The Perpetual Mistake

Here the perpetual mistake, assuming that wealth is constant and all that's to be decided is how to divide the pie. The poor in this country are considered upper middle class by the UN relative to the average person living today by PPP. Certain people create more wealth than others, that will never change, but the important thing is to create a system where "talented" people are able to maximize on their potential for wealth creation. Due to social effects and factors, the very fact that there is more wealth benefits all of society, which is why our poor are able to live better than most people on the planet. It's why our people as a whole and even our poor are better off living here than in Venezuela where the government actively tries to do what Roger preaches, that is take from the rich and give to the poor.

Globalization cannot be stopped, just as the age of railroads brought about changes, so will this era, we can't ever go back in time. With so many low-skilled workers entering the world economy at the same time, wages will have to equalize, there is just no way around it. Protectionism will be more harmful in the long run as it will make US companies dependent upon the protection for survival, look how hard it is for Chinese companies to gain a global foothold. Look how few companies in Russia are able to compete globally, it's hard to become a multinational though we take it for granted.

Besides, as other countries get richer, that wealth will benefit us as well. They'll be able to purchase more of our goods, more of our capital intensive products, as the total amount of wealth creation rises, everyone benefits though some more than others.

I don't understand the complaints of Roger, our standard of living continues to rise, including the poor and middle classes. People in this country have it easier today than at any other time, it was never easy to begin with, progress has always taken great effort and we've always had to work hard just to keep alive. Well, that's no longer the case now in this country, we can keep alive without working if we want and that's a big advancement from the past. Make a sardonic comment if you want, but there is no utopia on Earth and there never was.

It seems these complaints compare our society to some mystical perfect world where everyone can live like the rich of their time, but that's not possible. Rich and poor are relative terms, our poor live better than the elite lords and dukes of the middle ages, even better than the rich of a century ago, by what method do you arrive at your conclusions? What are you comparing to? The rich of our day? Some fantasy world? Both are impossible dreams, but I'll tell you what, the poor of the future will live better than the rich of today, that I am certain of. Your solutions are more harmful than good, it's time to step around the tree in front of you and see the forest.