Let the Good Times Roll! Or, Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1929

[Fake Boris]

I was reading the other day that wages in Canada have went up 116% since 1986, but that corporate profits made a 221% gain. It seems the pattern is the same everywhere.

If things end up being like 1929, they'll just say that worker riots are teh terrorism, suppress them, and start all over when the crisis is over.

[LordShiva]

Rising corporate profits

It means stock prices and dividends go up, which benefits shareholder, and since the largest shareholders are retirement funds like CalPERG, the "workers" are the ones who benefit

Edit: Fixed, thanks to Oerdin correcting my spelling

[Dinner]

CalPERG.

[LordShiva]

[Vanguard]

Honestly, I don't begrudge anybody their wealth, I really don't. But there's a direct corrolation between narrowness of a country's income gap and the health of its democracy...and given all the other assaults our democracy has sustained in the last 5 years, it's not like we needed this, too.

You should begrudge other people their wealth. The fact that other people are getting richer inherently means that you are getting poorer.

After all, wealth is really just a measure of your share of the total power to buy stuff. If other people's share is going up, your share is going down.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Vanguard
The fact that other people are getting richer inherently means that you are getting poorer.

QFUtterlyFalse

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Vanguard
You should begrudge other people their wealth. The fact that other people are getting richer inherently means that you are getting poorer.

[Fake Boris]

Take housing for instance.

When wealth gets concentrated amongst the top classes, it means that part of the money is reinvested in land property, which makes it difficult to afford for the middle class.

[Kuciwalker]

Are you seriously defending Vanguard?

[Kuciwalker]

That's the second time in a week you've taken it upon yourself to assert something patently ridiculous, if so.

[Fake Boris]

I'm sure there are plenty of factors that can explain housing bubbles.

One fact is certain, is that it's more difficult now to buy property than it was before, despite the ration of available housing/population being similar to what it used to be.

What's the other assertion, BTW?

[Kuciwalker]

I'm sure there are plenty of factors that can explain housing bubbles.

I'm talking about Vanguard's statement, that anyone becoming richer automatically makes you poorer.

One fact is certain, is that it's more difficult now to buy property than it was before, despite the ration of available housing/population being similar to what it used to be.

It's more difficult to buy property is some places. Not so in others.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
What's the other assertion, BTW?

That talent had no inheritable component.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
It's more difficult to buy property is some places. Not so in others.

And incidentally, those places are where people are forced to move in order to find a job…

Demand for housing is not elastic. People pay the price they've got to pay…

I was surprised to see rents in Bratislava, for instance, being in some cases as expensive as those of a normal city in France, despite the average wage being much lower. People just shrug and spend 70% of their salary on an apartment.

If someone has got a wonferful theory to explain this, I'm willing to hear it. But it seems like housing is exactly that kind of commodity by which the middle class can be held by the balls.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


That talent had no inheritable component.

I didn't say that, doofus.