Trickle down economics

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The rich invest.

They build the factories that employ people. They build the offices and the customer service centers.

The rich employ people.
 
I don’t disagree.

Where our disagreement stems from is whether it’s a personal obligation or government obligation.

I tend to lean more towards personal/Church obligation vs government.
 
Sorry, maybe I’ve mixed you up with someone else. I thought you were one of the people talking in favor of higher taxation to fund more social programs.
 
MonteRCMS said:
The rich invest.

They build the factories that employ people. They build the offices and the customer service centers.

The rich employ people.
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Is this supposed to be an argument in favor of trickle down economics? Since you just stated some facts but did not say what can be concluded from these facts, we are left to guess - perhaps wrongly - what your argument would be. It would be helpful in the future if you would present an explicit argument rather than an implicit one.

I suppose you mean that accepting the situation where most of the income goes to those that already have the most is OK because those rich people will use their money to build factories and hire workers, and thus pass the wealth on down to others. But most of the wealth remains at the top, even when they build factories and hire people. They do these things because they will sell what the factory makes and get even richer. The workers will give their working lives to this effort and receive the smallest payment that the factory owner can get away with paying. In the past these activities may have reduced income inequality by raising the standards of the working class. But in today’s environment with increased use of automation, the factory does not do nearly as much to raise the standards of the working class as it might have 50 or 60 years ago. The result is that the rich get much richer and the poor get only a little bit richer. Income inequality grows to the highest levels ever seen in US history. Is this justice?
 
Envy is a capital sin.

There is no nice way to put a pretty face on envy.

Stealing is a sin. The rich are protected.

Thou shalt NOT covet they neighbor’s goods.

Thou shalt NOT steal.

Jesus is the judge. HE decides who has been selfish. Not you.
 
JanSobieskiIII said:
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/23/why-inequality-isnt-a-problemcommentary.html
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The problem is that income inequality can be a good thing. Somebody makes and investment and takes a risk in the long run their income will be higher if they acted prudently. On the other hand, there are structures in society that work to keep the rich rich. A poor person does not have the same chance of getting into Harvard that a rich person does. Is that the kind of society we want? In my opinion, no.
 
MonteRCMS said:
Envy is a capital sin.
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So is bearing false witness. Nobody here has acted in an envious way.
MonteRCMS said:
Stealing is a sin. The rich are protected.
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Nobody has suggested stealing anything from the rich or anyone else.
MonteRCMS said:
Thou shalt NOT covet they neighbor’s goods.

Thou shalt NOT steal.
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Nobody has coveted anything. As to stealing you are being redundant.

Once again, Monte you have managed to create an entire post of irrelevance.
 
Luke 16:19-31New International Version (NIV)

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
 
You don’t need to go to Harvard to open a T-shirt factory or to write software.
 
I do definitely agree that “income inequality” is the wrong metric. Our goal should be that everyone can have their needs met and live with dignity. If I only need 2 currency units to do that, it doesn’t really matter to me if my neighbor has 8, so long as my neighbor isn’t permitted to use his 8 to take away my 2. On the other hand, if I need 2 and I have 1, I’m definitely going to be looking for a way to get 2, and if my neighbor has 8 that he’s keeping all to himself I’m going to notice, especially if I’m already working my tail off to keep my 1.
 
MonteRCMS said:
You don’t need to go to Harvard to open a T-shirt factory or to write software.
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Do we really want a society where a talented kid from Alabama who would make a world class mathematician is relegated to making t-shirts?
 
What on earth do you have against “being relegated” to making T-shirts.

If you want to become a world class mathematician, then you go to those places that employ mathematicians. And you become an instructor and a professor and write important articles and important books.
 
MonteRCMS said:
What on earth do you have against “being relegated” to making T-shirts.

If you want to become a world class mathematician, then you go to those places that employ mathematicians. And you become an instructor and a professor and write important articles and important books.
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So are you saying that an equally talented kid from Scarsdale and one from rural Alabama have the exact same chance of getting into Harvard? Admissions counselors from Harvard are very familiar with Scarsdale schools, Alabama not so much. So the richer kid has an advantage that actually serves no real purpose in society. And this is supposed to be desirable?
 
Generally rich people / rich families lose their riches within three generations.
 
It is a personal obligation.

At no time did Jesus put the obligation on the Romans.
 
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