What is the most noble profession?

[KrazyHorse]

I have no idea what the **** you're trying to say in your post, or how it relates to what I said.

Investment bankers didn't "take advantage" of "the system they were given". They BUILT the system which everybody else relies on. If you don't want to rely on investment bankers then you can feel free to find alternate sources of finance. The fact that so many people rely on them is an indication of how well they do their jobs.

[Jon Miller]

Isn't it rather that, in a capitalist society, they are holding the wealth? Capitalism is hugely biased in favor of those holding wealth.

JM

[Kuciwalker]

....

dude, life is biased in favor of those holding wealth, pretty much by definition.

[Felch]

WTF is an "investment banker?" Is it a sub-species of jew?

[Jon Miller]

Sure.

I was saying that you can't say that they do a great job due to people relying upon them, because they have a huge advantage in holding the wealth. It takes huge mismanagement to really screw things up if you are wealthy.

A capitalist society isn't a pure meritocracy, it is heavily biased in favor of wealth.

Now, I am not one to say that a pure meritocracy is the way that society should be. I am just putting forward that arguing based on success is biased in a capitalist society.

JM

[KrazyHorse]

Isn't it rather that, in a capitalist society, they are holding the wealth? Capitalism is hugely biased in favor of those holding wealth.

JM

Jon, please think: why do people working in the financial services industry control vast sums of wealth? It's not because they OWN the wealth, for the most part. They are given control of it by the owners because they've demonstrated a capability to put wealth to use effectively.

[KrazyHorse]

I was saying that you can't say that they do a great job due to people relying upon them, because they have a huge advantage in holding the wealth. It takes huge mismanagement to really screw things up if you are wealthy.

See above.

[DaShi]

Jon, please think: why do people working in the financial services industry control vast sums of wealth? It's not because they OWN the wealth, for the most part. They are given control of it by the owners because they've demonstrated a capability to put wealth to use effectively.

But that doesn't mean that they did put the wealth to use effectively.

[KrazyHorse]

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean.

[DaShi]

It means that they should be smothered in bamboo and fed to horny pandas!

[KrazyHorse]

Nice edit

[DaShi]

Yes, very stealthy.