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There's even a link to the research on which that Washington Post article is based. It includes numerous additional citations. Again... read and learn.
Why not? People get a lot in return, else Scandinavia would not be at the top of almost all rankings.
You're talking about three homogeneous nation-State kingdoms, and a republic (who except for the Lapps is homogeneous).
The populations of those homogeneous nation-States are smaller than US cities.
Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) has more people than Norway. That's one US county out of 3,007 US counties.
The currencies of those homogeneous nation-States are not the de facto international currency of trade, nor the de facto international reserve currency.
Those homogeneous nation-States are defended and protected by the tax-payers of the US, while spending virtually nothing on their own defense.
You can only compare things that are similar in nature.
It's disingenuous and propagandistic to compare three tiny homogeneous nation-State kingdoms to a heterogeneous republic whose population is 35 times larger than theirs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
I disagree, reducing the elite's wealth will reduce its power and influence.
Then you haven't studied history.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
It doesn't matter that we are in 2019 instead of 1960. There is no justification for such an absurd income inequality.
Yes, it does matter.
In 1971, there were 333 multinational enterprises in the World.
Today, there are more than 38,000....more than 114 times more.
The Supply of CEOs -- those persons who have the education, training, experience and knowledge -- to manage a multinational corporation is very, very low, while the Demand for such persons is incredibly high.
That's why their wages are high.
A irrefutable fact I pointed out which you ignored is that the US can no longer look only in the US for CEOs, it must look throughout the entire World to get the very best, and that's why a number of CEOs for US multinational enterprises are foreign-born and not US citizens.
Your bias shows, because you don't have an issue with athletes, entertainers or others who earn more than CEOs.
They get paid those high wages for the exact same reason CEOs do: Supply & Demand.
Yes, there are good reasons why there are fewer and fewer countries left that have a flat tax. It is simply unfair...
European countries have flatter tax brackets, which the US Fed Gov should adopt. Put more taxpayers in the top tax bracket like European countries do to widen the tax base and generate more tax revenue. Also, if the US implemented a 20%-25% VAT tax like European countries have on TOP of the flatter tax brackets, we could afford more Euro-style social program benefits. BUT... most Americans would have to pay FAR more in federal taxes for that and I can guarantee you they won't agree to it. The American middle class whines about paying next to nothing in federal income tax as it is.
FYI... Americans with a household income of $50,000 to $100,000 only pay, on average, about a 3% effective federal income tax rate. Read the chart on page 10: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45145.pdf
What's worse: getting little because the money is given to managers and stockholders instead, or getting little because the money goes to the state, which at least gives something back to you via the services it provides you with?
Do you know who the stockholders are in the US?
100+ million US workers and retirees have $28 trillion invested in their pensions and their retirement accounts. THEY are stockholders. THEY own corporate debt. THEY are investors. If they don't profit from their investments, they don't get their promised defined benefit pensions, or enough growth in their retirement accounts to be able to draw an adequate amount in their retirement.
You really going to resurrect and repeat all this stuff yet again? Any chance of expanding your bandwidth of perspective and consideration an iota?
You yourself said the banks which were bailed out with loans paid back those loans. So... when are Fannie and Freddie going to pay back the $1.62 trillion they owe the Federal Reserve for the MBS they issued?
Those MBS will just roll off the Federal Reserve's H.4.1 as they mature, paid or not. We'll never know because the Federal Reserve doesn't have to recognize or state losses. They just reduce/erase the line item on their H.4.1. Meanwhile, $2 trillion worth of QE created out of thin air was artificially pumped into the US economy.
Oh, and just for grins... Tens of thousands of mortgage borrowers, if not more, will get their homes for free as this all continues to play out and their mortgage debt just rolls off the Federal Reserve's H.4.1, unpaid...
You're talking about three homogeneous nation-State kingdoms, and a republic (who except for the Lapps is homogeneous).
The populations of those homogeneous nation-States are smaller than US cities.
Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) has more people than Norway. That's one US county out of 3,007 US counties.
The currencies of those homogeneous nation-States are not the de facto international currency of trade, nor the de facto international reserve currency.
Those homogeneous nation-States are defended and protected by the tax-payers of the US, while spending virtually nothing on their own defense.
You can only compare things that are similar in nature.
It's disingenuous and propagandistic to compare three tiny homogeneous nation-State kingdoms to a heterogeneous republic whose population is 35 times larger than theirs.
Then you haven't studied history.
Yes, it does matter.
In 1971, there were 333 multinational enterprises in the World.
Today, there are more than 38,000....more than 114 times more.
The Supply of CEOs -- those persons who have the education, training, experience and knowledge -- to manage a multinational corporation is very, very low, while the Demand for such persons is incredibly high.
That's why their wages are high.
A irrefutable fact I pointed out which you ignored is that the US can no longer look only in the US for CEOs, it must look throughout the entire World to get the very best, and that's why a number of CEOs for US multinational enterprises are foreign-born and not US citizens.
Your bias shows, because you don't have an issue with athletes, entertainers or others who earn more than CEOs.
They get paid those high wages for the exact same reason CEOs do: Supply & Demand.
If anybody, the athletes, actors and entertainers truly don’t deserve their sky high pay. They produce absolutely nothing of value.
Yes of course people need to be responsible for their own decisions, but this does not mean that people should not do something about helping children born into poverty, for example. Or that we can't or should not do what we can to improve the quality of life (with better education, health care, etc) for all concerned.
Two very different areas of focus in any case!
You want to teach people, young adults, older adults, how to be responsible. Fine.
You want to teach people how to overcome the challenges of poverty?
How to address the challenges that infants/children born into poverty must face?
That's another matter altogether, especially as a practical matter!
What makes you think I don’t understand?
It’s not my job or the government’s to teach people how to be responsible for their own decisions. Their own parents should do that.
People should do something to help others as long as it’s done voluntarily.
Forcing other people at gunpoint to pay for your own living expense, healthcare, education and child rearing is slavery.
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