Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We should all be jealous of other people’s money. That makes us stronger together. One day we will band together and take what should be ours even we never earned it from those who actually earned.
I think the federal government does that now, it started with the great society in the 1960's. Welfare expenditures are over $400b a year.
Again.....this thread was about hard-working, disciplined people who end up in the top 10% in networth. But right on cue, liberals jump to demonize billionaires. Anything to deflect from the fact that just about any average person who makes the right choices and exercises discipline can end up in the top 10%.
The OP asked “does it matter...”
I answered why I think it does.
Not sure what thread topic the above response is meant to address but it isn’t what the OP asked.
That is certainly not true at all, middle class wages are not keeping up with cost of living, home prices, rent. Millennials and others do not fare as well as baby boomers.
Strictly anecdotal but I grew up in a middle upper middle class family 50-60 years ago.
1) My aunt and uncle lived with us to help financially.
2) No air conditioning (I lived in a suburb of LA)
3) We rarely ate out. Try waiting in line at Taco Bell after work today.
4) We used cleaned out jam jars as cups.
5) Washed dished by hand until I was about 10. Hung the clothes out on lines
6) As kids we had no where near as many toys as my kids ( and grandkids) or their friends have. (Certainly no expensive electronics)
7) Just based upon my own experiences I find it hard to believe the average person is not better off today.
And this is addressing the current state of medicine and availability to medicine or educational opportunities compared to 50 years ago.
Strictly anecdotal but I grew up in a middle upper middle class family 50-60 years ago.
1) My aunt and uncle lived with us to help financially.
2) No air conditioning (I lived in a suburb of LA)
3) We rarely ate out. Try waiting in line at Taco Bell after work today.
4) We used cleaned out jam jars as cups.
5) Washed dished by hand until I was about 10. Hung the clothes out on lines
6) As kids we had no where near as many toys as my kids or their friends have. (Certainly no expensive electronics)
7) Just based upon my own experiences I find it hard to believe the average person is not better off today.
And this is addressing the current state of medicine and availability to medicine or educational opportunities compared to 50 years ago.
So what to all of the above? Was it some kind of hardship, and if so, you were not middle class and certainly not upper middle class. I still hang clothes out to save energy and because I like the sheets that way. Seldom use A/C, it is quite bad for the environment, same with hot dishwasher. Also vegetable gardening and nutritious home cooking using vintage cookware seasoned naturally, not pans with poison coatings for sake of modern convenience. Poor me? I am actually trying to replicate that older style way of life because I know it is healthier and superior in many ways. Modern medicine I will take, up to a certain point.
Some young people today will never even own a home or a car. Is it better they are lifetime renters in a tiny apartment just because they have A/C and electronic gadgets? Taco Bell is better than home cooking?
Wealth inequity is as old as history. Not something new, recent. Not something tied to any particular political system, now or way back then.
Is this a way to defend the current situation? History shows that it is now the highest in more than 100 years and history also shows that high inequality leads to a lot of instability and social problems.
Is this a way to defend the current situation? History shows that it is now the highest in more than 100 years and history also shows that high inequality leads to a lot of instability and social problems.
I’ve never liked that as an argument against inequality. I just have this image of a classroom where a couple kids are doing better than the rest, and the teacher says to them “well, the other kids are getting jealous and causing problems, so we have to lower your grades.”
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
