In honor of John Edwards the slip and fall lawyer and economic populist who has just announced his candidacy for President of the United States of America, i give you Dangerous Obsession Part II.
A dangerous obsession: Part II
By Thomas Sowell Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The media and academic obsessions with economic "disparities" have gone international. Recent news stories proclaim that most of "the world's wealth" belongs to a small fraction of the world's people.
Let's go back to square one. Just what is "the world's wealth"?
You can check in your local phone book, surf the Internet or do genealogical research: There is no one named "The World." How can a non-existent being own wealth?
Human beings own wealth. Once we put aside lofty poetic nonsense about "the world's wealth," we at least have a fighting chance of talking sense about realities.
Who are these minority of the world's population who own a majority of the world's wealth?
They are the population of the United States, Western Europe, Japan and a few other affluent countries. How did these particular people come to possess so much more wealth than other people?
They did it the old-fashioned way. They produced the wealth that they own. You might as well ask why bees have so much more honey than other creatures.
Continued
15 comments:
i was talking with someone the other day about the uproar about some of the bonuses that have been given to the people at goldman sachs and other financial firms.
now, i have no problem with people making money the "old fashioned way" ... i.e., taking risks, working hard, being determined and very smart.
in our world today, it's the people who take the risks who should be rewarded ... that is the nature of the game. but some of these guys who sit in their cubicles and getting comparatively extraordinary salaries to begin with and then are gambling with OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY are not taking the kinds of risks that entrepreneurs are taking.
it's the same with some of the corporate managers as well. i think some of these compensation packages are utterly preposterous.
and i still think that sowell is a major tool, and, as donsky pointed out previously, totally clueless on Economics 101.
Anita you say you have no problem with people making money "the old fashioned way"
What does that mean and who defines it? You?
Guys make 25 mil a year hitting a fucking baseball and youre going to begrudge the backbone of the American economy their bonuses...well thats a crock of shit and blatantly racist.
Its so very politically correct of you to come down on the greedy rich white banker aka the devil.
You use Goldman as an example yet its obvious you know very little about it. I can assure you...anyone that was "just" sitting in their cubicle didnt get a million dollar plus bonus. Those guys earned every frickin penny....in fact I would say the guy that got the 40 mil bonus deserved that money more than the neediest of crack mothers cashing her welfare check at the first of the month.
Thats right I said it.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
anita, since donkey already made the point that these guys earned their bonuses i will address the other "point" that you were trying to make.
You and donsky are not only wrong but obviously clueless. Sowell knows more about economics than most people in the world today. among his other accomplishments he earned an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, an A.M. in Economics from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. He chose University of Chicago, he has said, because he wanted to study under George Stigler, who would later (in 1982) win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Sowell has taught at prominent American universities including Howard University, Cornell University, Brandeis University, and UCLA. Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, where he holds the fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman. [2]
If you disagree with his position that's your right, however to say he's a tool is not only silly, but shows your ignorance of the man and his accomplishments.
Oooh, you know that hurted!
What I don't understand is who is making these arguments...If the "world" (agreeing with Sowell that I'm not sure what that even means) is so full of prosperity, why aren't they giving me some!? Oh wait that goes directly to the source of the argument I guess...
I certainly don't know as much about economics as Donkey and Rhino but I know some things about what makes sense.
For instance, those commercials with the celebs waiting in line...they are ridiculous. They want the same people (the low to upper middle class) who always give the shirt of their backs to people in need to give even more. Yet, if the same celebs gave 10% of their income, they'd be giving a whole lot more because they have that much more...I'm not saying they should have to give their hard earned money but they should give as much as they are implying they want the common man to give.
Either way, the only thing that is preposterous is that "wealth" (once again I'm not even sure how to quantify that...)should some how be equal in any way. It's like saying that everyone could have the same amount of happiness. It can't and shouldn't be done so why even bother talking about it.
very good paddy.
Maybe hes talking about World B. Free who on Nov 16, 2006 won the Please Touch Museum (that just dont sound right) 11th annual "Great Friend To Kids" (that sounds even worse)Community Service award.
Daaamn that guy had some mad ups.
The greatest Cleveland Cavalier until LeBron James...
I like the idea of a Please Touch Museum for adults...I always hate that at the Metropolitan when they won't let me handle priceless artifacts. What nerve!
i remember watching world b free play, but i don't remember his really good years. i think we caught him late in his career because i'm pretty sure he was really good.
I wonder if Koko B. Ware & World B. Free have the same agent?
I think you are right Rhino...wow twice in one day!
I think World B. Free played early in his career for the 76ers and I caught him later but he was still damn good with the Cavs.
the fact that sowell is in fact so well educated, combined with his bizarre comments about pencils and bees and his totally ridiculous questions about "what is wealth" anyway, shows that he a complete fake and tool. He knows very well what wealth is, in all it's shapes, matters and forms. And he also knows about these pesky minorities "of the world population who own a majority of the world's wealth."
He's condescending to you ... don't you see that?
If you dont know how to make a pencil just say so.
You are a commie so you distract the issue about "pencils" (for the record you put lead in mine)if you cant argue the message (socialism) dont attack the messenger (Sowell) You cant debate his argument condescending or not (some of us read in crayon)the liberal sense of entitlement and criminal behavior of wanting to share other peoples stuff is flat out wrong..semantics aside and you know it... but your lib guilt wont allow you to admit it.
i may feel a lot of guilt, but i have absolutely no "liberal" guilt.
i understand how you have to over-simply things and make it "socialism" versus "capitalism" ... but it's more complicated than simply that. you know as well as i do that we do not live in a totally capitalistic society, and YOU i am sure, as well as SOWELL, have benefited from certain aspects of leveling out the playing fields so that more people can actually participate in the wealth that this nation produces.
the entire middle class has been on a subsidy since right after WWII. The G.I. bill sent hundrds of thousands of soldiers to college ... FOR FREE. Low-cost VA loans made it possible for these soldiers to buy homes. And so on and so on and so on ...
You guys exhaust me.
It really is that simple.
You want to redistrubute (steal)other peoples stuff (wealth) and give it other people. It really is as simple as that and its utterly and completely wrong.
Now I understand how you want to analyze the fiscal consequences and ramifications of said policies, perhaps even create a new study group to devise a proper tax code to implement and establish economic parity. But call it what you want and dump as much sugar on top of it as youd like... the fact remains that you favor systematic governmental stealing of peoples stuff to give to others. Need does not factor into this equation...everybody agrees that there are needy people, where we disagree is how to help them.
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