[Phacops]

Wow! What troll would think that equal proportions for two ends of an income distribution are actually equivalent unless the Gini coefficient = 1.00?

Somebody hasn't actually traveled outside the USA in a while. We are looking more like a banana republic than a developed nation. The EU is eating our lunch when it comes to quality of education, transportation, manufacturing, health care, engineering, vacation time and many more metrics while the USA is the nation fading into mediocrity.

[Siberia]

Originally Posted by Phacops

Wow! What troll would think that equal proportions for two ends of an income distribution are actually equivalent unless the Gini coefficient = 1.00?

Gini coefficient=0 for perfect income equality...not gini=1 (that would be one person obtains all income).

And please explain how a "troll" can be defined as the one who started the thread to begin with?

Siberia

[Phacops]

You are correct: my error. Looks like USA's inequality is rising towards that of Mexico: such a great example for us to emulate.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by jimdhen

A well-written satire or you are in the wrong country. Communists and Socialists have tried this and it failed. You want the government to decide how to spend my money so others can enjoy the ride. I rather like the "economic whip" thanks.

Wow, what year is this again!? We have "socialized" police and fire services, "socialized" schools -- OK that's a bad example -- and "socialized" libraries and road maintenance, unimportant stuff like that, and I would like to see you go without those Communist institutions. Just because the USSR ran everything badly doesn't mean public funding never works. Now that the USSR is gone, Russia STILL runs everything badly. It's part of a total lifestyle choice for them.

Example: Communism made China over from a feudal system with grinding poverty, an atrocious infant mortality rate and an institutionalized class of beggars to a modern, well-fed, fully-employed, safe, clean if humbly-funded country that recently finally decided it was ready to move into capitalism. Communism is what made it ultimately possible for them to be kicking our tails now! Why? Because we are still, in a lot of ways, where they were before their revolution.