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Wealth Inequality in America

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Classic, Mar 13, 2013.

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  1. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    It's relatively easy to get into the 1%, just enter one of these professions that that has room for only .00001% of the population!
     
  2. StupidMoniker

    StupidMoniker I lost a bet

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    One would intuit that all things being equal you have about a 1/100 chance of being in the top 1%.:p
     
  3. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    Nice straw man, care to comment intelligently?
     
  4. pirc1

    pirc1 Member

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    if you are born in the top 1%, your chance of making in the 1% is >>>50%. If you are born in the bottom 25%, your chance of making the 1% is <<< 0.1%.
     
  5. juicystream

    juicystream Member

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    His post did say all things being equal. I think everyone knows where you begin has a huge effect on where you end.
     
  6. pirc1

    pirc1 Member

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    I know he did, just saying things are never equal.
     
  7. juicystream

    juicystream Member

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    And I guess I should have added an exception that everyone understands that, except for ling ling.
     
  8. pirc1

    pirc1 Member

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    Since when did they allow Pandas to get on the web? :p
     
  9. ling ling

    ling ling Member

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    You want me to show you the full math equation?
     
  10. Major

    Major Member

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    What is the benefit of seeing the math equation of a stupid idea? :confused: The better solution would be addressing the stupidity of your idea.
     
  11. Northside Storm

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    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    LING LING
     
  12. FranchiseBlade

    Supporting Member

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    The answer to that equation is easy. The answer is clearly to become an NBA player.
     
  13. ling ling

    ling ling Member

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    the CEO of McD makes $9M. The vast majority of their employees make near minimum wage.

    You say that is too much unequality.

    Show me how you can make that more equitable.
     
  14. Northside Storm

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    1) by charging a higher marginal income tax rate, and investing in health, infrastructure, and education for all
    2) by regulating financial instruments that have become casinos for the rich only, and democratizing access to markets, including those previously exclusively reserved to venture capitalists (looking to equity crowdfunding as an example)
    3) by charging a higher inheritance tax, and applying training to bridge the skills gap, as well as longer unemployment insurance, so that workers are trained for jobs tailored to their newly acquired skills
    4) by opening borders, and restrictions on labour, such that human beings can flow as freely as capital can
    5) by reducing regulatory capture, and mitigating the revolving door of government with fairer (read lower) private sector compensation linked to stakeholder needs, and reversing the importance of money in public elections. This is especially the case on, and with, Wall Street.
    6) by insuring there is universal healthcare for all, given at a fair price, so as to mitigate the poor who cannot afford medical bills, and sink into bankruptcy (about 50% of bankruptices originating from medical bills)
    7) by aligning private incentives with social incentives. A cleaner environment, and oil left over for the grand-children, for example, is something to be desired for all that is not 100% properly captured in private markets at the moment

    *that which cannot be funded with increased income/inheritance taxes can be funded by decreasing the military budget, carbon tax, reducing the prison population (through say legalizing certain substances), Tobin tax on financial transactions, reducing the inefficiencies and costs inherent in the American healthcare system and etc.

    LING LING
     
    1 person likes this.
  15. Major

    Major Member

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    No one has claimed just giving the CEO's salary to employees fixes the problem - except you, in your attempt to create a strawman. If this wasn't a strawman and is actually the real limit to your thinking ability, you might actually have the simplest mind of anyone on here - and that's sad given some of the stupid things that have been argued on this board.

    BTW, McDonalds Corporation and their owners make many, many billions of dollars.
     
  16. ling ling

    ling ling Member

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    Who is the corporation? It could be you or me. Buy a share and you too can get earnings from it. 1 share @ $100 could get you $5 in earnings.

    Ps. Owners don't make billions.
     
  17. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    It was a silly hypothetical, a position that nobody has taken, which you made up specifically for the purpose of arguing against. I presume this is because you can't address the topic in an intellectually honest manner, but I will again give you an opportunity to stop arguing against a straw man and instead address the fact that our society has more income inequality than at any time since the 1920s, a situation which is getting worse and bodes poorly for the fate of our economy.
     
  18. ling ling

    ling ling Member

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    There is a bucket of money that goes to salary.

    Show me how you would make the income more equitable.
     
  19. Major

    Major Member

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    Yes, true and irrelevant.

    I said the corporation and the owners. The corporation itself had $8 billion in profits last year. If I did my math correctly, they have approximately 1 billion shares, and had dividends of about $2.80 last year, meaning they distributed $2.8 billion to the owners.

    Then you add in the franchisees - McDonalds has approximately 34,000 stores, of which more than 80% are franchised - that's about 28,000 stores. If each store generates just $50,000 in profits, that would be $1.4 billion in annual profits to owners.

    So yes, the owners do make billions - whether looking just at corporate owners or franchise owners.

    Back to the original topic, McDonalds has about 450,000 US employees. If you took $1 billion of their $8 billion in corporate profits, you could increase everyone's salaries by over $2,000. That may or may not be fair or reasonable, but it would certainly reduce income inequality, unlike your nonsense argument.
     
  20. Baba Booey

    Baba Booey Member

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    This comment takes the prize for most idiotic thing I have ever read in the D&D. Congrats!

    Want to get into the top 1%? Just start investing. Wait...you don't have any money to invest? Just go into the NBA or join the PGA Tour. Problems solved!
     

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