Economy Income inequality and wasteful spending

[method115]

I know rich people that shop at Goodwill.

Me and my wife have purchased pretty much all our kids clothes from second hand stores. Kids grow out of clothes so fast it seems dumb not to. Then we bag it all up and find friends\family who have kids and give to them to sort and take what they want. Occasionally we buy new if we need something specific but most of it is second hand.

 

[AWilder]

You'd think a 40 year old wouldn't take memes at face value

 

[deviake]

You'd think a 40 year old wouldn't take memes at face value

We have 40-50+ year old men who complain about "woke", little surprises me anymore

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I don't think most poor people are walking around dressed up in the latest Gucci gear.

 

[deviake]

"Hey lets make a system that relies on debt, consumer spending and constant growth that's commanded by a small, parasitic cabal of people that are constantly trying to fleece the population writ large and each other. We'll hire experts on human behavior to constantly market to people and their children. We'll individualize every issue to divide people and keep them pointing the finger at each other instead of at the actual people with all the money and power. We'll be antagonistic toward any program that helps the average person so that we can keep hoarding wealth like greedy little dragons. The entire system will incentivize selfish, materialistic behavior, an upward transfer of wealth, and as we gut unions and every pro social agenda, the people who we rely on to buy shit will get poorer and more desperate. We'll also tie the dollar to oil making it so the entire house of cards collapses if we don't engage in environmentally harmful practices with a finite resource that we WILL run out of and that requires exploitation by default."

*The mass of people get poorer and more desperate and make bad financial decisions which specific industries thrive off of, societally slowly unravels. Exploited countries destabilize causing war and famine which also feeds the military industrial complex*

"Who could have predicted this? Lets just keep doing the same thing."

*The consummate conservative blaming the mass of people around them who have no money and no power whose lives materially get worse as income inequality grows*

"Why are these poors so stupid?"

 

[Cid]

Can you imagine being so dumb that you think billionaires got as rich as they are by saving money...

@ColemanwastheGOAT you dumb as shit bro.

 

[Cid]

I'm not talking about billionaires. I'm not a billionaire. But I have money and I don't waste it on dumb shit.

The first line of this thread you made is about billionaires you retard.

I see a lot of posts on here about income inequality and it's always blamed on billionaires.

How is this not about billionaires?

You are insanely stupid bro.

 

[Mr Holmes]

"Hey lets make a system that relies on debt, consumer spending and constant growth that's commanded by a small, parasitic cabal of people that are constantly trying to fleece the population writ large and each other. We'll hire experts on human behavior to constantly market to people and their children. We'll individualize every issue to divide people and keep them pointing the finger at each other instead of at the actual people with all the money and power. We'll be antagonistic toward any program that helps the average person so that we can keep hoarding wealth like greedy little dragons. The entire system will incentivize selfish, materialistic behavior, an upward transfer of wealth, and as we gut unions and every pro social agenda, the people who we rely on to buy shit will get poorer and more desperate. We'll also tie the dollar to oil making it so the entire house of cards collapses if we don't engage in environmentally harmful practices with a finite resource that we WILL run out of and that requires exploitation by default."

*The mass of people get poorer and more desperate and make bad financial decisions which specific industries thrive off of, societally slowly unravels. Exploited countries destabilize causing war and famine which also feeds the military industrial complex*

"Who could have predicted this? Lets just keep doing the same thing."

*The consummate conservative blaming the mass of people around them who have no money and no power whose lives materially get worse as income inequality grows*

"Why are these poors so stupid?"

So we should blaming clever marketing instead of the people making poor decisions?

 

[Satur9]

Because when we were poor, we didn’t want to look it too. You have to enjoy life somehow, and at least nice clothes will give the illusion of not hating life.

I don’t get rich people constantly needing to make more and more money either.

 

[deviake]

So we should blaming clever marketing instead of the people making poor decisions?

No one said there's zero personal responsibility, the point is that there's a system in place that influences decisions and behavior.

Take, say, child abuse. There's negative outcomes and behavior that are more likely if you abuse a child. If that child grows up to be a monster, that doesn't disavow the person of the responsibility for their actions, but you can examine what went into them and reach the conclusion that the abuse played a role in their anti-social behavior. Everyone on the political spectrum understands this.

Meow apply that logic to... everything.

 

[Deleted member 592570]

The first line of this thread you made is about billionaires you retard.

How is this not about billionaires?

You are insanely stupid bro.

I'm saying blaming billionaires makes no sense. It isn't a billionaire's fault if you waste yout money.

Make sense yet?

 

[UFCUCF]

Yeah of course I do. If I had a $700/month car payment and wasted money on designer clothes, I'd be one of them.

I feel like to make your argument you have to go to the extremes. Medical bankruptcy vs billionaire.

What about all the people in between? Wouldn't the average person be better off adoptong some of the thrifty habits of the comfortably wealthy?

Sure, the average person would be better off without having to make debt service every month for sh@t they don’t need. I can’t disagree.

I don’t think that changes the facts that broad swaths of the middle class would have it easier in a system where the tax burden was born more by those who could most afford to pay it. If the government paid for your healthcare, childcare, collage education, maternity and paternity leave, you might could afford a nicer car, even if you paid more in taxes.

These policies are not created by people overspending. The billionaires are waging class warfare against you and you are returning fire to people who can’t pay their credit card bills every month.

 

[Deleted member 592570]

I don’t think that changes the facts that broad swaths of the middle class would have it easier in a system where the tax burden was born more by those who could most afford to pay it. If the government paid for your healthcare, childcare, collage education, maternity and paternity leave, you might could afford a nicer car, even if you paid more in taxes.

Like in Europe where you pay a luxury tax and VAT on a car?

 

[Blayt7hh]

I'm saying blaming billionaires makes no sense. It isn't a billionaire's fault if you waste yout money.

Make sense yet?

Dude you really need to go do some reading with an open mind. You fundamentally don’t understand the concept of wealth inequality. The idea is billionaires probably shouldn’t exist in the first, let alone hold over 90% of all the wealth in the country.

If you think that is an anti capitalist position, then you are still wrong. I am actually pro capitalist for the most part, even though you think I’m a communist. I can’t speak to Canada, but America is really a Croney capitalist country. We aren’t capitalist anymore. It’s bad for the country and it’s bad for society.

Edit: here’s a good introduction to the problem. It’s an old video that predates Trump and the current shitosphere of politics. It wasn’t made with Trump and Elon in mind.

 

[sickc0d3r]

I see a lot of posts on here about income inequality and it's always blamed on billionaires.

What I'm noticing now as a 40 year old man with investments is poor people are often dressed in more expensive clothes than me and driving a fancier, newer car than me.

I have to think a big part (probably the biggest part) of income inequality is that poor people just make dumb fucking decisions with their limited funds.

I drive a 15 year old van I bought on auction for $3k. I wear plain old jeans and a plain t shirt most days and shoes I got on sale at Mark's.

But I also have over $100k in an investment portfolio with my bank.

I often see young people wearing fancy clothes and driving expensive cars that they can't possibly afford and must be financing.

The number of people you see with iPhones with shattered screens because they can't afford to get it fixed is staggering.

These same people are constantly complaining about capitalism and income inequality.

Can anyone in the capitalism = bad camp explain why you guys buy such expensive consumer goods?

Luxury Brands Are Status Symbols Only If You Can’t Afford Them

Why rich people are embracing minimalism, and the rest of us are Googling "Ralph Lauren" and "David Yurman."

newrepublic.com

How The Psychology Of Income Inequality Benefits Luxury Brands

The more extreme income inequality becomes, the more pressure people feel to create the impression that they’ve climbed up the social ladder.

www.forbes.com

How many kids you got, playa?

Anyway, capitalism is a marathon. At any point in the race, some will be in the lead, some in the middle, and some at the back. It's inevitable, there is no way for everyone to do well at the same time. And MOST people don't stay in the same place for the entire race. They get better and they improve their position. And when they do, someone else has to bring up the rear.

So, while helping people learn how to manage their finances is a worthy pursuit, complaining about poor people's spending or saving habits is still missing the point. It's like blaming people who are stuck in a rainstorm for getting wet.

Capitalism's flaws ultimately have to be recognized and addressed if we truly want it to work for everyone. And one solution is to redistribute wealth. Nothing cures poor like money. The people who can most afford to chip in for the greater good are obviously the ones with a lot of it.

 

[UFCUCF]

Like in Europe where you pay a luxury tax and VAT on a car?

As opposed to what? Saving $5,000 per year for 20 years of work including investment income just to avoid paying these taxes?

 

[freakroor]

anecdotes and broad generalizations. cool post TS!

 

[Deleted member 592570]

anecdotes and broad generalizations. cool post TS!

Actually both of the articles I posted in the OP cite studies. It would help if you tried reading some time.

 

[freakroor]

Actually both of the articles I posted in the OP cite studies. It would help if you tried reading some time.

If you want people to read the articles you shouldnt link them at the bottom of the post after your inane rambling.

 

[Cid]

I'm saying blaming billionaires makes no sense. It isn't a billionaire's fault if you waste yout money.

Make sense yet?

I don't waste my money.

I blame billionaires undue influence on the tax code for you working your whole life so far and only having a measly 100k portfolio. You say you're good with money? How old are you?


What's your thoughts on political donations? If people are poor because spending habits billionaires should be able to buy which ever politicians they want right?

They're a non factor.