New study/experiment. Uber conservatives now get a diagnosis?

[Undertoad]

People who have enough and continue to accumulate wealth are part of the reason there's as much poverty as there is.

How exactly do you figure that?

This is the zero-sum pie slicing theory which says that if you have a bigger slice of the pie, it indicates that somebody else has a smaller piece. If you have a large slice you should give some of yours back, so that smaller-sliced people can have a slice closer to your size.

It is a broken way of looking at economics. Almost nothing in economics is "zero sum". If you look at it on a national scale, clearly and obviously the American pie of 1907 is tiny and the pie of 2007 is huge. This is due to the creation of wealth that happens when innovations, education, productivity and dynamism multiply upon themselves.

(I had to use the term "American pie". Sorry, there was no alternative.)

A free market does not guarantee people equal sizes of the pie. But it does seem to be the best guarantor of a pie that increases in size... until the poor people of 2007 live nearly as well as the moderately rich people of 1907.

[lookout123]

zero sum only works in a world where nothing is created or subtracted. In the market, not even commodities fit the bill there. The closest is real estate, but they've tested the boundaries with that even.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

This is the zero-sum pie slicing theory which says that if you have a bigger slice of the pie, it indicates that somebody else has a smaller piece. If you have a large slice you should give some of yours back, so that smaller-sliced people can have a slice closer to your size....

Simplified illustration:
A - Your company generates $1,000,000 in sales. As Bruce said, the CEO decides who is worth what amount and who gets how much. He keeps $500,000 for himself. He pays each of his 3 executive vice presidents $100,000. That leaves $200,000 to split among the 50 front-line revenue-generating employees.

B - Your company generates $1,000,000 in sales. As Bruce said, the CEO decides who is worth what amount and who gets how much. He keeps $100,000 for himself. He pays each of his 3 executive vice presidents $50,000. That leaves $750,000 to split among the 50 front-line revenue-generating employees.

Originally Posted by Undertoad

A free market does not guarantee people equal sizes of the pie. But it does seem to be the best guarantor of a pie that increases in size... until the poor people of 2007 live nearly as well as the moderately rich people of 1907.

I don't think I've said "equal", have I?

Eventually, if the disparity between rich and poor continues to increase, the climate will be similar to 1917 Russia and 1789 France.

UT, do you disagree that

People who have enough and continue to accumulate wealth are part of the reason there's as much poverty as there is. They are part of the reason that welfare rolls are as high as they are, and part of the reason your taxes are high. They are also part of the reason that America's middle class is disappearing.