Wealth Inequality in America: Viral Video

[Alceste]

Oh, and I do love these discussions that lead to justification of the vast majority of people in an entire demographic that are starving, homeless, without access to medicine outside of the E.R.....that they really don't deserve it unless they do "real work."

And then assume that people like me who wish to change the system are just a bunch of Commies who don't believe in a free market and want to give a paycheck from tax revenue to any schmuck who can "shuffle off to buffalo." The assumption is that I want to reward poor people by stealing from everybody else and give to dancers who deserve to be poor. And the cognitive dissonance that exists is that people in my profession are being stolen FROM and being given to the rich.

I posted an article not too long ago that said, "If dancers didn't sometimes sleep with rich people, the industry would cease to exist." And there's a lot of truth to that statement.

Anybody been to fundraiser galas? I have. How many people are aware of the hookups that happen when you mix people with a lot of money who are looking for a good time with people who physically display a tremendous athleticism and refinement?

I'm not saying that hookups should be banned. Heck, some fond memories have come out of these very galas.....of politicians, deacons, doctors, attorneys.....

I think people of a certain mindset vastly underestimate the value of the arts, and the public's appetite for them. Every event I organize draws a crowd. I don't know where the people come from, but if I put on a do, they show up. My folk club is full every month. Even last month when I booked an accordion player.

It enriches the community, puts money in the pockets of local artists, and helps keep the doors open in the community art centers where I put shows on. There is basically no down side, except that I don't pay myself for this. I have to cancel a monthly film showcase because it's too much work. The folk club I'm going to keep running because I can book myself for it.

I don't think it's unreasonable for me to want to be paid a living wage, and I do think it's unreasonable to start charging higher ticket prices that would exclude all but the well-to-do from my events.

So, we have applied for grants. That's how this stuff works. Boo hoo, taxpayers. Sometimes your money is going to support to things you don't personally appreciate or support. I don't like paying for police and weapons, but you don't hear me kvetching about how it's a violation of my "sacred" right not to have to contribute to support my country's operating costs.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I
Why fix something when it is providing a rather cushy lifestyle?

Because it's not going to provide a cushy lifestyle indefinitely. With no underlying economic system to support it, wealth is meaningless. All those theoretical green pieces of paper which make one wealthy could all be nothing more than green pieces of paper very quickly.

 

[Falvlun]

I have addressed the graph. And I'll be glad to address any of your concerns, but I ask that you restate them for convenience & clarity.

Post 21.

Cliff note:
Revoltingest says rich people earn their money by their own hard work.

Graph shows:
The income of rich people has skyrocketed while middle class and poor stay the same.

Basic knowledge:
Rich people are not magically more industrious, intelligent, etc than they were 50 years ago. In other words, they aren't earning this extra money by their own merit. Something else is rigging the system in their favor.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

For Mystic:
Some time ago, the Cato Institute made a revenue neutral tax reform proposal.
(I can't find a link, so I go by memory.)
1) A flat 17% income tax for all.
2) Every adult gets $10,000 per year, regardless of need.

#1 was very progressive for low wage earners because of #2.
#2 eliminated a whole lotta bureacracy while providing a safety net.
#1 eliminated severe penalties for welfare recipients who want to work.
Think this would help struggling artists?

Actually, it would help. $10,000 would at the very least offer some sort of food and shelter. I've gone years where my profession paid me $6000 in the entire year, and so I earned cash waiting tables wherever I could that would get me something to eat that night, thereby working 14 hour days without much to show for it. $10,000 would have been a lifesaver in some of those times, tbh.

 

[Revoltingest]

I meant by the same someones, like conservatives, or Revoltingest.
They think that corporations should be allowed to do anything in order to raise their profits. And yet the cry foul when unions try to get together to raise the profits of the workers. It's hypocritical.

Hypocritical? Tis dishonest to attribute claims to me which I don't make.
If you have an issue you like to discuss, then please bring it up. But you
needn't invent straw men for me.

 

[Falvlun]

Because it's not going to provide a cushy lifestyle indefinitely. With no underlying economic system to support it, wealth is meaningless. All those theoretical green pieces of paper which make one wealthy could all be nothing more than green pieces of paper very quickly.

It's a good point.

Unfortunately, I don't think people are that foresighted. Or, rather, they aren't working to fix the system, except insofar to keep patching it up so it continues to work in the same way that it always has-- to funnel all the wealth upwards towards them.

 

[Falvlun]

Hypocritical? Tis dishonest to attribute claims to me which I don't make.
If you have an issue you like to discuss, then please bring it up. But you
needn't invent straw men for me.

You don't need to invent straw men where they don't exist either.

 

[Revoltingest]

Actually, it would help. $10,000 would at the very least offer some sort of food and shelter. I've gone years where my profession paid me $6000 in the entire year, and so I earned cash waiting tables wherever I could that would get me something to eat that night, thereby working 14 hour days without much to show for it. $10,000 would have been a lifesaver in some of those times, tbh.

I thought it a novel, interesting, & possibly workable way to provide a safety net which has no risks or onerous conditions, while boosting
incentives to work with a low marginal tax rate. Few seemed to like the idea....perhaps cuz the wealthy would benefit too?
Anyway, some hybrid of the Cato proposal would even be better than what we have. Imagine the $10,000 - 17% system supplemented
with Canuckistanian style health care, but ridding ourselves of public housing, welfare & a myriad of other assistance programs. We
could all be better off at a lower overall cost.

 

[Revoltingest]

You don't need to invent straw men where they don't exist either.

You are correct. I try not to, but misunderstandings do happen.

 

[Alceste]

Actually, it would help. $10,000 would at the very least offer some sort of food and shelter. I've gone years where my profession paid me $6000 in the entire year, and so I earned cash waiting tables wherever I could that would get me something to eat that night, thereby working 14 hour days without much to show for it. $10,000 would have been a lifesaver in some of those times, tbh.

Likewise, I got through the whole of last year doing nothing but music, and it was great, but I doubt I earned $10,000. Also, I'm worn out from all the unpaid stuff - organizing, promoting, lesson planning, etc. so I'm going to do some gardening.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I think people of a certain mindset vastly underestimate the value of the arts, and the public's appetite for them. Every event I organize draws a crowd. I don't know where the people come from, but if I put on a do, they show up. My folk club is full every month. Even last month when I booked an accordion player.

It enriches the community, puts money in the pockets of local artists, and helps keep the doors open in the community art centers where I put shows on. There is basically no down side, except that I don't pay myself for this. I have to cancel a monthly film showcase because it's too much work. The folk club I'm going to keep running because I can book myself for it.

Dang, that sounds awesome. I wish I could see it, but if by chance I ever make it up to your part of the globe, let me know where I can hang my hat and watch a good show.

I don't think it's unreasonable for me to want to be paid a living wage, and I do think it's unreasonable to start charging higher ticket prices that would exclude all but the well-to-do from my events.

So, we have applied for grants. That's how this stuff works. Boo hoo, taxpayers. Sometimes your money is going to support to things you don't personally appreciate or support. I don't like paying for police and weapons, but you don't hear me kvetching about how it's a violation of my "sacred" right not to have to contribute to support my country's operating costs.

I think what is sad is that people are beginning to look at the sciences in the way they have looked at the arts for many years, that it's snooty, that it doesn't really do much for the community, that the only people who take the time to invest in it are just bored rich widows who are looking for something to do. I've been talking with people whose passion are in the biological, astronomical, and environmental sciences, and the conversations are eerily turning into what I hear from artists all the time. That the only steady paying job they can count on is tenure professor at an accredited four year university.

Otherwise, it's pittance or nothing.

At that point, I just offer to pull up a chair so we can cry in our drinks together. I sadly expected these kinds of conversations with artists, but now in various fields of science, too? Too many people vastly underestimate what both do for society, it seems.

 

[Alceste]

Dang, that sounds awesome. I wish I could see it, but if by chance I ever make it up to your part of the globe, let me know where I can hang my hat and watch a good show.



I think what is sad is that people are beginning to look at the sciences in the way they have looked at the arts for many years, that it's snooty, that it doesn't really do much for the community, that the only people who take the time to invest in it are just bored rich widows who are looking for something to do. I've been talking with people whose passion are in the biological, astronomical, and environmental sciences, and the conversations are eerily turning into what I hear from artists all the time. That the only steady paying job they can count on is tenure professor at an accredited four year university.

Otherwise, it's pittance or nothing.

At that point, I just offer to pull up a chair so we can cry in our drinks together. I sadly expected these kinds of conversations with artists, but now in various fields of science, too? Too many people vastly underestimate what both do for society, it seems.

No kidding. Screw artists and scientists, but if a banker is struggling, stick a few million dollars in his pocket. That's the world we live in.

 

[Alceste]

Oh yeah, and you absolutely should visit.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

No kidding. Screw artists and scientists, but if a banker is struggling, stick a few million dollars in his pocket. That's the world we live in.

Precisely! And let's get real here....artists and scientists ought to find a better industry if they aren't getting paid enough. It's really the artists and the scientists faults for not picking a profession that doesn't pay a living wage. So, if they starve, they starve. Not a big deal. They knew better, right?

We should all become bankers, then. And what should we invest our paper money in?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Oh yeah, and you absolutely should visit.

I know, we've been married for how long now?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

We should all become bankers, then. And what should we invest our paper money in?

The wealthy seem to favor China in that regard.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

The wealthy seem to favor China in that regard.

I think profiting off trade deficits is an honorable profession. Don't you agree?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I think profiting off trade deficits is an honorable profession. Don't you agree?

It's an excellent example of the outstanding work ethic, industriousness, and superior moral fiber of wealthy people that we always hear about. And a prime example of how their heroic efforts keep society going and allow the rest of us lazy slobs to sit around in a pathetic stupor. God bless these scions of goodness and virtue!

 

[Alceste]

I know, we've been married for how long now?

I know! Let's consummate this thing!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I know! Let's consummate this thing!

I'll supervise this momentous occassion.