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Why do you think there is such a range of acheivement and wealth in America? It seem like we are a nation of the obese and ultramarathoners, nonintellectuals and super scholars, working poor and uber rich,etc., etc.
It seems to affect the political process strongly. Although most Americans would consider themselves much more strongly egalitarian than the Europeans, which a feudal system, we are nonetheless highly stratified.
The mean means little. The median American is most of us, and that person is cash poor, debt laden, and worried. I guess I am wondering why we have allowed such tremendous inequalities to develop in our country. Economically, but in many other dimensions of human achievement.
It seems to me that Canada, the European, and East Asian countries are more equal, whereas Latin American is even more extreme. It seems to be that we are heading toward the latter. Do you agree, disagree? And where do you think we are headed?
Well, I know in my grand father's case he already had money before he
got here. A lot of the new money in America was old money from somewhere
else. That is why they started the estate tax in the first place. And like the
old saying: the rich get richer - it's usually true.
Because we are a diverse nation. Not everyone shares the same dream. To some, success is a little home in the country where they live with love and time to share. For others success is a penthouse and a high profile position. Nothing wrong with either dream....they are just different.
well with a population of around 310 million people, did you really expect us to be overly rich or overly poor. I think there is a good mix of both, at least for now there is.
Why do you think there is such a range of acheivement and wealth in America? It seem like we are a nation of the obese and ultramarathoners, nonintellectuals and super scholars, working poor and uber rich,etc., etc.
It seems to affect the political process strongly. Although most Americans would consider themselves much more strongly egalitarian than the Europeans, which a feudal system, we are nonetheless highly stratified.
The mean means little. The median American is most of us, and that person is cash poor, debt laden, and worried. I guess I am wondering why we have allowed such tremendous inequalities to develop in our country. Economically, but in many other dimensions of human achievement.
It seems to me that Canada, the European, and East Asian countries are more equal, whereas Latin American is even more extreme. It seems to be that we are heading toward the latter. Do you agree, disagree? And where do you think we are headed?
Well I can only speak for myself and my family and friends and none of us are what you describe. We are happy, financially secure, content families. Raising our children and contributing to our communities.
You know what worries me? When people make these sweeping generlzations. There are millions of people in this country you have no idea what the "majority" is and what their lives are like.
Thanks for the posts. I suppose I was wondering why we have different profiles of wealth and achievement. In America, it seems like relatively few have spectacular wealth and most are living paycheck to paycheck. In some other countries the lifestyles are more egalitarian. In still others, the Banana Republic cliche applies. It seems like the laissez faire model of America produced a pretty broad middle class in the last century, but we are now heading toward the Banana Republic model.
However, I will also add that America seems to me an unusual blend of slackers and zealots. Most people won't exercise much at all, whereas for some it becomes a religion. Others eat curly fries, whereas others are militant vegans. Most of us live fairly unhealthy lifestyles day to day, whereas some are health nuts. Most are awash in consumer debt, others are thrifty. In most comparisons, Americans seem to be scoring low for fundamental self-management. In other countries it seems like common sense is more common. You don't brag about eating healthy and exercising everyday, it is expected.
Thanks for the posts. I suppose I was wondering why we have different profiles of wealth and achievement. In America, it seems like relatively few have spectacular wealth and most are living paycheck to paycheck. In some other countries the lifestyles are more egalitarian. In still others, the Banana Republic cliche applies. It seems like the laissez faire model of America produced a pretty broad middle class in the last century, but we are now heading toward the Banana Republic model.
However, I will also add that America seems to me an unusual blend of slackers and zealots. Most people won't exercise much at all, whereas for some it becomes a religion. Others eat curly fries, whereas others are militant vegans. Most of us live fairly unhealthy lifestyles day to day, whereas some are health nuts. Most are awash in consumer debt, others are thrifty. In most comparisons, Americans seem to be scoring low for fundamental self-management. In other countries it seems like common sense is more common. You don't brag about eating healthy and exercising everyday, it is expected.
Because we have (had) the freedom to do pretty much, literally, most anything we wanted. Some chose a path that found them success, others tip toed on the path of misery, others chose the most easy path.
Most countries in the world are poor. Their citizens are more equal than ours. Equality should only be important in the fact that any law that is passed, must apply to each citizen equally. That is called being given an equal opportunity. We do not have that anymore. Have not for a long time. The fake money has given a last hoorah. Now, the laws are only meant to advantage one and disadvantage another.
Why do you think there is such a range of acheivement and wealth in America? It seem like we are a nation of the obese and ultramarathoners, nonintellectuals and super scholars, working poor and uber rich,etc., etc.
It seems to affect the political process strongly. Although most Americans would consider themselves much more strongly egalitarian than the Europeans, which a feudal system, we are nonetheless highly stratified.
The mean means little. The median American is most of us, and that person is cash poor, debt laden, and worried. I guess I am wondering why we have allowed such tremendous inequalities to develop in our country. Economically, but in many other dimensions of human achievement.
It seems to me that Canada, the European, and East Asian countries are more equal, whereas Latin American is even more extreme. It seems to be that we are heading toward the latter. Do you agree, disagree? And where do you think we are headed?
It's a little "thing" I like to call FREEDOM. Freedom to excel, freedom to prosper, freedom to do what you wish with your life.
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