are all committing insider trading? That is illegal and if so they will be prosecuted. Maybe they follow the trends and use their knowledge of the news to make trades. They win some and lose some. Most money is made by long term holds, not day trading. Guess who is benefitting from the long term holds.

You're missing the point. Socialists think that anyone who makes a profit is committing a crime. That makes billionaires uber-criminals by default.

 

[Grumblenuts]

"One of the ways

Not such a difficult phrase to interpret..

an example of

Not so hard either..

 

[Gdjjr]

26 pages- it's perfectly clear "we need to do something"- I know, lets make it illegal- have congress declare a war on billionaires and confiscate all their money with asset forfeiture and have those angels in DC, the ones pure as the driven snow, distribute all that money as they, the anointed in DC, see fit. I know that'll work. Just look at all the laws we have to substantiate it. Just look at all the poor who aren't because of the War on Poverty- the minimum wage, etc. By God only an omnipotent, pure as the driven snow occupying space in the hallowed halls of the corrupt in DC,can right this wrong.

 

[Grumblenuts]

As Tulsi says, we must first agree on the problem, then we can discuss what best to do about it.

 

[georgephillip]

People might become billionaires for any number of reasons. But in general it's because people gave them a lot of money.

If people get a lot of money from markets, did they get rich from making great contributions to society or did they prosper because society structured the markets in ways that allowed them to get super rich?

 

[dblack]

People might become billionaires for any number of reasons. But in general it's because people gave them a lot of money.

If people get a lot of money from markets, did they get rich from making great contributions to society or did they prosper because society structured the markets in ways that allowed them to get super rich?

Depends on who you're talking about. The only commonality is that, unless the billionaire in question gained their money by theft or fraud, "we the people" gave it to them voluntarily. Who are you to second-guess our decisions? More importantly, why should government take on this role?

 

[dblack]

As Tulsi says, we must first agree on the problem, then we can discuss what best to do about it.

That's usually the case. That's why ACA was such a disaster. There was never any agreement on what the problem was - even among Democrats - other that "government doesn't have enough power".