@wildgrass
There is no difference between mandated religion and mandated beliefs. Liberals have no problems forcing their beliefs about religious matters down other peoples' throats.
It is par for the course in Europe, it is a place where governments tell people what to believe. In the US we are supposed to be different.
@averagejoe1 saidI'll have to explain Economics to you and I'm sure you won't listen but:
Here is where you libs blow it. Let's say my neighbor is who you are writing about? "Wealthy are hardworking and brilliant". Then, let's say "The rest of us" is me, living next door, 'barely useful peasants...."
YOu, Marauder, and your cohorts here on the Forum, for some reason are CONNECTING the lives of these two people. That is the fallacy. What has the wea ...[text shortened]... ce above? Can you do that? You neve answer questions, and you will not answer this one. Weenie.
"Most wealth is created, maintained and sustained by extracting unearned rents from the rest of us. The wealthy take advantage of monopolies, asymmetric information, network effects, regulatory capture, artificial scarcities created by patents, licenses or trademarks, bailouts, subsidies, protectionism, financialization, and globalization.
In economics, “rents” is a word that means “leveraging control over something that already exists, such as land, knowledge, or money, to increase your wealth,” in the words of economic historian Rutger Bregman. The concept dates back to Adam Smith and David Ricardo, who argued that owners of land or natural resources could demand payments in excess of what’s required to bring their land or resources into production."
"Didier Jacobs, senior economist for Oxfam America, estimated in 2016 that about 75% of U.S. billionaire wealth is derived from rents."
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/billionaires-take-more-than-they-make-2019-02-07
"I recently explored this issue in my paper Extreme Wealth Is Not Merited, and found that American industries that produce more billionaire wealth than average relative to their size share one of three characteristics:
They depend heavily on the state whether through government procurement, licenses, or subsidies, and are therefore prone to rent-seeking. This category includes for instance oil, gas and mining, gambling, or forestry.
They are plagued by market failures such as imperfect information, like finance, or by the combination of intellectual property and so-called “network externalities”, which create monopolies like those that pervade the IT industry and industries prone to fads like fashion and music.
The billionaire wealth they have generated is largely inherited."
http://www.populareconomics.org/are-billionaires-fat-cats-or-deserving-entrepreneurs/
So most of what the uberwealthy have is extracted from the rest of us aided by government created monopolies, lax regulation or other shenanigans made possible because of their political power.
So that's what the super wealth of "neighbor" A (in truth, he wouldn't let any of us live anywhere near enough to him to be considered a "neighbor" ) has to do with the rest of us.
@no1marauder - quoting
"Didier Jacobs, senior economist for Oxfam America, estimated in 2016 that about 75% of U.S. billionaire wealth is derived from rents."
Didier Jacobs is a lying f'n socialist c_______er. Leave it to the socialist lawyer to home right in on him.
This is from Wiki, the top 25 US billionaires and where they got their wealth:
------------------- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_by_net_worth
1Elon MuskIncrease188.6Tesla, Inc., SpaceX49
2Jeff BezosIncrease187Amazon57
3Bill GatesIncrease129Microsoft65
4Mark ZuckerbergIncrease105Facebook36
5Warren BuffettDecrease87.5Berkshire Hathaway90
6Larry EllisonIncrease77.9Oracle Corporation76
7Steve BallmerIncrease69Microsoft64
8Larry PageIncrease75.7Google47
9Sergey BrinIncrease65.7Google47
10Alice WaltonIncrease62.3Walmart70
11Jim WaltonIncrease70.2Walmart72
12Rob WaltonIncrease61.8Walmart75
13MacKenzie ScottIncrease57Amazon50
14Michael BloombergIncrease55Bloomberg L.P.78
15Charles KochIncrease45Koch Industries84
16Julia KochIncrease45Koch Industries58
17Phil KnightIncrease39.2Nike, Inc.82
18Michael DellIncrease35.6Dell55
19Sheldon AdelsonDecrease29.8Las Vegas Sands87
20Jacqueline MarsDecrease29Mars, Incorporated80
21John Franklyn MarsDecrease29Mars, Incorporated84
22Len BlavatnikIncrease25Access Industries63
23Jim SimonsIncrease23.5Renaissance Technologies82
24Stephen A. SchwarzmanIncrease19.1Blackstone Group73
25Leonard LauderDecrease17.4Estée Lauder Companies83
--------------------------------
So far, all I see is ZERO% that got wealth by "rent".
Now, let's examine your source link:
http://www.populareconomics.org/are-billionaires-fat-cats-or-deserving-entrepreneurs/
Gee, does one suspect that the phraseology fat-cats used in the LINK NAME is any kind of tell??
Really analytical, eh? Really scientific? Noo, really liberal lying frook lies within link. YA!
Jeeeezus, you liberal f'n LIARS never stop.
@no1marauder saidI love your "The Wealthy take advantage of..." I think you are mis-writing this. Should you not be more real, and say... The entreprenuers, the people who work hard, the people who want to get ahead, the people who want to be successful , the people who want to compete with other entrepreneurs, the people who want to fill a need, the people who want to thrive and create jobs, the people who want a great life for their families.......INSTEAD of just saying "The Wealthy"???????????
I'll have to explain Economics to you and I'm sure you won't listen but:
"Most wealth is created, maintained and sustained by extracting unearned rents from the rest of us. The wealthy take advantage of monopolies, asymmetric information, network effects, regulatory capture, artificial scarcities created by patents, licenses or trademarks, bailouts, subsidies, p ...[text shortened]... f us live anywhere near enough to him to be considered a "neighbor" ) has to do with the rest of us.
Were your 'wealthy' born wealthy in an egg, hatch out, and go straight to monopolies, network effects etc? You treatise above fails right out of the gate.
Regarding Your other rent comments, as the person who wants to be successful continues to grow, he might invest in a few houses, and rent the houses to people who cannot buy a home. People like Handy. Thank god for these investors so people have a place to live. Question: Do you want something to 'happen' in one way or another, which will better suit your wishes? Pray tell, what in the WORLD do you want to happen???
What is your problem? And BTW, I expect that there can be 'cronyism' in any form of system, beginning with Marxism. I guess I am on the forum to keep it simple, S. You gonna wave a magic wand and do away with cronyism? Is it OK for me to be a croney with my brother, who let me invest in his business??? Geez.
The post that was quoted here has been removedOh, Duchess , is not the paying of taxes a 'contribution to society'? Not to mention the entrepreneur providing services and products to society?
Y0ur next para speaks to cronyism , and I believe the def of monopolies can be applied here as well. So as the dust settles with your post, it remains that monopolies are not good, and the govt simply must address all of it and not allow it. We agree. As to cronyism, that sounds like an ugly word. But what is wrong with me finding some cronies and we all get a business started? It becomes successful, but then you write to the government that you have discovered some cronyism going on!!!!! How in the world could I have started the business without my business friends, or social friends?
Can you set aside that large paragraph above, some quote from somewhere, and tell us in your own words what you want to happen when people get together to do business??? I have asked a similar question of Marauder. Thanks.
I will be in trouble with my businesses, I may be violating some crony rule 😕
@averagejoe1 saidNo, you're in the forum to keep it stupid.
I guess I am on the forum to keep it simple.
@handyandy saidYou, a loyal reader of AJoe.? What does that tell us?
No, you're in the forum to keep it stupid.
Hey start a thread, Handy. You can DO it.
@averagejoe1 saidYou've got it down to a science, Joe. Stupidity is your bag! Run for Congress.
You, a loyal reader of AJoe.? What does that tell us?
Hey start a thread, Handy. You can DO it.
@Earl-of-Trumps
Warren Buffett and Larry Paige certainly did not make their billions by working hard. Buffett makes his billions by buying and selling other billionaires’ billions, and Paige makes his by harvesting and selling data to advertisers. Dat aint workin’.
Jeff Bezos makes his money renting space on his web site to advertisers, and renting excess computer power to cloud services.
Bill Gates makes his money renting MS-Office Suite thru monthly subscription (used to be you bought it and it ran forever), and like Amazon by renting excess computer power to cloud services.
@moonbus saidNobody said anything about "working", Moon guy. No1Marauder specifically stated wealth derived from "rent".
@Earl-of-Trumps
Warren Buffett and Larry Paige certainly did not make their billions by working hard. Buffett makes his billions by buying and selling other billionaires’ billions, and Paige makes his by harvesting and selling data to advertisers. Dat aint workin’.
@moonbus saidPlease! Bezos and Gates did NOT get the bulk of their fortune "renting".
Jeff Bezos makes his money renting space on his web site to advertisers, and renting excess computer power to cloud services.
Bill Gates makes his money renting MS-Office Suite thru monthly subscription (used to be you bought it and it ran forever), and like Amazon by renting excess computer power to cloud services.
So far you have attempted to debunk 2 of 25 and so far, you have failed. The narrative that No1 pushed is bogus as hell
@moonbus saidHe's been discredited several times, but that doesn't even faze the Republicans, they just keep a-rollin'.
The Rep. party under Trump bears little resemblance to itself a generation ago, under Reagan for example.the Rep. party will have to get out from under the heal of its demagogue and re-invent itself, if it is to become a credible and viable voice. Otherwise, it will wilt as soon as Trump is discredited- and he will be.