You are viewing a single comment's thread from:

RE: Why I Miss the 80's in a Financial Sense

in #money8 years ago

There will be some wealth inequality in all economic systems.

But wealth inequality is what can destroy an economy completely when it is too high, simply because it destroys the velocity of money. When the minority at the top holds the majority of the currency in an economy there is no reason for them to invest/spend that money because they already have it all. So the people at the bottom struggle for the crumbs that are left and cannot find living wage jobs. This usually leads to more money/debt creation by banks because there is not enough money in circulation being earned/spend, unfortunately this new money eventually ends up at the top while inflation increases.

An economy only works best when the majority of the currency in circulation is held by the middle class, because they are the ones who perform the most labor and earn/spend the most, this keeps the velocity of money high.

Currently we have the greatest wealth inequality in global history, eliminating the government would not solve this problem. The US government is the biggest job creator/employer on earth. I definitely don't agree with many things the US government spends money on but some things I do agree with. Eliminating these jobs would actually increase wealth inequality at a faster rate, because when you privatize everything that means all the profits go to the minority at the top.

Sort:  

The US government is the biggest job creator/employer on earth.

But it doesn't create anything. That's the problem.

Rich people don't just sit on all of their money, they buy stuff. They buy new technologies and artisan items that allow skilled people to earn money.

But it doesn't create anything. That's the problem.

I guess it depends on what your definition of create is. The US government spends money the same way as everyone else. There are private corporations out there like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin that make weapons of war. The only reason those corporations do not go bankrupt is because the US government buys stuff from them, 99% of their yearly revenue is from the government spending its money. There are thousands of privately owned corporations in the USA that the US government buys things from or buys services from, building roads, bridges, buildings, etc, etc... Every time the US government buys something it creates a job for someone somewhere...

The US government is so good at spending money into the economy they actually spend more than they bring in, in taxes. The politicians who are in charge are so inept at creating a balanced budget they just borrow or print more money instead of increasing taxes on the rich and/or cutting spending on things that American people don't need.

Rich people don't just sit on all of their money

Some do, that is why wealth inequality has continued to increase for the last 40+ years, when there is too much wealth held by the minority there is no reason for them to spend/invest because it is a loss for them if they do. The majority of people at the bottom do not have enough money anymore to give them a return on their investment. Every time a private investor make an investment into the economy they expect to earn a return on that investment, that is not possible when the majority of wealth is already held by the minority at the top.

Also you could make the same argument that wealthy investors don't create anything, they make capital investments and hire people to work for them. While they wait for their investment to earn them a profit. Which is the same exact way the US government spends money, they hire/contract people to do work for them, except their profit is people paying taxes which they will just spend again and again every year...