[geeks] Well, crap ...

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

On Tue, 13 Mar 2007 07:22:01 -0400
Phil Stracchino <phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net> wrote:

> Sheldon T. Hall wrote:
> > Quoth Lionel Peterson ...
> >>> From: "Kevin R. Marshall" <kevin at mpcf.com>
> >>> If everyone made large amounts of money, it would have no 
> >>> value.  So much for Utopia...
> >> I said COULD, not would - I want everyone to have the ability 
> >> to make a lot 
> >> of money, but I agree, if everyone did, it would be 
> >> worthless... (I thought of that after I hit send)
> > 
> > Actually, compared to 40 or 50 years ago, everyone _does_ make a lot of
> > money.  At least they earn and posess a lot of units of currency, albeit
> > currency that is worth about 10% of what it was worth back then.  That's
> > in the USA; it's worse in some other places.
> 
> Really, the problem is in large part the establishment of an economy
> based on the idea that you aren't well off unless someone else nearby
> (but not TOO near, don't want Those People lowering the property value)
> is worse off than you.  The idea of *everyone* having Enough Stuff is
> anathema to the status-conscious.  Without a class of people to point to
> and say, "See, we're better than Those People", they don't feel secure.

It's not just that.

The way the economy works, if everyone had the same amount of money, everyone
would basically function as poor people do currently: have almost nothing.

The compromise is a mix of haves and have-nots.

The theory is that if we are careful, we can make sure even the have-nots at
least have everything they need.



-- 
shannon           | We have nothing to prove.
                  |        -- Alan Dawkins