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does it matter? what should the rich ones do? Hand over a bag of cash to every poor person they see? who will no doubt them moan that they don't want charity?

 

People should just get on with their lives and stop being so bloody envious of those who have more than they do because I'm sure if the roles were reversed; they wouldn't be handing over their cash either

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Yes it does matter Baz, and not for the moral reasons that are apparent; but for more practical economic reasons. In order to rejuvenate the economy all that wealth locked up in assets, earning ever more wealth; needs to be in circulation, being spent by the 99%; with demand creating employment, the employed paying taxes, and taxes providing public services (like the NHS); thus improving the wellbeing of all.  After all, we were told "we're all in it together". !

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Yes it does matter Baz, and not for the moral reasons that are apparent; but for more practical economic reasons. In order to rejuvenate the economy all that wealth locked up in assets, earning ever more wealth; needs to be in circulation, being spent by the 99%; with demand creating employment, the employed paying taxes, and taxes providing public services (like the NHS); thus improving the wellbeing of all.  After all, we were told "we're all in it together". !

 

we are talking about world wealth.... not just Britain. And what would you propose? just taking it off people a la the French Revolution? It might have re-distributed a bit of cash for a short period of time but it soon found its natural balance again

 

Remember when our countries assets; British Telecom, British Gas etc were all sold off? Millions of ordinary people bought shares.... as soon as the price went up even slightly, most sold them for a quick buck. They were bought by a few individuals and organisations that were quick to recognise a long term investment, whereas the ordinary bloke in the street just wanted to make a few extra quid to spend in the bookies and to buy a new whippet

 

That is what happens

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Of course Baz, if uncontrolled, wealth will always gravitate to the few; that's the point of a redistributive tax system; keeps the merry go round going round. PJ just in case you've missed it; NO political party has the policies or the bottle necessary to deal with this issue, which is both national and international;; so no choice there, thus not an electoral issue.

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Don't know who Suzanne Moore is, but I can guess.  Anyway, she has it the wrong way around, inequality is inevitable, some people will always get up at 6:00 am and put in a shift, others will lie around the house and drink beer, it's been that way since time began, it's human nature.  Until there is 100% equal effort there will always be unequal rewards.

Re-distributions other name  -  'Social engineering', I guess Ms Moore doesn't know that.

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http://lmgtfy.com/?q=suzanne+moore

 

You've heard of Christine Lagarde though haven't you? Even she's worried:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27595151

 

Until there is 100% equal effort there will always be unequal rewards.

 

So, you reckon all those dodgy bankers worked hard for and deserved all their squillions in bonuses?

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Slight difference Tex between the willingness or otherwise of the 99% to work; and the amassing of wealth by the 1% - as the saying goes "money makes money"; no effort required. We're talking of folk with fortunes of around £80 billion, not your average Tory who thinks he's worth a lot !

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No matter what tax rate is put on the rich their accountants will find offshore accounts etc. to dump their ill gotten gains in to avoid the tax.  If tangible assets of the rich were taxed they can't move those brick by brick to the Cayman Islands.  So tax the mansions, don't cut the tax on them as a certain party proposes.  Tax breaks on listed properties, Flat rates of income tax and the abolition of inheritance tax are not policies designed to start to reduce the inequalities between rich and poor.

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Yes they probably did work hard.  If being a banker is so easy, go be a banker.  It's easy to pick specific examples and turn them into general facts.  The point is, stop moaning about ' the rich' and demanding a piece of their rewards, go out and bust ass trying to be one of them.  There are people who were born rich - good luck to them, but the majority of wealthy people worked damned hard for what they have and nobody has the right to strip them of it, over and above the norm.  Anyway, that's my opinion and I know that it won't convince any die hard redistributionist, nothing will.  As my father always said : A man convinced against his will, is not convinced at all.  Don't know who said it originally, but I like it.

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As the US is "the richest Nation on earth" as you put it, it stands to reason that the poverty line will be drawn slightly higher than somewhere like, for example, Somalia. In other words being below the poverty line in the US is not the same as being "poor" in world terms.

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Sounds bad doesn't it?  However, and you know it's been surveyed, below the poverty line in the US means only two cars, only one house, a cell phone (if you don't have one, the govt will provide one free), a 60" tv, food stamps and an electronic welfare card.   Most of the stories that you read in the press involve drug ravished neighborhoods and people who have turned being 'poor' into a profession.  There are, as in any country, single parent families who struggle to make ends meet and that's who the welfare system should help.  However, with the babies born out of wedlock in the black precincts standing at 70% and at 40% in the white precincts, at the end of the day, you have to ask, who is to blame for their predicament?  

You are quite right, you will never convince me and as I said, I'll never convince you, we both have opinions and that's how it is.  You might convince someone not to bet on the grey horse but to change and bet on the white horse, but you will never change anyones deep seated views on major topics.

Just for the record, I am not one of the 1%, I started my working life as an appentice fitter at the British Aluminum Company and later, for two years, I was the Chairman of the joint union committee when I worked at Electro Hydraulics, I even headed up a 'withdrawal of labor' there, standing on a low wall convicing the membership to follow us.  Thankfully, I finally came  to my senses. lol.

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Yes Asp. it's all relative; but while the 99% argue amongst themselves, the 1% continue to get richer. Even Obama recognises this in his state of the Union address, not that he'll get anywhere with increasing taxes on the rich, against a Republican dominated Congress. Tex, any country that can't, or won't look after it's own, can't claim to be civilised imo; the wellbeing of it's citizens being the primary importance of Government.

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Did you leave three zeros out of that one Asp?!    Differentials are a relative term - globally the richest may have a higher representation in the "developed" world - hence the mad scramble by migrants to attain "a better life" by getting here - yet another reason for wealth redistribution. Unfortunately, international organisations like the UN, are totally incapable of achieving it. 

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No I didn't "leave three zeros out" funny man. And if you look at what is happening in the real world people world-wide are being lifted out of poverty, slowly but surely. The only thing standing in the way of the third world improvement is the environmental movement (and the UN for that matter) which would like to deny them electrical generation and keep them in the poverty to which they have become accustomed.

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