"The Pitchforks are Coming"

[The_Unbeliever]

But let’s speak frankly to each other. I’m not the smartest guy you’ve ever met, or the hardest-working. I was a mediocre student. I’m not technical at all—I can’t write a word of code. What sets me apart, I think, is a tolerance for risk and an intuition about what will happen in the future. Seeing where things are headed is the essence of entrepreneurship. And what do I see in our future now?

I see pitchforks.

At the same time that people like you and me are thriving beyond the dreams of any plutocrats in history, the rest of the country—the 99.99 percent—is lagging far behind. The divide between the haves and have-nots is getting worse really, really fast. In 1980, the top 1 percent controlled about 8 percent of U.S. national income. The bottom 50 percent shared about 18 percent. Today the top 1 percent share about 20 percent; the bottom 50 percent, just 12 percent.

More here.

 

[Alan]

How are those Occupy Wall Street protests going?

 

[konfab]

How are those Occupy Wall Street protests going?

Dead:twisted:

 

[STS]

How are those Occupy Wall Street protests going?

they all went home when their Iphones and Ipads ran out of power

 

[JStrike]

It's very true.
But the funny thing is how the middle-class keep backing and defending the upper class. They think they are closer to the upper class than the lower class, when the reality is very different.
John Oliver delivered a great bit about it the other day. This quote being my favourite - "It is never too early to start protecting your imaginary lottery winnings from crippling estate taxes!"

 

[MKFrost]

There was an interesting article I read the other day in regards to the problem of inequality.

In the US they are now seriously looking at the model used in the Scandinavian countries as that seems to work better than the normal tax models in use today and that it helps to bring down inequality. Basically it boils down to everybody paying and or contributing like with VAT. With a normal tax model those who contribute are also usually the ones who derive no direct benefit from such contributions but with an approach of a consumption type tax, like for example VAT, everybody contributes.

Let me find the article.....

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_..._are_spending_more_like_scandinavia_pull.html

 

[Nerfherder]

Sad thing... the 1% don't hang out on wall street.

 

[Ninja'd]

Sad thing... the 1% don't hang out on wall street.

Meanwhile in Duckburg

 

[mercurial]

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JStrike]

There was an interesting article I read the other day in regards to the problem of inequality.

In the US they are now seriously looking at the model used in the Scandinavian countries as that seems to work better than the normal tax models in use today and that it helps to bring down inequality. Basically it boils down to everybody paying and or contributing like with VAT. With a normal tax model those who contribute are also usually the ones who derive no direct benefit from such contributions but with an approach of a consumption type tax, like for example VAT, everybody contributes.

Let me find the article.....

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_..._are_spending_more_like_scandinavia_pull.html

Very interesting. I tend to agree.
What is quite interesting too is that there are different versions of capitalism. This has been dominated by the USA version for the last couple of decades, but the German version is making a lot of headway in the last decade or two. In Germany, your board of directors for a company contains representatives from labour and local government, with company profits benefiting investors, but also labour and the community

 

[Alan]

and the foreigners don't forget the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and soon millions of Ukrainians benefiting from those hard working selfless Germans....

they all went home when their Iphones and Ipads ran out of power

Ipads? The proletariat have pitchforks and homes I thought only the 1% had those and the rest foreclosed.

There was an interesting article I read the other day in regards to the problem of inequality.

In the US they are now seriously looking at the model used in the Scandinavian countries as that seems to work better than the normal tax models in use today and that it helps to bring down inequality. Basically it boils down to everybody paying and or contributing like with VAT. With a normal tax model those who contribute are also usually the ones who derive no direct benefit from such contributions but with an approach of a consumption type tax, like for example VAT, everybody contributes.

Let me find the article.....

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_..._are_spending_more_like_scandinavia_pull.html

and when people stop consuming as a result of exorbitant prices? R200 for a Steers burger. That's going to sell well.