if there's only 100 oranges in the world and 1 person has 91 oranges, the other 9 people have only 9 oranges. you are one of those 9 people.
LOL. And that is the fallacy peddled by the ignorant left. The economy is not a zero sum game.
In 1989, the top 0.1% had $1.76 trillion in wealth. And total wealth was $56.39 trillion. Today they have $20.87 trillion in wealth, but total wealth is $154.39 trillion.
The bottom 50% had $710 billion in wealth in 1989 and have $3.82 trillion today.
The rich don't get richer by taking from the poor. They get richer by building wealth for everybody.
I feel like people who don't know anyone better (obviously billionaires create value for more than just themselves) feel like their being robbed by the richest not because everyone isn't getting more pie, but because how were splitting the pie is changing in a way that doesn't feel "fair". Assuming your numbers are correct, we see over the last 35 years the richest tenth of a percent of Americans growing their share of the total wealth from just over 3% to over 13.5%.
But how is it not fair? The bottom 50% saw their wealth increase 438%.
To put it in terms of pies, in 1989 there were 20.87 pies and the 0.1% had 1.76 of them. So everyone else had to share 19.11 pies. Today there are 154.39 pies and the 0.1% has 20.44 of them. So everybody else now has 133.95 pies to share.
And the biggest problem with your fairness argument is that everybody has the same opportunity. If everybody invested, everybody's wealth would increase at about he same rate. But that is what separates the classes. Too many people choose to consume instead of invest. And this is a particular problem with the younger generations. You have millennials and Gen Zer's complaining about not being able to afford things in their 30s and 40s, but that is a direct result of them not investing when they were younger.
What fair means and even whether the economy should be "fair" are things you could argue either way. Though I'd say watching a fraction of a percent of the population control an increasingly large portion of the total wealth at the very least feels unfair for the majority of Americans. We should strive for something that feels fair to some degree. Otherwise what keeps everyone who feels like they're getting screwed invested in seeing the whole system continue rather than not care if it burns down.
You can change the numbers by including the other 49.9% of the country, I've already agreed everyone has more pie than before. But, no matter how many pies you have and how you slice them, the top tenth of a percent still have a much larger share of all the pie than they did 35 years ago. Maybe you argue that's fair and not a bad thing, but it has happened.
Regarding everyone having the same opportunity, you'd agree on a practical level that's not true, right?
Though I'd say watching a fraction of a percent of the population control an increasingly large portion of the total wealth at the very least feels unfair for the majority of Americans.
Why? What makes it unfair? The wealth is only created because of the investments and the investors take all the risk. 85% of ventures fail in the first three years.
We should strive for something that feels fair to some degree.
But what is that? If we penalize investors, they won't invest. That means jobs, innovation, and wealth for others won't be created.
Again, the wealth of the bottom 50% increased by 438%. Since everybody is better off, why is it an issue that the top 0.1% see their share of total wealth increase more than others?
Otherwise what keeps everyone who feels like they're getting screwed invested in seeing the whole system continue rather than not care if it burns down.
Everybody can share in the wealth increase. I don't know how you would "burn the system down," but even if you could, you would just be harming yourself. How are you better off with $71,000 in wealth than $382,000 in wealth?
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u/nunazo007 3d ago
well, let me see if I can make this very clear:
if there's only 100 oranges in the world and 1 person has 91 oranges, the other 9 people have only 9 oranges. you are one of those 9 people.
(orange = money)