Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


The balance of wealth in the US

Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> Politics & Current Affairs Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
 Topic moved: from Found on the 'Net to Politics & Current Affairs by G (6 Mar 2013 - 20:12)
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

Lord Percy
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Aug 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 20:03 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: The balance of wealth in the US Reply with quote

Really interesting infographic video showing how the whole of US society (regardless of political or societal choice) thinks wealth is divided in their country. And then it shows how the wealth is really divided.

Presumably there will be something of a similar distribution in the UK?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QPKKQnijnsM
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Hetzer
Super Spammer



Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 20:46 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any of the usual capitalist cheerleading fuckwits still want to tell me a cap on personal incomes is a bad idea? Oh, you think it's not that bad in the UK? How much not badder?

That is a fucking obscenity. While the poorest in this country are taking the biggest hits of anybody. Those with the least available to lose are having the most taken off them, while the likes of Cameron and Osbourne, a pair of been-nowhere, done-nothing, rich-boy parasites, live the lives of o'reilly and destroy the lives of millions.

Seriously, we need a major cataclysm, some kind of global catastrophe, to bring this rotten-to-the-core sewer to total collapse.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Lord Percy
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Aug 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 21:38 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something will change eventually. The London riots were brushed under the carpet when they happened, but there was a lot of meaning to that event. It was the start of a rather discontent society rising up and saying 'no' to the general shitness they hadn't created but were being forced to put up with. People said it was just unruly kids, but that's only because the older people are so tethered by the things they think they need from the state - job, money, work, etc - so the only ones left to do any fighting were the youngsters, who tend to do things with a lot more reckless abandon because at that age there's less of a connection to society, whether you're a good or a bad kid.

I'd be willing to say that things may appear to get better again on the surface, but the rich minority will still continue to exist, and grow, and it'll all happen again, but worse.

Best analogy I can think for the capitalist system is as follows:

Consider a tree in a tub of water. The water is used, and, no matter the size of the tub, eventually the water runs out. This is the capitalist model. Every spending chain sees a rise in price at each stage. Hence money goes up, and up, and up, to the top. It's utterly unsustainable, and frankly makes no sense. Money is a ridiculous concept. All this talk of trillions and billions and gazillions, etc. I wonder how much of it actually exists? Probably only a fraction of it. Hence money is an illusion for control. This is all on a large scale, of course.

Capitalism used to work quite well, but it's kind of reaching it's peak now.

I don't care a jot for communistic ideals or whatever, but Marx is clearly right. As the world advances, it's clear that automation and availability will reduce the need to work, yet we're still expected to work regardless. It's production and consumerism through culture, rather than necessity.

Sod it, here's a blog post I made in my Internet activist days:

https://stuartaitken.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/an-attempt-at-justifying-my-loss-on-the-concept-of-capitalism/
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Kradmelder
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 21:54 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hetzer wrote:
Any of the usual capitalist cheerleading fuckwits still want to tell me a cap on personal incomes is a bad idea? Oh, you think it's not that bad in the UK? How much not badder?

That is a fucking obscenity. While the poorest in this country are taking the biggest hits of anybody. Those with the least available to lose are having the most taken off them, while the likes of Cameron and Osbourne, a pair of been-nowhere, done-nothing, rich-boy parasites, live the lives of o'reilly and destroy the lives of millions.

Seriously, we need a major cataclysm, some kind of global catastrophe, to bring this rotten-to-the-core sewer to total collapse.


Income caps won't help. You get wealthy by making your income as low as possible and getting renumeration as perks. Stock options, company panes cars houses, fuel and travel allownaces, pay me less but give my wife and kids a salary etc.

I'm learning Smile . Learn or give your money to the tax man
____________________
2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

fatpies
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Mar 2011
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:00 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well the western world is quickly turning into an M shaped society.

Hetzer wrote:

Those with the least available to lose are having the most taken off them, while the likes of Cameron and Osbourne, a pair of been-nowhere, done-nothing, rich-boy parasites, live the lives of o'reilly and destroy the lives of millions.

Seriously, we need a major cataclysm, some kind of global catastrophe, to bring this rotten-to-the-core sewer to total collapse.




It is happening because when a lot of big business is doing is super short term and is is inherently self destructive. It is like Oroboros the snake which consumes its own tail.



Companies want to save money so they outsource, automate, they forget or ignore that employees and staff with wages also form much of their consumer base. Unfortunately they think it is somebody else's problem

So while shipping a ton of jobs to India saves them money in the short term and gives them a boost in profits.

It means people at home have less money because they are unemployed and buy less stuff, killing the profits.

Its a cycle of death, where companies see lower profits so cut costs even more, lay offs, automation. So the public have less money.

Consider why Asian countries have massive massive massive tarrifs on goods made overseas. They want to protect their workforces.
____________________
"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

mr jamez
World Chat Champion



Joined: 04 Aug 2003
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:03 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hetzer wrote:
Oh, you think it's not that bad in the UK? How much not badder?



I spent some time working in the chilterns last summer; inequality doesn't even begin to describe it Laughing
____________________
NSR 125F > BROS 400 > NC30 > BROS 400 > Trumpet S4 > '97 VFR 750
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

fatpies
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Mar 2011
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:06 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hetzer wrote:
Any of the usual capitalist


What we have is not capitalism btw, what we have now is Fascism, where the state has merged with the corporates.

We call it crony capitalism as a euphemism to hide its true nature i.e. fascism.

If we had capitalism, banks wouldn't be bailed out, the government wouldn't be subsidizing Tesco's wages either.

If we had true capitalism without all the things which make it fascism, everything would reach an equilibrium quite quickly.

Of course this might result in a few shanty towns springing up here and there. But a whole lot less gun pointing and demanding money with menaces.
____________________
"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:20 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

fatpies wrote:

What we have is not capitalism btw, what we have now is Fascism, where the state has merged with the corporates.



Bang-on, you don't have select private enterprises getting state-sponsored advantages in the free market.

You don't get reams of red-tape and regulation that cripple small/medium businesses yet can be absorbed into a big-business economy of scale.

All shit like "workfare", govt bailouts, working tax credits etc etc is all the state intervening in the world of trade, ie the opposite of a free-market.

It's not as if things like housing benefit don't actually put a floor on rents right?

It's not as if minimum wage laws don't depress employment?


EDIT: In the interest of a clear discussion, perhaps we should all actually state what we consider to be "capitalism". The word, along with "socialism", get bandied around so much that I'm sure lots of people have widely varying views on what it actually is.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:30 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

It would be interesting to do a global wealth chart along the same lines. Would be interesting to see how an american in "poverty" stacks up to the rest of the world.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Kradmelder
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:32 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

fatpies wrote:
Hetzer wrote:
Any of the usual capitalist


What we have is not capitalism btw, what we have now is Fascism, where the state has merged with the corporates.

We call it crony capitalism as a euphemism to hide its true nature i.e. fascism.

If we had capitalism, banks wouldn't be bailed out, the government wouldn't be subsidizing Tesco's wages either.

If we had true capitalism without all the things which make it fascism, everything would reach an equilibrium quite quickly.

Of course this might result in a few shanty towns springing up here and there. But a whole lot less gun pointing and demanding money with menaces.


You don't really have fascism. There is no dictatorial state control of industry geared to a national plan. You have socialism. NHS welfare, dole, state pensions, council housing, maternity benefits etc. interference in social issues

The social safety net

It certainly isn't pure capitalism.
____________________
2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:41 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does wealth inequality actually mean much now that the pie is so huge?

For instance, despite the "wealth gap" being bigger than ever before, in terms of the actual material goods and services people have access to, the people have more than ever before.

I know shit loads of poor people on the dole, with massive TV's, gaming consoles etc. Flights and holidays can be had for a few hundred quid. Loads of doley mates are rocking the latest iphones etc etc....

I'm a student with a total income of around £7.5k a year. I get no money from parents, student loan is my entire income for the year. Despite this, I still manage to buy myself a gaming pc, go abroad several times a year, go to festivals around Europe etc etc.

I have a wicked, action-packed life despite having a relatively tiny income by UK standards.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Kradmelder
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:50 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

smegballs wrote:
Does wealth inequality actually mean much now that the pie is so huge?

For instance, despite the "wealth gap" being bigger than ever before, in terms of the actual material goods and services people have access to, the people have more than ever before.

I know shit loads of poor people on the dole, with massive TV's, gaming consoles etc. Flights and holidays can be had for a few hundred quid. Loads of doley mates are rocking the latest iphones etc etc....

I'm a student with a total income of around £7.5k a year. I get no money from parents, student loan is my entire income for the year. Despite this, I still manage to buy myself a gaming pc, go abroad several times a year, go to festivals around Europe etc etc.

I have a wicked, action-packed life despite having a relatively tiny income by UK standards.


A poor person here with no income is starving, or living of granny. There is a pension for the old but like R1200 per month or something. No welfare. No council housing.

Some will have flat screens. Stolen from breaking in to whitey's home. But they never steal food. It is not so much the poorest blacks steaing, but more well off blacks who then sell it cheap to poor blacks.

If you go for holidays, buy consumer goods that aren't essential, you are not poor. You live better than when I was a student
____________________
2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:53 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kradmelder wrote:


If you go for holidays, buy consumer goods that aren't essential, you are not poor. You live better than when I was a student


I don't consider myself poor, why I called it a relatively tiny income. I do a lot with not much cash, yet I know people with a much higher income who always complain they are broke! I wonder what are they doing with their cash?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Kradmelder
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:01 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

smegballs wrote:
Kradmelder wrote:


If you go for holidays, buy consumer goods that aren't essential, you are not poor. You live better than when I was a student


I don't consider myself poor, why I called it a relatively tiny income. I do a lot with not much cash, yet I know people with a much higher income who always complain they are broke! I wonder what are they doing with their cash?


Perhaps they have a wife or GF.

Lol a black foreman in mozambique once told me after a payday weekend: eish baas, eef you like de wimmen, den you hev no mahney Laughing
____________________
2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:56 - 05 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6prvUkrOh4

Thomas Sowell laying down some free-market rounds!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Joncrete Cungle
World Chat Champion



Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 11:42 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

A bizzare mix of corporatism, fascism, statism with a hint of capitalism.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Kradmelder
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:07 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Joncrete Cungle wrote:
A bizzare mix of corporatism, fascism, statism with a hint of capitalism.


and you forgot a monarchy.
____________________
2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:59 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Calm down, hippes. Once you get past a certain point, "wealth" is just a number in a database. They can't possibly use the bulk of it to buy anything that you or I would want.

Buying tosspot art and chucking it straight in a bank vault is just a way of shuffling numbers around, it doesn't actually reduce what's available for the likes of us. If you took their "money" (i.e. numbers) and distributed it around the huddled masses, we wouldn't be any better off because we'd just charge each other more for our goods and services.

tl;dr uber rich hoarders are a handy deflationary measure.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Hetzer
Super Spammer



Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:05 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Calm down, hippes. Once you get past a certain point, "wealth" is just a number in a database. They can't possibly use the bulk of it to buy anything that you or I would want.



Well duh, yeah. The point is that up until that "certain point" they're buying a shedload of stuff that every one of us would like too...decent medical care, decent dental care, decent optical care, decent food, decent surroundings, decent mental-health benefits and a bunch of other stuff that prolongs their lives in very very good order.

For which they do a shedload less work than those who have relatively nothing do.

The rich aren't rich because they work harder, they're rich because they are vicious sociopathic exploitative parasites who manipulate the system they created in order to have the biggest and the bestest and the mostest of everything while contributing the leastest.

If we exterminated every one of them, and eradicated their genes from the pool, the world would be a far happier place. Immeasurably happier.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
N cee thirty This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:50 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

What do you consider to be rich/wealthy Hetzer?

For me rich is someone on 100k+ but still needs to work to maintain their (admittedly high) standard of living.

Wealthy is someone who could stop all work right this minute and still have enough in the bank to live out the rest of their lives in the lap of luxury.

Even a millionaire isn't actually that rich these days. Things like house prices also confuse the issue. Lots of people could sell their 350k house and have all that cash in the bank, but if they want to have another house, they too have to play the high cost of housing so that 350k isn't actually worth much if you don't want to be a hobo.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Hetzer
Super Spammer



Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:55 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rob Fzs wrote:
Hetzer wrote:


The rich aren't rich because they work harder, they're rich because they are vicious sociopathic exploitative parasites who manipulate the system they created in order to have the biggest and the bestest and the mostest of everything while contributing the leastest.



Whats wrong with that? not hurting anyone, better than doing say, what you did, and went in to a bank intending to rob peoples hard earned money with a shotgun that is only designed for one thing, unless you think you're Robin hood.


"Not hurting anyone"? Confused Are you retarded? Billions are malnourished or starving because of the system these scum have created. Dire poverty is a direct result of the few having the biggest and the bestest and the mostest of everything at the expense of the many. It's a system-failure of the first magnitude, if you believe a system should give everyone an equal chance of happiness.

As for robbing "hard earned money"...the money in a bank isn't real, neither does it belong to individuals. Or do you really think Mr Joe Bloggs goes to check his balance and finds it empty because the bank got blagged? Brick Wall Laughing

But regardless of that, it's not nice frightening cashiers. I was young and stupid. Sue me.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"


Last edited by Hetzer on 15:07 - 06 Mar 2013; edited 1 time in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 15:03 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rob Fzs wrote:
with a shotgun that is only designed for one thing


The make specialised bank robbing shotguns these days?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Hetzer
Super Spammer



Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 15:05 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

smegballs wrote:
What do you consider to be rich/wealthy Hetzer?

For me rich is someone on 100k+ but still needs to work to maintain their (admittedly high) standard of living.

Wealthy is someone who could stop all work right this minute and still have enough in the bank to live out the rest of their lives in the lap of luxury.

Even a millionaire isn't actually that rich these days. Things like house prices also confuse the issue. Lots of people could sell their 350k house and have all that cash in the bank, but if they want to have another house, they too have to play the high cost of housing so that 350k isn't actually worth much if you don't want to be a hobo.


Obscenely rich is having more in hand than could be spent in the rest of a lifetime, even if multiple houses were bought.

Wealthy is having the best of everything on a regular basis, short of multiple houses.

And both of the above without having to do 40 hours per week of course.

I don't envy any rich person who is rich only so long as he's doing 40 hours per week of real work. That's not really rich, not if you have all the money but little chance to enjoy it.

But then we get into definitions of 'work'. A lot of rich people pretend to work, but they're actually doing bugger all, they're just posing and feeding their egos off the attention of their employees. Pop stars, sports stars and film stars, they don't work, they get paid obscene amounts of money for the pleasure of having their egos fed. I know it's said they give pleasure to millions, but it's an accidental byproduct of them pleasuring themselves in the occupation they've been lucky enough to find. Intent is everything.

The graph of wealth distribution should be on an extremely modest inclination, if not completely flat. But unfortunately we have to give consideration to human nature. But there's consideration and there's the obscene pisstake we have now. It needs to end.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Hetzer
Super Spammer



Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 15:08 - 06 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

smegballs wrote:
Rob Fzs wrote:
with a shotgun that is only designed for one thing


The make specialised bank robbing shotguns these days?


The blagger does, by sawing off the butt and barrels. Laughing
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 13 years, 162 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> Politics & Current Affairs All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 

Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.22 Sec - Server Load: 1.17 - MySQL Queries: 16 - Page Size: 143.34 Kb