• grte@lemmy.ca
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    16 hours ago

    Wealth inequality is something that people that don’t understand how money works talk about. Whether or not someone else is richer than you has nothing to do with how rich you are. It’s not a measure that has any particular value.

    Absolutely insane, ridiculous thing to believe. Obviously increasing wealth inequality matters a lot because it allows for those holding onto large amounts of wealth to outcompete greater and greater swathes of the population for resources. Which they are clearly doing as the average person’s purchasing power goes down. Pretending like it doesn’t matter is the most obvious propaganda from those benefiting from the status quo that one wonders how anyone could fall for it.

    And reactionary politics absolutely follows from our financial system because that same wealth inequality and lowered purchasing power makes people, unsurprisingly, mad. And a lot of those mad people start looking for answers, many in reactionary places. I’ll point to the MAGA movement in the US as a pretty obvious ongoing example.

    • Foxer@lemmy.ca
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      14 hours ago

      You have a fundamentally flawed view of what wealth is. Well isn’t a thing. It’s not like there’s a limited amount of wealthonium in the world and whoever holds it gets it and nobody else does. That’s not how it works.

      Wealth is created through activity. Without the activity there is no wealth. Therefore the supply of wealth is endless, the problems usually come with limits or issues with the activity

      So no, increasing wealth inequity is not the issue. The issue is that people are struggling harder and harder to be able to do enough activity that’s worth enough value to be able to get what they want. That’s true whether there are wealthy people or not

      So the underlying issue is that the middle class and poor class aren’t able to create enough wealth to meet their needs and that has nothing to do with the wealthy. You don’t address that by worrying about what the wealthier doing, you address that by creating more opportunity for the middle class and the poor. And funny enough to do that you need the help of the wealthy which they are more than happy to give if they feel that it will be successful

      Right now the tax burden and other burdens on the middle class prevent any disposable income or time that would allow for them to increase the value of their skills or begin to acquire assets and that is the problem. The wealthy are not excited about starting new businesses or educational opportunities that would fix this because they see the country as failing

      And no reactionary politics does not follow from financial systems in the slightest.

      • grte@lemmy.ca
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        14 hours ago

        You have a fundamentally flawed view of what wealth is. Well isn’t a thing. It’s not like there’s a limited amount of wealthonium in the world and whoever holds it gets it and nobody else does. That’s not how it works.

        Wealth is created through activity. Without the activity there is no wealth. Therefore the supply of wealth is endless, the problems usually come with limits or issues with the activity

        This is silly. Wealth is not zero sum, but it’s also not infinite. The reality is, Canada’s economy will grow (assuming no recession) 0-3% in any given year, maybe 4-5% if it’s a real barn burner of a year. If the top wealth bracket’s wealth grows at a rate larger than that, it’s because they are taking resources from the rest of us who’s wealth did not grow at that rate.

        So yes, increasing wealth inequality is the issue. Neoclassical economics might as well be astrology for all dumb assumptions it makes.

        • Foxer@lemmy.ca
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          11 hours ago

          That’s basic economics. Had you gone to a real school to study this stuff you might have realized it. Wealth is infinite, our capacity to generate it is limited. Your comment is no different than if somebody were to say there is a finite amount of kinetic energy in the universe. That’s just not how it works

          I know the wealthy aren’t taking any resources from the rest of us. Wealthier in a position where they can create wealth at a higher and more effective rate. But interestingly enough that wealth creation actually benefits us and we make more than we would have as a result of it, not less

          I’m afraid if you’re poor it’s your own damn fault you can’t blame it on anyone else. You have every bit as much of potential to increase your wealth and become extremely wealthy as anyone else and if that was your primary focus in life you could certainly do that. While it takes a lot of work it’s not terribly hard.

          • grte@lemmy.ca
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            11 hours ago

            Wealth is infinite, our capacity to generate it is limited.

            Then talking about infinite wealth in the context of the actual world we live in is fucking stupid!

            Almost as stupid as comparing the study of economics, a soft science, to physics.

            • Foxer@lemmy.ca
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              10 hours ago

              No it’s not, god it’s like talking to A four-year-old.

              The wealth is infinite. There can’t be a shortage of it. Our capacity can be limited. Therefore when we’re talking about the real world that we live in it is dumb to talk about wealth as if there’s a shortage and it makes sense to discuss capacity to create wealth.

              Can you just not smart enough to have this conversation I’m sorry. I’m trying my best here but you keep making statements that are absolutely asinine because you have fallen in love with this idea that somehow there’s this limited supply of wealth out there and someone’s hoarding it and that’s why you don’t have any. That’s just not how it works

              • grte@lemmy.ca
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                8 hours ago

                There can’t be a shortage of it. Our capacity can be limited.

                Yes, we are finite beings in a finite world. The idea of infinite wealth in that context is absurd. I understand what you are saying, I just think it is stupid.

                You seem to think your field of study is based on study of the natural world rather than founded on assumptions. As though what you are saying is natural law. It isn’t.

                • Foxer@lemmy.ca
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                  6 hours ago

                  The beings are finite but the wealth is not. I don’t know how to explain this more simply. If you fall into the ocean there’s only so much water you can drink so your ability is finite but from a practical point of view the water is infant.

                  This is extremely simple, the point is the limit is the person not the wealth

                  And no I’m just trying to find a way to explain it to you that will make it easier for you to get your head around. Honestly I’ve never had this kind of trouble explaining this concept to someone. My mother gets this.

                  Bottom line is that your lack of wealth is not because somebody else is hoarding wealth.