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unblock

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17. imagine 10 people on a deserted island.

Tue Jan 28, 2014, 03:10 PM

Jan 2014

you and i and a couple others have a coconut or two. we're comfortable and getting by. 5 of the 10 have no coconuts at all and starving to death.

there is no conceivable backstory that justifies the 10th person having a billion coconuts. it's great that he keeps us entertained on the island; it's great that he works hard; hell, it's great if maybe he's already saved all our lives a dozen times already. that's an argument for him to have 5 coconuts or maybe even 10. but no way should he have a billion coconuts.

and therein lies the problem with our discourse about wealth. because it's not about the rich having more, virtually no one disagrees that they should have more than the rest of us. the *entire* question starts with *how much* more should they have, and then the detailed follow-up questions are how do we achieve this (tax policy, income caps, etc.).

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About wealthy people [View all] GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 OP

Yes, they are confidence men (and women). Or as I like to call them, con men. (and women). ;) reformist2 Jan 2014 #1

By all means, idolize people who can talk other people out of their money ... Myrina Jan 2014 #2

not necessarily. GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #4

Nah. Bonx Jan 2014 #11

HOW they make it is NOT always decent hfojvt Jan 2014 #3

cool story. tenderfoot Jan 2014 #5

Regardless, they cannot become wealthy without help Kingofalldems Jan 2014 #6

As you've pointed out SheilaT Jan 2014 #7

of course GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #12

Only the wealthy believe we hate them BECAUSE they are wealthy. EC Jan 2014 #8

I kinda have to say you have a skewed view Boxerfan Jan 2014 #9

I don't see creativity as a big skill of the wealthy GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #15

No, I don't have a problem with wealthy people in general. Xyzse Jan 2014 #10

Message auto-removed Name removed Jan 2014 #13

As my uni Calculus Professor would write on tests: GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #16

If they all had to live in one town together, they would starve to death in months Taitertots Jan 2014 #14

+1. Since they are mostly con artists, they are actually less productive than the average citizen! reformist2 Jan 2014 #18

I wouldn't go as far as saying "mostly con artists", but they are benefitting from an economic.... Taitertots Jan 2014 #22

imagine 10 people on a deserted island. unblock Jan 2014 #17

+1 nt laundry_queen Jan 2014 #20

I understand what you say GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #23

the first step is to acknowledge you have a problem. unblock Jan 2014 #24

absolutely GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #26

We the people can decide to impose a "correction" to the results of the free market. reformist2 Jan 2014 #27

but who gets to change the rules and when? GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #29

We do! If everyone were like you we would never have instituted an income tax. reformist2 Jan 2014 #31

What a wonderfully insightful post Populist_Prole Jan 2014 #19

Honestly, I'd tax the poor miserable fuckers out of existence. hunter Jan 2014 #21

Er . . . . HughBeaumont Jan 2014 #25

gazelles and rabbits!!! GRACIEBIRD Jan 2014 #28

I know the type you are talking about laundry_queen Jan 2014 #30