Wealth Inequality

[KatMaestro]

Do you believe the riches make the wealth gap? Or do you think it's the poor themselves make the gap?

I used to listen to my father spoke about how people become wealthy. He told me the most important characteristics of the riches are hardworking, saving, smart and how to manipulate money (eg. investing). The characteristics turn out to be the fact for all of the wealthy people. A lot of poor people have to opposite characteristics to those describe above. Lazy, wasteful, dull and no good uses for money.

What do you think about this view?

[GunsNBombs]

Now when we talk about poor people.. are we talking about the Michael Moore poor or the poor people who CAN go to school but never pay attention?

[Osyris]

Most rich people's wealth in the US comes from inheritance, so that saying is really bullshit. My mom has to work sometimes to 2 in the morning just to provide for us, yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car elevators.

[KatMaestro]

At 5/5/13 09:12 AM, Osyris wrote: Most rich people's wealth in the US comes from inheritance, so that saying is really bullshit. My mom has to work sometimes to 2 in the morning just to provide for us, yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car elevators.

But did your mom flourish the money she made or use it all in unwanted stuff? You have to balance the equation. You can't have hardworking but do not know how to spend the money in most reasonable way. Also, a lot of rich people do work from ground up and to certain moment they can create tons of money by just doing little works. And the side of equation I'm talking about is smartness.

I won't say I am rich, but I have more than enough to let myself sit around in this internet cafe in Thailand all day long, doing little work, trolling or chatting on internet and still live a comfortable life. Because I apply the rich equation to my life.

[SirFinland]

At 5/5/13 09:12 AM, Osyris wrote: Most rich people's wealth in the US comes from inheritance, so that saying is really bullshit. My mom has to work sometimes to 2 in the morning just to provide for us, yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car elevators.

Yeah personally I find it hard to believe that Donald Trump would be as rich as he is without his dad.

[LavaWave]

At 5/5/13 09:00 AM, Elitistinen wrote: Do you believe the riches make the wealth gap? Or do you think it's the poor themselves make the gap?

I used to listen to my father spoke about how people become wealthy. He told me the most important characteristics of the riches are hardworking, saving, smart and how to manipulate money (eg. investing). The characteristics turn out to be the fact for all of the wealthy people. A lot of poor people have to opposite characteristics to those describe above. Lazy, wasteful, dull and no good uses for money.

What do you think about this view?

Yes, those 4 factors do count in becoming rich, I saw an article a while ago that says something along the lines is that rich people spend most of their time studying ever since they were young, they progressed into getting in college and go higher up to get the best grades out there thus they have bigger opportunities, it's just that most of us either give up or are too lazy and wasteful to go too far, hardworking is debatable, it depends on what job do you have, you could end up as a cleaner for example which is a hardworking job imo but you don't get much cash compared to a job where you work as a clerk or bank manager and is less physically straining and yet you get much more cash.

Osyris wrote:
;yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car ;elevators.

That person committed toward his graduation in the past and got to where he is, can't complain there, that's how things work man.

[Osyris]

At 5/5/13 09:33 AM, Elitistinen wrote:

At 5/5/13 09:12 AM, Osyris wrote: Most rich people's wealth in the US comes from inheritance, so that saying is really bullshit. My mom has to work sometimes to 2 in the morning just to provide for us, yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car elevators.

But did your mom flourish the money she made or use it all in unwanted stuff?

We can't afford "unwanted stuff", and we also cant afford to invest into things with a reasonable payout.

You have to balance the equation. You can't have hardworking but do not know how to spend the money in most reasonable way.

We stopped subscribing to cable, and I can only get games and shit when other relatives gives me money for christmas or my birthday, and that is usually around 100$. We aren't leasing Escallades.

Also, a lot of rich people do work from ground up

That is one hell of a joke. The only people who actually worked to get rich (at least in the US) were the 1st gen big business owners, like Sam Walton.

and to certain moment they can create tons of money by just doing little works. And the side of equation I'm talking about is smartness.

They just hire a CEO and then take all of the profit. It doesn't take much of a genius to do that.

[poxpower]

At 5/5/13 10:22 AM, Osyris wrote:

That is one hell of a joke. The only people who actually worked to get rich (at least in the US) were the 1st gen big business owners, like Sam Walton.

More than half of Forbes top400 most wealthy people are self-made. A decent % of them came from poor families just like yours.

It's also no secret that a large % of poor people are fucking stupid. That's just how it is, they are dumb lazy shits who have no earning potential whatsoever and could only ever be rich by chance. We've all met a bunch of them.

Depending on what kind of life you want, you don't need to be rich anyway. Most people spend way way more money than they should because they want to have fun or want some kind of status in the eyes of their friends. I counted all the money I spend in one year: http://www.thepoxbox.com/challenges.php?id=spentmoney
Even if I earned minimal wage I could still save up thousands of dollars per year if I was smart. Though not if I lived alone, that would be harder.

But anyone making >20k per year who is single and has no kids really can't complain IMO. Depending on where you live, that is more than enough money to live on, have expensive hobbies and still save some for retirement.

But hey people want stuff like nice cars, big houses, lawns etc. They just sign up for all these extra jobs where they have to manage bullshit X hours a day so they can not feel like failures. The typical person's house is filled with thousands of dollars of completely useless junk they never use, it's quite sad. If you need to buy anything, you can find it for almost nothing on craigslist these days.

OH WELL

[NewgroundsMike]

The rich got rich because they cheated on others.

The punk has spoken.

[ohbombuh]

At 5/5/13 09:12 AM, Osyris wrote: My mom has to work sometimes to 2 in the morning just to provide for us, yet we only make 27k a year while some asshole who owns a big corporation worked 0 hours in his life and has car elevators.

Sorry to be the one who has to inform you, but not all work is equally useful. Even if the "asshole" actually never worked as you claim (it's more likely he worked his ass off in business school and keeps large operations running smoothly), you can't just take away people's inheritance just because you want them. In principle, if your mother had worked like that before you were born and saved 7k per year in your name, would it be okay for the government to take your small inheritance and give it someone even poorer?

[DarkMatter]

for the majority there's an ethics gap, in that some people work hard for what they want and get it and others dont.

But our planet has had problems with empires and monarchies over the past few centuries, and the result of those things has led to rich motherfucking families being so greedy that they inbreed in order to "preserve" the family line, but in reality they just don't want more people in on their wealth. If you look at the wealthiest people in the world, most of them have a legacy that can be traced back, and they've held on to that legacy using it to pave the way for their future success at the expense of less powerful people like ourselves.

[Ericho]

It's best explained here. I think that throughout history, it's always been like that.

[KatMaestro]

At 5/5/13 02:33 PM, Ericho wrote: It's best explained here. I think that throughout history, it's always been like that.

Everyone who have watched that video know it is very biased, unless of course, you are the '99%'.

[Tony-DarkGrave]

no its just a myth democrats use to get votes.

[Ganon-Dorf]

Deregulating markets and corporations for years makes wealth gaps.

[Swag-in-a-Bag]

I wanna get rich like The Great Gatsby; he was his own boss

[Scarface]

Each side of the balance has people who work hard, and people who are lazy. Some hard workers are rich and successful, and some just never make it. Some lazy dumbasses get what they deserve, and some just get lucky and have the right connections.

[Suprememessage]

Both parties are involved in widening the gap, that's kind of the point. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

[BasedBubbus]

you and your father are both retarded

[TracyJacksonTAW]

Both I think, the people who make lots of money make even more. On the other side, those in the destitute side make less and less. After all, the only way to go after you are rich is to go up and nobody who is wealthy is ever gonna go and say "I wanna make less" or "I'm too rich, must make less money". Those that do only does it for publicity/media and once it's over, they goes back to making millions again.

Not everyone who makes tons of money are rich in my opinion. My dad and mother combined to make over $1.1mil a year off salary and bonuses (and stocks/bonds), but we never felt we're wealthy. I mean, we live in a modest 3-bedrooms apartment and with me in college, my parents was always reminding me to not spend money on things I don't need.

It really depend on both sides when considering inequality...the really rich people keep amassing wealth, while the poor folks keep spending more to support their day-to-day life (and thus saves less).

[Sensationalism]

I love what I do. I don't think doing something I dislike for more money would be better or that I'm lazy or stupid for not doing so.

[Lost-Chances]

At 5/5/13 09:00 AM, Elitistinen wrote: What do you think about this view?

Horribly simplistic and absolutely destructive to financial equality.

[Kwing]

At 5/5/13 09:33 AM, Elitistinen wrote: But did your mom flourish the money she made or use it all in unwanted stuff?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can give a personal example. My mom has a Master's in music, works her ass off, but only makes $20,000 a year. What's most revealing about her lifestyle is that if you look at her credit card bill, there is literally NOTHING on it except for food and gas.

[Tony-DarkGrave]

poor? easy sell drugs then invest the money.

[ImlunchBoxx]

would you pick up a one hundred dollar bill if it had shit on it

[Sekhem]

At 5/6/13 01:26 AM, ImlunchBoxx wrote: would you pick up a one hundred dollar bill if it had shit on it

how much shit

[BasedBubbus]

At 5/6/13 01:31 AM, Sekhem wrote:

At 5/6/13 01:26 AM, ImlunchBoxx wrote: would you pick up a one hundred dollar bill if it had shit on it

how much shit

like, alot

[KatMaestro]

At 5/6/13 01:07 AM, Kwing wrote:

At 5/5/13 09:33 AM, Elitistinen wrote: But did your mom flourish the money she made or use it all in unwanted stuff?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can give a personal example. My mom has a Master's in music, works her ass off, but only makes $20,000 a year. What's most revealing about her lifestyle is that if you look at her credit card bill, there is literally NOTHING on it except for food and gas.

It all depends on how you use your knowledge, and sometime, what kind of education. Having Master in something doesn't guarantee you can become wealthy. My sister only have a college degree in teaching and a bachelor in music. Now she is teaching English, French, Swedish and German in Korea, getting $30/h. Sometime education alone won't shape your wealth. Countless other Master grads, or even PhD who are unemployed throughout world wide. Don't they work hard enough? I don't think so. All I assume at first is these unemployed people do not know how to spend their education in the right moment.

Also, please define how your mom works 'her ass out'. Says she is a really hardworking person, but at the same time she's also very 'hardworking' at spending, then I'm so sorry.

There are flaws on my view, I have to admit. However every other different views have commented by users on here do have flaws, too. And I'm open to any view.

At 5/6/13 01:31 AM, Sekhem wrote:

At 5/6/13 01:26 AM, ImlunchBoxx wrote: would you pick up a one hundred dollar bill if it had shit on it

how much shit

Shit that worth 1 hundred dollar.

[Cootie]

The six heirs of the Walton Family (of Wal-Mart fame) own more money then the entire bottom third of American's combined. If you do not see things like this as a problem then you are crazy. Taxing the people who wouldn't even notice the money was gone would help stunt the deficit.

[Sekhem]

At 5/6/13 01:42 AM, BasedBubbus wrote:

At 5/6/13 01:31 AM, Sekhem wrote:

At 5/6/13 01:26 AM, ImlunchBoxx wrote: would you pick up a one hundred dollar bill if it had shit on it

how much shit

like, alot

i'm going to need a percentage here

how much surface area of the dollar is covered

if all of it, how do i know it's a 100$ bill?