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Originally posted by Phedreus
dont have the time to read all 26 pages but I get the drift. Just a few points to make.
1. This is not a zero sum game. simply because I make a large amount of money does not mean that I took that money away from someone else. Wealth can be created. The fact that my slice of the pie is bigger than yours does not mean that we cant bake another pie.
2. Just as there are cars that cost more than others and houses that cost more than others ect ect ect, so to there are people with skills and abilities that cost more than others. People will pay more for quality.
Originally posted by JR MacBeth
Originally posted by Phedreus
dont have the time to read all 26 pages but I get the drift. Just a few points to make.
1. This is not a zero sum game. simply because I make a large amount of money does not mean that I took that money away from someone else. Wealth can be created. The fact that my slice of the pie is bigger than yours does not mean that we cant bake another pie.
2. Just as there are cars that cost more than others and houses that cost more than others ect ect ect, so to there are people with skills and abilities that cost more than others. People will pay more for quality.
Few words, but lots of truth, couldn't agree more. Far better to approach life as it is, with endless possibilities, tremendous abundance, and give the whining a rest.
The idea that there was always a "winner", and a "loser" in every transaction is an old one, but it is incorrect. There really is such a thing as "win / win". Both parties should feel that they are the better for doing business, else they would have done differently.
Is there injustice, and "unfairness", and whatnot in the world? Of course, but it is more of a philosophical or theological matter, Problem of Evil and all that.
Vilifying people simply because they have more, or are more talented is also rather old, but it speaks more about those making those judgments than those who are being vilified. People need to stop looking around and complaining about how others have "more", and their lot is so dismal, etc. Such an attitude is useless at best, but potentially very destructive, if I was to judge by the young revolutionaries posting in this thread, who imagine that violence will solve their problems.
Of course, there are more problems than just the one staring back from the mirror, but it might still be the biggest one we each face, as individuals.
On a constructive note, perhaps after we have dealt with the "man in the mirror", could we then go out and find "real" problems that could use our attention? Of course!
A far bigger problem than the ancient Haves and Have-nots, is the fact that "some" of the Haves are making active war against us. I feel like it's a waste of time being distracted by your neighbor driving a better car, or the professional earning a "decent" living. Look at what the banksters have been doing to the world for centuries now! THAT would be a better thing to focus on, spread that message (or learn about it first).
JR
Today's elitist neighbor is tomorrow's bilderberg bankster. Nepotic, inbreeding old-boy networks are NOT democracy, not only not fair, but a mockery of the system of fair capitalism we purport.
Think of all the different types of business you can't engage in in america without paying somebody first. Think of all the entrepreneurships that are controlled by big business and government interference. There is no more free market. The people with the money NOW have put a stop to it. They've infected the country's CNS and the scariest part is, if they pay YOU (edit: as in society) enough, you'll shut up and agree with them. And at the end of this game of iniquity, a whole lot of people die. I'm not bitching out of a desire for money. I'm bitching because I foresee the rift, and the violence and cold-hearted ignorance that it breeds, and the horrible end it's pushing us towards. May we all see the light before it's too late.
Originally posted by JR MacBeth
reply to post by kidkboom
Today's elitist neighbor is tomorrow's bilderberg bankster. Nepotic, inbreeding old-boy networks are NOT democracy, not only not fair, but a mockery of the system of fair capitalism we purport.
I'm probably misunderstanding what you're saying, but what has "democracy" got to do with anything? There's actually no such thing these days, it's just a word.
Speaking of words, I notice a lot of people repeating words like "fair". Again, no such thing!
Folks, these are philosophical questions, as I mentioned before. Look around, there is no "fair" in Nature, it is dog-eat-dog. We don't have to like it, but let's not swoon into fantasies, things are the way they are.
As far as regular people becoming true elites, no, that doesn't really happen as often as we might like to imagine. As you pointed out, nepotism, good 'ole boy clubs, etc., they will make sure that the blue bloods and their chosen, continue to rule, as they have for centuries. If you really want in to their crowd, you better bring something to the table.
Think of all the different types of business you can't engage in in america without paying somebody first. Think of all the entrepreneurships that are controlled by big business and government interference. There is no more free market. The people with the money NOW have put a stop to it. They've infected the country's CNS and the scariest part is, if they pay YOU (edit: as in society) enough, you'll shut up and agree with them. And at the end of this game of iniquity, a whole lot of people die. I'm not bitching out of a desire for money. I'm bitching because I foresee the rift, and the violence and cold-hearted ignorance that it breeds, and the horrible end it's pushing us towards. May we all see the light before it's too late.
"Free market", another fantasy. No, there isn't one. Best get over it. Our masters are in charge, and only allow us to indulge in silly fantasy because it amuses them.
As far as "agreeing with them", you, and pretty much most everyone, already does. We just may not have admitted it to ourselves just yet.
You mention cold-hearted ignorance. Ignorance is a major problem, but it is a major tool of the elite. They keep us dumb, they prop up this "enemy", or that, and most just follow the master's hand, as he moves the other, laughing the whole while.
Like in this thread. Someone comes up with another enemy, people who earn "too much". It's ludicrous of course, $200K is NOTHING. Our masters wipe their behinds with this money, and yet, they need not worry about being identified as the "problem", because they have their slaves at each other's throats already!
"I'm a better slave than you are! No you're not! I'm allowed in the House! You're a smelly field slave!"
What is the "end" of this game? It is what our Masters have yearned for for millenia. They want their Utopia, a place where they need not fear anymore, where their every whim is satisfied, where the slave finally knows his place, and best of all, a place where the slave will NEVER rise again!
This "Utopia", from our perspective, would be better called a Plantation. THAT"S our children's future, and all the whiners doing nothing, learning nothing, being "useless eaters" (as our masters call most of us), will basically DESERVE their lot when it finally arrives, full-force.
Do I also hope my fellows will one day "see the light?" Sure, but let's get real. We're too busy worrying about whether Massa thinks we're a better slave than our neighbor!
JR
Originally posted by Darkrunner
reply to post by joeshsamp
What you have to understand Joe, is that this battle has been going on since the beginning of time. The more successful hunter/gathers I am sure were given the 'boo-hoo, woe is me stink eye" by the less successful.
What many of the whiners in this thread are suggesting is, people make too much money, and they need to give some to me.
Well that's a noble concept, but If I create a novel new invention, say, a new mode of transportation, or a totally new and revolutionary computer, but I know all or most of the profits from that are going to be taken and redistributed to the "pissed off poor", I wouldn't bring it to market. I would throw that innovative idea in the garbage.
It's one thing if I choose to give freely of my profits to the less fortunate, but to be told my idea is worth 200k and I am going to like it?
I don't think so.
There are countless stories of people showing up on the shores of American with a couple of bucks in their pocket, and working, as you said 100 hour weeks to build something. And then for them to be told years later that they make too much?
I can't even believe this is a conversation in these forums.
Originally posted by fonenyc
reply to post by byteshertz
Money is necessary to live a good life, anyone who argues with that is delusional. Anyone who is on the top deserves to be on the top, you have to pay the cost to be the boss. The more money you have the more problems you have believe that it doesnt get easer, the benefits do get nicer yes but it is still stress.
Why be mad about the pyramid scheme of economice in capitalism? It is a system everyone chooses to play and if you cannot hack it, tough. The game is fair not rigged for those willing to sacrifice enough of themselves to become something new.
No one holds you back from riches but yourself. There are ways to overcome "brokeness" or the defeatist mentality that is the main reason why the system is failing. People do not believe in the system anymore and want change. What change can come from this catastrophic drop in the dollar? More of the same Im telling you, nothing will ever change. More than one hundred years and people still cannot adapt, amazing.
Sometimes I agree with the elitists and their eugenics programs. The human race is a majority of weak dna structures compounded with sub social systems and cultures that promote dissension and anarchy. No one is stopping anyone from becoming wealthy. How does Rockefeller keep you from becoming Illuminati? " cant beat em join em" lol stop whining and get money.
Originally posted by SevenThunders
In theory, with enough advancements in robotics and automation, everyone could eventually retire. We need fewer and fewer actual workers to run the whole infrastructure.