The United States now has the highest income inequality in the developed world

[JoeNormal]

Sure you did. So how long did you live there? 6 months? A year?

Nah, a couple of weeks in Madrid and Barcelona. I'm a quick study.

A couple of weeks is practically the same length of time as a holiday. Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain. They're exactly the kinds of places one would travel to if one is a tourist.

Are you sure you've learned everything you needed to know how the quality of life in Spain by your length of time there, and by your choice of cities to travel to? What exactly do you know about their youth unemployment problem?

Well, I haven't expatriated yet have I? My main point in trying to quash rumors of Spain being some kind of impoverished hell hole where everybody is more equally miserable is because it flies so squarely in the face of what I've directly experienced.

 

[AmazonTania]

Nah, a couple of weeks in Madrid and Barcelona. I'm a quick study.

A couple of weeks is practically the same length of time as a holiday. Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain. They're exactly the kinds of places one would travel to if one is a tourist.

Are you sure you've learned everything you needed to know how the quality of life in Spain by your length of time there, and by your choice of cities to travel to? What exactly do you know about their youth unemployment problem?

Well, I haven't expatriated yet have I? My main point in trying to quash rumors of Spain being some kind of impoverished hell hole where everybody is more equally miserable is because it flies so squarely in the face of what I've directly experienced.

It's not impoverished by any means. Spain still has it's global portion of millionaires left, although it's on a downward trend. Spain has relatively high human development, but it has lots of problems. Anyone could pick up and leave America to migrate to Spain with only a very small decline (change) in their lifestyle. It's not a bad country, but you'd have to be a complete nutter to want to follow it's example.

 

[asterism]

They're no doubt having some down times. I have as much confidence that they'll eventually recover as any countries that are struggling right now including our own.

How can they be happy with less? Well, beyond a level it would take to be comfortable, money isn't that important. You have to ask yourself what you're giving up in order to make more. Are you doing something that's ethical and you can be proud of? Does it take so much time and energy that you can't spend quality time with friends and family? Is it wrecking your health? The list is endless.

"beyond a level it would take to be comfortable, money isn't that important" an interesting perspective in a thread discussing INCOME INEQUALITY.

Are you dense? The people at the top are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that the average American doesn't have enough money to be comfortable.

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

 

[boedicca]

A big driver in income equality is family formation. Two parent families are far less likely to be at the poverty level (5%) than single parent ones (30%).

...For those tempted to say, “So what?”, rising income inequality, wealth disparities, and disproportionate health outcomes are all impossible to understand without taking a hard look at families. As Jason DeParle wrote last year in The New York Times that “changes in marriage patterns — as opposed to changes in individual earnings — may account for as much as 40% of the growth in certain measures of inequality.” David Leonhardt, also of the Times, noted a recent finding that “family structure was one of the four factors with a clear relationship to upward mobility.” As Schulz himself found, only 5% of married families were poor at any point this year, while 30% of single-parent households felt the blow of poverty. These data points paint a bleak portrait; those being raised without a mother and a father will face immense social and economic barriers.

The end result is that American families now seem to follow two tracks: those of the upper-middle class, where family institutions remain relatively strong, and those of the lower-middle class, where family instability is distressingly common. Charles Murray’s Coming Apart, in particular, provides a detailed picture of this growing disconnect.

Many people can and do succeed in the midst of family brokenness, of course. Yet the risks of failing are far too high when kids are raised in the context of relational instability. Socioeconomic mobility and multigenerational poverty are empirically linked to family stability like never before.

Family is society writ small, where one builds basic human capital, social capital, and skills. In Schulz’s calculation, family is a basic, vital economic unit—the X factor. Family builds empathy and self-control, which in turn shapes character. Character fosters human capital (“knowledge, education, habits, willpower&#8221 and social capital (assets “created and maintained by relationships of commitment and trust&#8221, which ultimately generates economic growth. You could practically build a formula out of it....


Why 'The Family' Matters in Economics | Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

 

[daveman]

according to socon Repubs, its gawds will that the income gap is so extreme.

You don't like being poor?

Get off your ass and get to work. Nobody owes you anything.

 

[daveman]

Nah, a couple of weeks in Madrid and Barcelona. I'm a quick study.

A couple of weeks is practically the same length of time as a holiday. Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain. They're exactly the kinds of places one would travel to if one is a tourist.

Are you sure you've learned everything you needed to know how the quality of life in Spain by your length of time there, and by your choice of cities to travel to? What exactly do you know about their youth unemployment problem?

Well, I haven't expatriated yet have I? My main point in trying to quash rumors of Spain being some kind of impoverished hell hole where everybody is more equally miserable is because it flies so squarely in the face of what I've directly experienced.

Seeing Spain from your hotel room for a month doesn't tell you what Spain's like. It tells you what their room service is like.

 

[JoeNormal]

A couple of weeks is practically the same length of time as a holiday. Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain. They're exactly the kinds of places one would travel to if one is a tourist.

Are you sure you've learned everything you needed to know how the quality of life in Spain by your length of time there, and by your choice of cities to travel to? What exactly do you know about their youth unemployment problem?

Well, I haven't expatriated yet have I? My main point in trying to quash rumors of Spain being some kind of impoverished hell hole where everybody is more equally miserable is because it flies so squarely in the face of what I've directly experienced.

Seeing Spain from your hotel room for a month doesn't tell you what Spain's like. It tells you what their room service is like.

Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your forte does it. I already told you I hung out with the working stiffs. That includes lunch and dinner almost every day. The only meal I ever ate at the hotel was breakfast.

 

[JoeNormal]

"beyond a level it would take to be comfortable, money isn't that important" an interesting perspective in a thread discussing INCOME INEQUALITY.

Are you dense? The people at the top are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that the average American doesn't have enough money to be comfortable.

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

 

[Rshermr]

Are you dense? The people at the top are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that the average American doesn't have enough money to be comfortable.

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

Cons are logic challenged. To them, it is about income. So, if they make $5K per month and pay $1.2K for medical, then they make $5K per month.

To actual thinking people, if they make $5K and paid $1.2K for medical, that is $3.8K that they made.
This whole thinking thing is just too difficult for con tools. They prefer to believe what they are told.

 

[AmazonTania]

Are you dense? The people at the top are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that the average American doesn't have enough money to be comfortable.

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

They don't work themselves to death simply because many of the Spaniards do not work. At least, if you are younger than the age of 28. Most of the older individuals have seniority, as they have been working at their positions for much longer. This means the youth are stuck with temporary and part-time jobs.

Don't worry. You don't have to up and leave. America will soon transform itself to the point of where it's labour force is similar to Spain.

 

[asterism]

Are you dense? The people at the top are using every tool at their disposal to ensure that the average American doesn't have enough money to be comfortable.

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

No.

So can one get from Barcelona to Sevilla via subway? No.

Is Madrid any more vibrant than Austin? I doubt it but it's been over 20 years since I was there last. As far as the other valid qualities, I agree that Spain has a more laid back lifestyle and it's healthy, very similar to rural Ohio or on Wyoming ranches. However, a culture that enjoys life without money is not being kept down by people who are rich.

 

[asterism]

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

Cons are logic challenged. To them, it is about income. So, if they make $5K per month and pay $1.2K for medical, then they make $5K per month.

To actual thinking people, if they make $5K and paid $1.2K for medical, that is $3.8K that they made.
This whole thinking thing is just too difficult for con tools. They prefer to believe what they are told.

I'm quite logical and I understand the factors that make a difference in disposable income. It's one of the reasons I still live in Florida instead of accepting a far higher paying job in Manhattan. While it would be a significant raise to me, the additional cost of living would not make it worthwhile - not to mention the hours long commute needed just to have a nice backyard.

 

[JoeNormal]

That is laughable.

What exactly is better in Spain with 40% less in income?

For one thing, they don't work themselves to death. For another, you get get anywhere you want to be via subway. The cities are vibrant and happening. The food is real. Haven't we been through all this before?

No.

So can one get from Barcelona to Sevilla via subway? No.[\quote]

Gawd, how I hate stupid semantic arguments. Ok, yeah you might have to take the subway and train or plane.

Is Madrid any more vibrant than Austin? I doubt it but it's been over 20 years since I was there last. As far as the other valid qualities, I agree that Spain has a more laid back lifestyle and it's healthy, very similar to rural Ohio or on Wyoming ranches. However, a culture that enjoys life without money is not being kept down by people who are rich.

I've only passed through Austin so I can't say. I will say that the only American cities that are in the same league that I've been to are New York and Chicago - and I've been all over the country. European cities are great because the commoners have access to them. New York has priced itself beyond the means of even having a great music scene any longer.

 

[whitehall]

The US has the highest income in the world and democrats have made sure that that their voting base remains poor and angry. The radical left constantly rails against corporate wealth but it's corporate wealth that supports the economy. Add the fact that the US supports, feeds and educates an illegal alien population equal to the entire population of some small countries.

 

[daveman]

Well, I haven't expatriated yet have I? My main point in trying to quash rumors of Spain being some kind of impoverished hell hole where everybody is more equally miserable is because it flies so squarely in the face of what I've directly experienced.

Seeing Spain from your hotel room for a month doesn't tell you what Spain's like. It tells you what their room service is like.

Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your forte does it. I already told you I hung out with the working stiffs. That includes lunch and dinner almost every day. The only meal I ever ate at the hotel was breakfast.

Yeah. Did you hang out with any unemployed people? Any poor people? Any homeless people?

No?

Then it looks like you don't know shit about what it's like being poor in Spain, doesn't it?

 

[JoeNormal]

Seeing Spain from your hotel room for a month doesn't tell you what Spain's like. It tells you what their room service is like.

Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your forte does it. I already told you I hung out with the working stiffs. That includes lunch and dinner almost every day. The only meal I ever ate at the hotel was breakfast.

Yeah. Did you hang out with any unemployed people? Any poor people? Any homeless people?

No?

Then it looks like you don't know shit about what it's like being poor in Spain, doesn't it?

Why don't you tell me how many poor, homeless and unemployed people you hang out with. Must be a whole bunch considering the strong opinions you hold about them.

 

[AmazonTania]

Spains at-risk-of-poverty rate is 21.8%. United States is around 15 or 16%. I am still puzzled by this higher quality of life you believe is so great in Spain.

 

[asterism]

Spains at-risk-of-poverty rate is 21.8%. United States is around 15 or 16%. I am still puzzled by this higher quality of life you believe is so great in Spain.

So it seems on that metric low income inequality doesn't improve things.

 

[AmazonTania]

Denmark has the lowest income inequality of all nations (OECD anyway), but it's poverty rate is not much different than the United States.

People don't seem to realise that you cannot make everyone more equal by making everyone wealthy. This can only be done by making everyone poorer.