2007-04-08 11:00:03
| #secondlife from 2007-04-08 11:00:00 (showing messages 1-30) Bookmark the permanent url.
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11:00:03 | Lucifer | Welcome to this week's Virus chat |
11:00:13 | Lucifer | The topic is "the widening income gap" |
11:00:43 | Lucifer | the motivation was a post to the bbs... |
11:01:34 | Lucifer | http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=69;action=display;threadid=38891 |
11:01:48 | Lucifer | "Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows." |
11:02:11 | SecondLife | [salon] Earl Enzyme: arrrrrr |
11:02:22 | Lucifer | "The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980." |
11:02:33 | SecondLife | [salon] Lucifer Darrow welcomes Earl |
11:02:46 | SecondLife | [salon] Earl Enzyme: hello Lucifer |
11:02:48 | SecondLife | [salon] Lucifer Darrow: Earl gets the credit for the topic this week |
11:04:10 | Lucifer | The article was followed by two others that had the same take, that this widening income gap is a serious problem to be addressed |
11:04:49 | Lucifer | I'd like to question the assumptions behind that conclusion |
11:05:39 | SecondLife | [salon] Earl Enzyme: sorry...I gotta get some coffee real quick |
11:05:44 | Lucifer | because it seems the commonly espoused "solution" is wealth redistribution which is an nice euphemism for theft |
11:06:14 | Lucifer | What is so bad about a large income gap? |
11:06:36 | Lucifer | Blunderov says "This sort of gross imbalance is widely perceived as an obvious social injustice.Such wealth can never be 'deserved'. " |
11:06:54 | Lucifer | Blunderov continues, "These massive holdings take value out of the economy and impoverish everyone else." |
11:07:08 | Lucifer | Hermit adds, "Historically it is one of the principle leading indicators of social instability. Why should this have changed?" |
11:07:31 | Sat | * Sat scratches himself |
11:07:41 | Lucifer | Let's take each point in turn |
11:08:20 | Lucifer | The first one consists of 2 claims. |
11:08:22 | Sat | Well I look at it rather pragmatically: that money was never mine and I do not miss it as such. |
11:08:27 | Sat | * Sat shrugs |
11:08:42 | Lucifer | I agree that the imbalance is perceived as a social injustice |
11:08:53 | Lucifer | emphasis on "perceived" |
11:09:05 | Sat | I mean shit, you and I have an income gap. I do not claim that the money you have in addtion to what I have is mine. |
11:09:08 | Sat | next topic. |
11:09:10 | Sat | * Sat grins |
11:09:11 | Lucifer | Can such wealth ever be "deserved"? |
11:09:33 | Lucifer | heh, I agree with Sat |