Are the .1% are shooting themselves in the foot by hording?

[Person Man]

Well, yes. But that's the thing about human nature. People are not by default long-term thinkers and many are prone to greed. What we see right now looks more like the wealthy stealing what they can while they ride the country in the ground, rather than some coordinated plot to pilfer the nation's treasure in a careful, methodical way. Thus there is no reason to expect any sort of grand strategy. They will just keep taking more and more using whatever means available to them until they are stopped.

In other words, the collective actions of those at the top were never meant to be sustainable.

I disagree.
 
All demographic pyramids have a top. They must have one.

It is the shape that is important and at the moment, ours looks like a top and that is quite ugly in terms of equity and stability.

We do not want to stop the rich. We want them to do the right thing for the economy.

Regards
DL

You guys believe the same thing. Between 1945 and 1980, there was a "top", but it was more concerned about its long term survival than just doing whatever it wanted. The "top" will simply keep doing whatever it wants until either they are "stopped", decide on their own to lead the economy responsibly, or the whole thing collapses and we all get to spiral into a state of perpetual squalor for decades(or centuries if things truly spiral) or do things responsibly again.

[Person Man]

Well, yes. But that's the thing about human nature. People are not by default long-term thinkers and many are prone to greed. What we see right now looks more like the wealthy stealing what they can while they ride the country in the ground, rather than some coordinated plot to pilfer the nation's treasure in a careful, methodical way. Thus there is no reason to expect any sort of grand strategy. They will just keep taking more and more using whatever means available to them until they are stopped.

In other words, the collective actions of those at the top were never meant to be sustainable.

I disagree.
 
All demographic pyramids have a top. They must have one.

It is the shape that is important and at the moment, ours looks like a top and that is quite ugly in terms of equity and stability.

We do not want to stop the rich. We want them to do the right thing for the economy.

Regards
DL

You guys believe the same thing. Between 1945 and 1980, there was a "top", but it was more concerned about its long term survival than just doing whatever it wanted. The "top" will simply keep doing whatever it wants until either they are "stopped", decide on their own to lead the economy responsibly, or the whole thing collapses and we all get to spiral into a state of perpetual squalor for decades(or centuries if things truly spiral) or do things responsibly again.

What the top wants is more profits and those can only come from the wealth they get to circulate.

The proposal here is that they put more into circulation and thus gain more profit for everyone.

It is the intelligent thing to do.

Regards
DL

That's the entire "spread the wealth" thing. What's the point of having a free market system with no competition, demand, or opportunity? I guess the biggest firms can just market things to other who own or are at least senior at big firms, right?
It would be very interesting to see if the economy (perhaps ultimately with automation) can chug along with a few thousand billionaires selling things to a few million millionaires.  Especially when there are hundreds of millions of economically disenfranchised.

[Person Man]

No. What does this even mean? The rich don't owe anyone anything. If you don't like it get on their level.

You wish you were rich like them.

Wealth and Power doesn't come with responsibility or accountability except to get more or lose it.  Alt-Right Trumpism 101.

[Person Man]

No. What does this even mean? The rich don't owe anyone anything. If you don't like it get on their level.

You wish you were rich like them.

Wealth and Power doesn't come with responsibility or accountability except to get more or lose it.  Alt-Right Trumpism 101.

Responsibility? That's something people who are chronically poor but don't bother to fix themselves should have. In America everyone has a chance to be in the 1%. There are NO excuses.

"Accountability" to whom? Who should they be accountable to? What do you mean by that?

And you have yours?  Leaders are accountable to their communities. What is the point of suffering very powerful people around if they can't be trusted?  Its not just the Government that causes tyranny.  

[Person Man]

No. What does this even mean? The rich don't owe anyone anything. If you don't like it get on their level.

You wish you were rich like them.

We all have a responsibility to insure society and our economy works well.

The rich are not doing their part.

Sure I wish I was rich so that I could do even more of my responsibility to the rest of us.

Regards
DL

Absolutely. Its great for everyone if one of us succeeds and makes it possible for others to succeed. Not so much if they are going to become tyrants.

[Person Man]

The new generation of billionaires (Musk, Bezos, etc.) and even some of the older ones like Bloomberg, mainly the self-made ones, have done more to create a better world for the poor and working class than revolutionary socialists ever have. If push comes to shove, the majority of the non-billionaire class will side with their benefactors rather than those seeking their blood.

The mistake socialists make is thinking that this is still the early 20th centuries, where brutal oligarchs worked ordinary people to death with impunity. It's not. Overthrowing the social order would destroy a lot of the things we "regular joes" benefit from as well.

Socialism is sh*t . Don't get me wrong but capitalism is just as utopian, morally lazy, and causes just as many problems. For every Amazon, there is a Medicare. For every Maduro, there is a Trump.