Economy Income inequality and wasteful spending

[Deleted member 592570]

Thanks for sharing, I'm truly sorry for your loss. It's something I'm quite familiar with and that's the last time I'll go there. Please remember that when talking with others.

Yeah I think I sent you a PM about it back when it happened. If I recall you were quite surprised that a conservative boogeyman is actually a normal, nice person even though I have *gasp* different political views than you.

 

[deviake]

Yeah I think I sent you a PM about it back when it happened. If I recall you were quite surprised that a conservative boogeyman is actually a normal, nice person even though I have *gasp* different political views than you.

No, must've been someone else. It's not your politics but how you portray yourself on here.

I live in a purple state and have done plenty of blue collar work, interacting with conservatives is nothing new for me

 

[Deleted member 592570]

No, must've been someone else. It's not your politics but how you portray yourself on here.

I live in a purple state and have done plenty of blue collar work, interacting with conservatives is nothing new for me

Yeah talking shit back at the guys who talk shit at me constantly is a real character flaw. I should just take it lol

 

[KeepingItReal]

Nope now you’re doing the classic attempt at misdirection. You’re talking about communism and I never said we should be communist. There’s a huge difference between not wanting to go back to the Middle Ages and being communist. It’s also straight bs because none of those jobs you listed are going to make you a multi billionaire.

Btw nothing I listed was wrong. Those are all problems we know that come with huge wealth inequality gaps.

I didn't mention communism once brother. The fact that some people go for higher paying jobs and others do not is exactly what creates wealth disparities. That is, social mobility is exactly what creates unequal wealth distribution among a given population(that and whatever savings rate people have). One of the reasons a market exists is so that someone's pay is not determined by yours or my opinion. Opinions are flimsy little things and people change their opinion on things from time to time.

It's a problem because you're not the one with the billions, if you were it wouldn't be a problem would it?

 

[chardog]

Where were you with this advice ten years ago, brother. Lol

I got with the one too early, simple criteria, comes from a strong family with healthy marriage, very simple, and it worked out, it wasn’t easy, I didn’t know what i was doing and that I have to take the lead, otherwise all would fall apart. My FIL likely knew the same but he was quiet and didn’t express much. MIL is super frugal and wealthy, works her butt off, i guess ok traits.

Life of lust is a struggle, wish i could tame the inner monster more, keep your woman in check and she’ll stay in check.

 

[The Servant]

You sound poor

You paying @Revolver royalties?

 

[ShadowRun]

If you have money it must be because you’re ripping off someone ….

It boils down to that it seems from the left

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Attributing poverty to irresponsibility has nothing to do with hierarchies.

You box? OK so you understand calorie deficits right? If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Just invert that. If you spend more money than you make, you gain debt. If you spend less than you make, you gain savings. Savings can then be used to invest.

It isn't rocket science

And everyone has a mom. They nurture you and tell you what you want to hear. Like that you're smart and special. You also need a dad. He tells you what you need to hear. That you're dumb, lazy and irresponsible.

This is a very simplistic way of looking at things dude. There are many advantages that people with disposable income enjoy over people who don't.

I'm not rich but I'm fairly financially comfortable. If I need something I can do my research and ensure that I get a good one that's going to last me a long time. If we take a simple example like a washing machine, I'm able to spend more upfront to get a machine that will last longer and also be more energy efficient and work out cheaper in the long run.

Take disposable income away and my washing machine breaks and I need a new one, I then possibly don't have the money to get an expensive model that's going to last upfront. I have to buy the best I can afford with the money I can spare at the time, it's a cheap piece of crap that breaks in a couple of years and isn't energy efficient. Perhaps I have to take it on credit and then paying it off costs me more that way too.

In ten years time, I've been through three or four washing machines and am spending more in energy bills on each wash whereas the version of me who had disposable income still has the good quality machine I purchased ten years ago.

It probably cost non disposable income me more to have a shittier machine in the long run.



Disposable income me walks into a store and sees tide pods on offer. I think that's a good deal so I'll buy ten of them and just stick them in the cupboard and that's me sorted for probably the next three years. Saved myself £50 in the long run there probably. Non disposable income me sees the deal and thinks it's good but can still only afford to buy one because the available income I have this month I need for essentials I can't live without. By the time I run out of them and go back to the store the price has gone back up again.

You can apply this to a lot of things. Yes there are people who waste their money on useless shit but there are also a lot of people who don't and still can't get out of poverty.

Plus the people who spend their income on useless shit are actually pretty important to the economy anyway.

 

[Bobby00]

Ive seen it plenty in poor people. the urge not wanting to look poor so they finance shit they cant afford. Plus hobbies that cost without bringing much back. Gambling, smoking, concerts etc.

 

[MMA IAN]

they have an incredible drive to be successful

My wife and I run a successful business, and I dont care much for it, make a high income with my primary employment, however my wife wont stop at anything to make money like she's never seen it before....... she doesnt even count the money in our accounts, we withdrew 100K to buy the dip like 3 months ago............. and we've already replenished.......... but planning a trip next year and she's flipping out saying it's too expensive

it's like an obsession, success comes first, the money becomes an afterthought.

As my wife says, 'money go up makes me happy'

Wife and I were evicted twice in our early 20's going to college. Rolled coins for groceries as times. The power went out a few times. We were working poor. I rode a motorcycle for transportation for 5 years. Then bought a 20 year old truck.

Fast forward 30 years.

My wife's car is 9 years old. My (new) truck is like 16 years old. She refuses to buy new clothes. My kid shops at Once Upon a Child. Wife actually sewed up the hole in my favorite pair of shorts last week. I fixed my sandals with 4200 epoxy.

She cooked carrots, Mac n cheese, and local burger meat for dinner. Probably $15 meal.

But I float around the Bahamas and Caribbean most of the year on a half million dollar yacht living on my investment dividends and savings. I never have to work again.

Successful financial habits can be learned. Being frugal and not being in debt is a lifestyle.

That sounds absolutely killer bro. I bet that meal tasted better than a $2000 gold encrusted saltbae steak too.

People get too wrapped up in using wealth as status to flex, as if you need it to be happy. I'm seeing it in this thread shitting on OP for having 100k in investments. Most people at 40 definitely don't have a spare 100k outside of mortgage and other expenses to risk in investments. Wealth is objective depending where you're living too.

 

[Blayt7hh]

I didn't mention communism once brother. The fact that some people go for higher paying jobs and others do not is exactly what creates wealth disparities. That is, social mobility is exactly what creates unequal wealth distribution among a given population(that and whatever savings rate people have). One of the reasons a market exists is so that someone's pay is not determined by yours or my opinion. Opinions are flimsy little things and people change their opinion on things from time to time.

It's a problem because you're not the one with the billions, if you were it wouldn't be a problem would it?

You didn’t type the word communism. You described it. Do you genuinely not realize that?

How wages are determined is a very complex topic that would require a lot of effort for me. No one said anything about “opinion”, but I gather you’re of the entirely naive opinion that the market itself, through the magic of the invisible hand, has correctly set wages to where they’re valued. You’re wrong.

Your attempt to make this personal is a cheap ploy I see resorted to time and time again. Whether my opinion would be different or not if I had 100 billion dollars isn’t relevant- the fact wouldn’t change that it would be bad for the rest of society.

It’s also not lost in me that every single person that’s argued with me in this thread has made unforced errors on the foundational concepts in economics.

 

[Crazy Source]

Yeah talking shit back at the guys who talk shit at me constantly is a real character flaw. I should just take it lol

First, I'd like to say I was sorry to hear about your father. I lost mine when I was in my 20's as well, and it sucks donkey balls. To my point, you are a bit combative. I say this as a person that at times comes in guns blazing myself. Just some friendly advice, politics aside.

 

[Stoic1]

 

[deviake]

Yeah talking shit back at the guys who talk shit at me constantly is a real character flaw. I should just take it lol

Nah brah, you can also be a dick, you're not an innocent snowflake just making his way, don't do the crybully bullshit. You wanna talk about responsibility, try taking some

 

[Deleted member 592570]

don't do the crybully bullshit.

I didn't. I called you creepy because you're kind of creepy dude.

 

[deviake]

I didn't. I called you creepy because you're kind of creepy dude.

 

[Romulas]

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

I've never had a year where I made $1m plus but because of the fact that I never wore expensive designer items, always bought used cars (sometimes nice but reliable ones) or blew money on 1st class vacations, I was able to participate when opportunities to invest that came up and I had money to use to start businesses.

Life for myself, my wife and our 2 kids is pretty awesome and I attribute that to being frugal in my 20s and early 30s.

 

[KeepingItReal]

You didn’t type the word communism. You described it. Do you genuinely not realize that?

How wages are determined is a very complex topic that would require a lot of effort for me. No one said anything about “opinion”, but I gather you’re of the entirely naive opinion that the market itself, through the magic of the invisible hand, has correctly set wages to where they’re valued. You’re wrong.

Your attempt to make this personal is a cheap ploy I see resorted to time and time again. Whether my opinion would be different or not if I had 100 billion dollars isn’t relevant- the fact wouldn’t change that it would be bad for the rest of society.

It’s also not lost in me that every single person that’s argued with me in this thread has made unforced errors on the foundational concepts in economics.

If I realize something that isn't true is it of any value?

I actually don't give a shit if wages are set "correctly", that would be an opinion on how much who should be paid, which is of absolutely no value. It is of absolutely no consequence to me if you have 100 billion dollars, we are just tow dudes or a dude and a lady writing stuff on a karate forum.

You keep saying it's bad but you have yet to point out to me why it's bad. Also does you not having the 100 billion give you some fantastic clarity of vision to see it's bad? The billionaires clearly don't think it's all that bad otherwise they would have shared more of their wealth in whatever way they could.

 

[HeffDoesWant]

I'd really like to see some stats on tax load per year as a proportion of each person's net wealth.

I have little doubt that on that metric the vast majority of people in any developed nation pay a higher rate of tax than the top 0.1% of all wealth holders.

All the data i have ever seen looks at tax paid as a proportion of taxable income. Its fucking useless information but it's easy to get so its what we use. But it is irrefutablely flawed.

My retired father has a net wealth about 7 times mine, but we generate roughly the same income each year yet I generate the bulk of mine from worked income , which is fully taxable, he generates his from his retirement savings, growth in the value of his house and concessionally taxed capital gains.

I pay about 7 times as much tax as him. In short my p.a. tax to wealth load is literally about 50 times higher, and that's because i work.

I mention him not because I am bitter about it, he thinks its fucking ridiculous too. I mention it, because I know our numbers and its not an unusual situation resulting from current tax settings.

 

[empsim]

What a load of bullshit.

Comparing average income to grocery and housing prices is all you need to do. Middle class people have always had a good amount of disposable income, doesn't matter if you want to call it wasteful or not.

This boomer facebook memes are so embarassing.