The reality of wealth distribution - a visual representation

I'm not sure if this is in the correct forum (or even if it's already been posted), so please move or 86 as needed.

Reading about numbers and statistics is fine and good, but if you're like me, a picture really is worth a thousand words. This video left me stunned at just how bad the wealth distribution is in the US. Unfortunately, it also left me feeling as if everyone outside the 1% is beyond hope now.

The reality of wealth distribution

Note: I am on my tablet and cannot post screenshots. If someone could provide some that'd be great. If not, I will try and get some tomorrow.

ETA: I just noticed that there is a transcription link under the video for those who can't view it

reply to post by halfpint0701


I have not watched it, but here is the vid.

reply to post by Elton


Thanks for the embed! It was too p.i.t.a for me to do that from my tablet.

reply to post by halfpint0701


No problem, wow, the distribution of wealth in the USA seems pretty crazy. (assuming the video is accurate)

From motherjones.com

Wow, and what happens to the 1% when the SHTF and the rest of the people have nothing to loose ?

It has been posted before but I believe it's necessary to remind people periodically just how badly skewed this current system is.

I have Republican leanings & I'm all for the guy at the top making significantly more than the guy at the bottom - there is a point where it's just too much though.

It must be rebalanced somehow...for the sake of society

History has shown that it only tends to get this bad right before a complete societal breakdown...

They employ their drone soldiers to wipe out the bottom 40%

JHumm
Wow, and what happens to the 1% when the SHTF and the rest of the people have nothing to loose ?

edit on 24110000003 by JHumm because: (no reason given)

they will cowering away deep down below the earth in a bunker would be my guess...waiting and hoping they can resurface one day

hopenotfeariswhatweneed

JHumm
Wow, and what happens to the 1% when the SHTF and the rest of the people have nothing to loose ?

edit on 24110000003 by JHumm because: (no reason given)

they will cowering away deep down below the earth in a bunker would be my guess...waiting and hoping they can resurface one day

I hope I can find the air vent to their bunker and stuff it full of dirty socks and they suffocate while smelling dirty feet . LOL

Love these kinds of threads. Nothing's gonna change ... but it sure is nice to vent (hee hee) a bit. Free stars for everyone!!

reply to post by Elton


Looks just like the old 80/20 rule to me. We see the 80/20 rule almost everywhere we look. 20% of x makes 80% of y. For example, 20% of the product lines make 80% of the income in a business. 20% of the customers are the source of 80% of your customer problems. It goes on just about everywhere. It should be no surprise to anyone that 20% of the population holds 80% of the wealth. It would be really odd if that was not the case!

I'd like to see the data which indicates this 80/20 rule, which is very common in all sorts of human activities, is associated with an impending complete breakdown of society. I suspect it wasn't that long ago that kings (Tzars, Emperors, etc) plus a few close relatives owned nearly 100% and they were a lot less than 5% of the population. So, no, I don't believe the claim if it's close to 80/20 -- meaning 80% of the wealth is held by 20% of the population -- is a sign of a problem. Remember 20% is 1 in 5, that means a lot of examples of wealth exist around you on a daily basis.

I think rather that there may be some data manipulation, specifically picking and choosing of what to include and not include as societal breakdowns, going on behind the scenes. I've seen this claim before, it seemed very suspicious then and still does now. I've never see a definition of what qualifies as a "societal breakdown" nor do we know what span of time and government types this is claim is supposedly built upon.

Prosperity that comes at such a high human cost, that requires such a large disparity of success among the nations population, is no prosperity at all.

Real prosperity enriches us as a society and people, this, this is a prevision of success.

I have come to realise over the past few weeks how hypocritical it is of all of us to talk about wealth distribution.
If you are lucky enough to be reading this you are 1 of the planets elite.

All of us here have access to clean water and food, a few possesions (at least a computer Ill assume) maybe a car etc etc.
If the 1% should be forced to give up what they have to be on par with us plebs then maybe us plebs should give up most of what we have to the truly downtrodden in places like Sth America, Afica and SE Asia?

Next time the excesses of the 1% make you sick remember that probably 30-40% of the planet thinks YOU are rich, excessive and Elite!!!!

What are you prepared to sacrifice when this wealth redistribution happens?

IkNOwSTuff
I have come to realise over the past few weeks how hypocritical it is of all of us to talk about wealth distribution.
If you are lucky enough to be reading this you are 1 of the planets elite.

All of us here have access to clean water and food, a few possesions (at least a computer Ill assume) maybe a car etc etc.
If the 1% should be forced to give up what they have to be on par with us plebs then maybe us plebs should give up most of what we have to the truly downtrodden in places like Sth America, Afica and SE Asia?

Next time the excesses of the 1% make you sick remember that probably 30-40% of the planet thinks YOU are rich, excessive and Elite!!!!

What are you prepared to sacrifice when this wealth redistribution happens?

Oh, that is an issue, one day, there will come a price for the raping of the third world this level of exploitation brings.

You are right, every american is most likely in the 1% of the worlds population, we are Roman citizens basking in the decadence and luxury of rome at the height of collapse.

So are you going to sit there and eat your grapes and sigh Oh well, I would be a hypocrite to advocate change...

I beg to differ some on this. Yes, the average citizen of the US is in the top 20% of the world, even if "poor." But there will not be a price to be paid for that as imagined. What will be paid for is the loss of that top 20% status by the average citizen as the basis of the future economy continues to take form.

The US has been in transition for much of it's history, and as those transitions reached a more developed point, social norms began to be displaced and destroyed. The transition from heavy agriculture in the 1700's to manufacturing and sales in the late 1800's and early 1900's caused a great number of changes to families, communities, and the definition of wealth. We are in another change from heavy manufacturing and sales to technology and virtual business. Along with that change will come further massive changes to families, communities, and the definition of wealth. We have only recently hit the point at which this is beginning to force the majority to adapt and it's becoming clear that the adaptation is going to be difficult for many who are unprepared for this future. People, families, and communities who have bet their well-being around the economy of the late 1800's and early 1900's (the old economy) are being squeezed out. It's not going to get better for the long run even if there is some short-term bounce back.

Those who are squeezed out are going to be less and less happy in the next 20+ years. There will be social unrest as the unprepared old-economy middle class is dissolved into an increasingly poorer status. They don't have the skills to succeed in the new economy and, since the popular culture for so long has reviled the technical "nerd," they are very unlikely to see how to get out of the situation they find themselves in. It's very unlikely heavy manufacturing will ever return and need a large workforce, automation will dominate. And automation is likely to continue to displace the low end of technical workers as it has for the last 20 years. I'd expect that even the concept of mega-cities will be heavily adapted -- we won't need as close quarters to conduct business and communicate efficiently. People will be able to spread out some and commuting will not be as necessary. Perhaps some of the extended family will eventually return? I'd be surprised if something like a drone (when physical presence is needed) or avatar (when virtual presence suffices) salesman does not arise as a "presence" is more efficient and less expensive than actually having to be there.

You can see the near future trend for the average worker by looking at the changes which has happened in particular services like: auto repair, TV and cable and communications installers, central air and heating installers, etc. It's all going to get more technically demanding and require a different level of education. Those who can't transition and who are unlucky in finding an old economy job will become the new poor.

it seems to me that wealth distribution is just a reflection of human potential and will.

not everyone want to be rich.

most of the people like to be just a regular citizens with minimum needs and little will to work hard to achieve true prosperity.

it is risky and hard to aim high, much easier to regular guy with some excuses.

Not everyone wants to be rich, not everyone is meant to be rich, not everyone should be rich. In every area of life, be it sports or education, arts or economy people are different from one another. Attempts to make them all equal (which is the poorly concealed purpose of lamenting "wealth inequality") contradicts human nature, contradicts merit, and usually ends up making everyone equally poor.

coldkidc
there is a point where it's just too much though.

It must be rebalanced somehow...for the sake of society

History has shown that it only tends to get this bad right before a complete societal breakdown...

The implication of your philosophy is that if one person gains, another loses. The opposite is true. No money is made without providing some sort of gain for another person.

That wealth distribution chart also goes a long way to explain teen pregnancy, drug use and crime. There was a study a while ago that showed countries like Norway where the top earners had 20x the bottom earners had far lower incidences of the negative things that ultimately cost society more money. Have a look for "the spirit level" if you want to know more.

Anyway, with the greater inequality comes higher crime rates etc, abd who picks up the tab for all this? Mostly the bottom 80% cos they arent able to dodge taxes like the seriously rich, so, bizarrely, the poorest are subsidising the lifestyle of the richest by paying for the fallout from the crazy income differential. kind of mad when people get so het up about welfare claimants buying a pack of cigarettes or something, isn't it?

Here's the funny thing. All of the so-called "1 percenters" seem to be deliberately doing things to upset the so-called "99%". Now call me stupid but if they were smart enough to be as smart as they're supposed to be to keep us all enslaved, wouldn't they know better? Wouldn't they refrain from blatantly doing things that piss people off?

They couldn't possibly believe that people won't protest if they can actually see and understand what's happening. So why would they do that? Shouldn't they be sneaky instead? Wouldn't it be worth being just a little less rich if it was going to keep them at the top much longer?

So what are these people really trying to do here? Are they stupid? No. If they were, they wouldn't be the richest and most powerful people alive. So if they aren't stupid, they know precisely what they're doing and what people will think when they do it. Right?