Skip to main content

"Rich" People Are Rich Because "Poor" People Get Poorer

ANOTHER CLASS ENVY ATTACK TO GET YOUR VOTES: 
Democrats, Socialists and Liberals in general believe in the zero sum game. In other words, in order to get "rich" you must take from someone who is "poor." (Only criminals do that, and I assume you're not a criminal. Not a good career move).
From Daniel Mitchell, Phd at TownHall Finance 
In the debate over “fairness,” my statist friends mistakenly see the economy as a fixed pie. This leads them to claim that rich people are rich because poor people are poor.
But there’s no data to support this position (other than in kleptocracies such as Venezuela where a ruling socialist elite steals wealth).
So some folks on the left will back down from that extreme claim and instead assert that the rich are the only ones enjoying more prosperity as time goes by. 
For evidence, they cite data showing that incomes have been mostly flat over the past 30-40 years for poor people and middle-class people, particularly when compared to the rich.
But there’s a big problem with their data. They look at income levels in some past year and then they compare that data with income levels in a recent year. 
But, as I wrote back in 2015, this means they are comparing apples and oranges.
There is considerable income mobility in the United States, which means today’s rich and today’s poor won’t necessarily be tomorrow’s rich and tomorrow’s poor.
I don’t necessarily expect people to automatically believe me. So if you’re one of the skeptics, watch this video from Russ Roberts. It is almost eight minutes and it is filled with rigor and data, but it’s worth watching since it masterfully demonstrates that lower-income and middle-class households actually enjoy larger gains than rich households.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for the comment. Will get back to you as soon as convenient, if necessary.

Popular posts from this blog

California: A Model for the Rest of the Country, Part 2

Part 1 here . On Leaving the Golden State Guest Post by NicklethroweR . Posted on the Burning Platform. The fabled Ventura Highway is all that separates my artist loft from the beach where surfing first came to the United States. Both my balcony and front patio face the freeway at about eye level and I could easily smack a tennis ball right on to the ever busy 101. Access to the beach and boardwalk is very important to a Tourist Town such as mine and I can see one underpass from my balcony and another underpass from the patio. Further up the street are two pedestrian bridges. Both have been recently remodeled so that people can not use it to kill themselves by leaping down into traffic. The traffic, just like the spice, must flow and the elites that live here do not like to be inconvenienced as they dart about between Malibu and Santa Barbara. Another feature of living where I live would have to be the homeless, the insane and the drug addicts that wander this particular
Post a Comment
Read more

Proper way to calculate CAGR using T-Sql for SQL Server

After reading (and attempting the solutions offered in some) several articles about SQL and CAGR,  I have reached the conclusion that none of them would stand testing in a real-world environment. For one thing, the SQL queries offered as examples are overly complex or don't use the correct math for calculating proper CAGR. Since most DBAs don't have an MBA or Finance degree, let me help.  The correct equation for calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate (as a percentage) is:  Some key points about CAGR:  The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is one of the most accurate ways to calculate and determine returns for anything that can rise or fall in value over time. Investors can compare the CAGR of two alternatives to evaluate how well one stock performed against other stocks in a peer group or a market index. The CAGR does not reflect investment risk. You can read a full article about CAGR  here .  To calculate the CAGR for an investment in a language like VB is pretty straight
Post a Comment
Read more

Top Five Consumer Cyber Security FAQs

Business, technology, environmental and economic changes are a part of life, and they are coming faster all the time. All of these changes and advancements can be distracting and make us more vulnerable to cyber scams. That's why protecting your credit is a critical part of protecting yourself from cyber security threats. Security researchers have reported that hackers and scammers are using any opportunity or vulnerability to target both individuals and companies. You may have already seen these attempts in the form of fake emails or calls. Here are the top five questions Equifax ®  has received about how individuals can protect themselves from cyber security threats and help to improve your credit protection. 1. How can I better protect my credit? Check your credit reports frequently. You can get free credit reports from the nationwide credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian ®  and TransUnion ® ) at annualcreditreport.com. Check your credit reports frequently to closely moni
Post a Comment
Read more