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Our Constitutional Republic was never designed for equal outcomes, only equal opportunities. So if someone wants to be an astronaut and someone else want to be a manual laborer, they have the opportunity to be as ambitious or as laid back as they want.
Of course we are not set up for people to choose to be dependent on the government even though many generations(especially since the 60's) have completely decided they are "entitled" to other peoples money (i.e. taxpayers money).
There comes a time when people (you know the type) who slacked off or dropped out of high school, must pay the price.
It should be left to those who did the right thing to work for themselves and the slug of society. So this liberal minded Utopian notion that income inequality must be fixed, is just that, a dream.
Make people who are collecting welfare and the like learn a trade (whether they like it or not) such as carpenter, plumber, etc. If they refuse, cut off the free supply of money. At bare minimum they should be forced to volunteer to help society by cleaning up refuse on the sides of roads and in their neighborhoods. This rather than watching TV, texting, Facebooking, and being lazy unproductive burdens on taxpayers.
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And what if someone wants to go to med school or law school but can't afford it? Not so equal opportunity?
What do you make of the graph below? Anything interesting pop out at you?
Actually the complaining is long overdue. There should have been a serious protest in the 80s that would have nipped this BS (escalating income and wealth disparity) in the bud.
What do I make of the graph? Well, the provider is a classic Eurostyle left-wing collectivist-statist who is a professor of economics at UCal Berkeley and is the Director of the Center of Equitable Growth!
So I make of it what it is: A false, biased, agenda-driven piece of trash. Figures don't lie, but liars figure...
Last edited by Marc Paolella; 04-02-2015 at 07:39 PM..
No I don't think the Yen is battling inflation or has any stability issues. How is that relevant?
You were the one that said "we can't print money."
Quote:
Originally Posted by rruff
Now show me a country with high inflation that doesn't have serious issues.
Who said printing money causes high inflation? Printing money is not the core cause of inflation. Printing money is offset by raising interest rates, which we also control.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rruff
It's good to remember that at the end of the day, aggregate prosperity cannot increase unless aggregate productivity increases. The issuers of currency cannot create this by simply printing more. If they do print more and aggregate productivity doesn't change, then the currency will be worth less.
Where did I mention aggregate prosperity and productivity? Currency is just a medium of exchange. Nothing more, nothing less.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rruff
High inflation is bad because it increases the cost of borrowing and investing in capital goods... productive capital. It also tends to be highly erratic which contributes to risk.
High inflation is almost as bad as deflation. Too bad high inflation is not a realistic scenario. We can't say the same about the latter.
And what if someone wants to go to med school or law school but can't afford it? Not so equal opportunity?
Wanting something does not create a right. If you are good enough and smart enough, you can gain a full scholarship to law school or med school by displaying excellence in your high school years.
If you can't, and you have no money, you are not entitled to become a lawyer or doctor. That is as it should be. Go to work and save money for 10 years, then you can enter Uni at 30 and perhaps have your dream on a delayed basis.
And if someone else was lucky and has rich parents? Too bad. That's life. Bad luck does not create rights. You will have to work harder to achieve your dream, and it will take longer. But perhaps that will make you a better doctor or lawyer since you are passion driven rather than following a path laid out for and paid for by your parents and idle expectations. In which case you will pass that person in professional life and have the last laugh.
NO RIGHTS OR OBLIGATIONS are created by luck, good or bad.
I'm not going to teach you Econ 101, but our debt must be continually "turned over" and the interest keeps compounding. This is a basic, uspnsustainable model. (try it with your credit cards some time.)
Your mindles, pointless attempt at an insult aside....
(again: I point out you have NO PLAN, you just "want free money"!
And what if someone wants to go to med school or law school but can't afford it? Not so equal opportunity?
Well first of all, all kids can get a free education K-12 via taxpayers funding it. Personally I think trade schools (with an obligation to pay it back if employed within 10 years) should also be funded for those who wish to learn a trade (i.e. carpenter, mechanic, etc.).
Most people cannot afford higher education like law/med without financial assistance in the form of student loans which are expected to be paid back. Also many schools offer grants and financial aid directly from the schools via endowments as such. Also if the student took HS and under grad seriously, they can get academic scholarships. Yet I know several people who worked several jobs while going to med school, and went on to be successful. So it can be done, even if you are poor.
However most people are not smart enough, motivated/disciplined enough to hack it in law or med. Lets face it, not every little Johnny & Susie are cut out for high end education. If our school system were better are steering kids toward what they have an aptitude for, more people would have realistic career goals.
Scandinavian countries also have large sovereign wealth funds from years of savings from North Sea hydrocarbon royalties.
Certainly not all of them. And the US beats most of them in per capita GDP. The difference is that all of our gains for the last 40 years have gone to a very few. We'd be nearly twice as rich now in real terms if the % gains had been evenly distributed.
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