Excerpt: "Lately inequality has re-entered the national conversation. Occupy Wall Street gave the issue visibility, while the Congressional Budget Office supplied hard data on the widening income gap. And the myth of a classless society has been exposed: Among rich countries, America stands out as the place where economic and social status is most likely to be inherited. ... Suddenly, conservatives are telling us that it's not really about money; it's about morals. ... But is it really all about morals? No, it's mainly about money."
Portrait, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, 06/15/09. (photo: Fred R. Conrad/NYT)
Money and Morals
10 February 12
Lately inequality has re-entered the national conversation. Occupy Wall Street gave the issue visibility, while the Congressional Budget Office supplied hard data on the widening income gap. And the myth of a classless society has been exposed: Among rich countries, America stands out as the place where economic and social status is most likely to be inherited.
So you knew what was going to happen next. Suddenly, conservatives are telling us that it’s not really about money; it’s about morals. Never mind wage stagnation and all that, the real problem is the collapse of working-class family values, which is somehow the fault of liberals.
But is it really all about morals? No, it’s mainly about money.
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Contrast that to Bill Gates. When he was a kid writing little programs that other people liked and wanted to use, he would make sure he got money for every instant of effort, no matter how trivial. He felt entitled to wealth from the beginning.
*That* is the difference between rich and poor. If that involves a moral dimension, the balance probably weighs in favor of the poor.
And it isn't the rich, either, who donate to the poor. What the rich donate to are right wing politicians and PAC's along with right wing think tanks and other organizations working to make sure the rich get to suck even more off of society. The days when the right wing industrialists like Ford and Carnegie set up foundations to help improve society and built libraries are long gone
The greedy MBA's of the world are killing us.
Even the money he gives away does as much harm as good -- except for him. He's a predator.
Clearly they are bought and paid for by the Koch brothers and Norquist types who are the rise of the new Nazi Party in the USA - although they call themselves Republicans.
Never vote GOP/TP or we'll all end up like the Syrians, Jews in Nazi Germany, - get the picture?
The poor are poor because they don't have enough money. They stay poor because you have to spend money to make money, not because they are getting a little on the side. (They do that to relieve the stress, and the rich do too.)
The rich are rich because and think they are superior because they have too much money. When you have too much money, you have to want to lose money to lose money. It takes skill *not* to make money when you have too much of it. If you have 200 million dollars, and you buy a CD yielding 0.5%, you make a million dollars.
It doesn't take any skill or moral superiority to do that, but it apparently does give one a false sense of one's own superiority.
Don't forget that those people have taken a lot more out of the economy than all the entertainers put together. Don't you agree that it's dishonest to focus on a small subset that doesn't represent the whole and try to pretend that it does?
The rich actually produce almost nothing tangible or of real value, but mostly rather grief, misery, and inefficiency, more money for themselves, and a political and economic system which traps everyone in a cycle towards destruction.
Forget this myth about the rich producing things: you aren't fooling anyone here.
I notice that there is always an undercurrent of hostility in your comments, and this is a reliable indicator of an unhappy person.
So why should we follow the life precepts of an unhappy person?
If you could show some signs of being joyful or kind or both, you might be better worth reading.
Check out anything by the Dalai Lama, for openers. Stop identifying with your opinions and watch what happens. An open heart is the best companion.
Business is good for America when it helps people to have happy and meaningful lives. When it pollutes the environment or stifles mental development, it's not so good. When it subverts the ideals of democracy and locks power in the hands of a selfish minority, it's no so good, either.
Is that so hard to understand?
Hell, he can't answer the simplest question of where I can get a post on a right wing site, program or anything else without being screened out and never has anything constructive to add, so please turn your worthy attentions to debate; he ain't worth y'r time nor goodness.
You can't rattle an empty tin can. 'nuff said.
I like the ignoring idea...processed and done! There are no right wing venues that allow any other opinions. So Reiverpacific Im with you on this one.
That's good. I'll use it if you don't mind.
Be my guest, T.A.
The U.S. is the land of serfdom for those who lack the good fortune of opportunity
Rightwing forces have so abused the essence of our country to the point of exhaustion.
Countries like Germany, France, Holland, Belgium have learned the hard way that responsible, functioning well-regulated government is the only way to peace, prosperity and stability.I sincerely believe this is the only realistic option we have. Mixed economies work much better than trickle-down ones. Fortunately, I believe this is what Obama is trying to do, and looking at the polls, more Americans are shifting to the left.
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