<div dir="ltr">Samantha,<div>The problem is not the wealth inequality is created by people like Elon Musk. He is the exception. In fact, it would be fine if wealth was gained in this way by creating real value in the world. <br>Most wealth though is in the hands of people that have inherited without any personal merit and the wealth is not used to create further value but for speculation and rent seeking. <br>Look up the research on this. These agents are really parasites on the system. </div><div>Giovanni </div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, May 7, 2016 at 9:53 PM, Samantha Atkins <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sjatkins@gmail.com" target="_blank">sjatkins@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Income inequality is a complete non-problem. There is no reason in
reality that the relative income of intelligent agents (people for
now) should be confined to some arbitrary narrow range relative to
one another. Wealth is created, it is not static. So if Elon Musk
creates $billions in value we should cheer like mad because that
much more value now exist in the world we share. And the $billions
that are counted as his personal net worth are a small fraction of
the actual value he created. Do we want to limit an Elon Musk to
no more value creation than some arbitrary factor times the average
value created by persons of his generation and society? What for?<br>
<br>
Or do we want to limit the amount of the wealth he produced that he
can personally control? Who would we rather control some resources,
someone who has shown they have the Midas touch turning a given
quantity of resources into the gold of more resources or someone
that has shown no such thing and seems to somehow always consume
approximately as much as they produce? I would want rationally to
see that person expert in increasing value/wealth to have as much of
it to multiply as possible. And of course the private space
program and the real viable electric car would not exist without
some real wealth in the hands of a few with sufficient vision and
skill. <br>
<br>
Under accelerating change I would expect and increase in
income/wealth inequality. Technology is a force multiplier. Those
who avail themselves of it earlier and/or better will have their
efforts multiplied more, including efforts that have economic
consequences.<br>
<br>
In reality unequal actions do not produce equal results. This is
nothing to cry over and certainly nothing to impose limitations on
anyone over.<br>
<br>
Or is the perceived "problem" that more money might buy more
political favor? Well the answer to that is that government's
should have no favors to sell as legitimate government is severely
limited in what it can exert major power over. It is not the
fault of the wealthy that government has so gotten out of hand that
it controls aspects of about everything in our lives. Nor that it
has so drained the economy that despite how much it has taken for so
long it has put (US) us nearly $20 trillion in debt as well and over
$100 trillion if you counted unfunded liabilities (promise of bread
and circuses tomorrow). <br><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
<br>
- samantha</font></span><div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<div>On 05/07/2016 03:21 PM, John Clark
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="h5">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">On Sat, May 7, 2016 at
5:04 PM, Bill Hibbard </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><<a href="mailto:test@ssec.wisc.edu" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:test@ssec.wisc.edu" target="_blank">test@ssec.wisc.edu</a>></span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> wrote:</span><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><span style="font-size:12.8px">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
> </div>
He
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
[Dumb Donald]</div>
is one of many symptoms of a global phenomenon of<br>
</span><span style="font-size:12.8px">social disruption
caused by technological change. In
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div>
</span><span style="font-size:12.8px">particular, lots of
people are not needed by the
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div>
</span><span style="font-size:12.8px">market, or no longer
needed at the price they used to<br>
</span><span style="font-size:12.8px">get</span></blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline"><font size="4">Yes.</font></div>
<font size="4">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
There are 7 billion people on the Earth and in 2014 the
richest 85 people had as much money as the poorest 3.5
billion did, in 2015 the richest 80 did, in 2016 the
richest 62 did. This trend does not promote social
cohesion or stability and if the Libertarian Party
wishes to gain power its going to have to address it.
I'm not making a moral judgement just stating a fact.</div>
</font></div>
<div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline"><br>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
> </div>
Trump is just a symptom </span></blockquote>
<br>
<font size="4">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
Dumb Donald</div>
is more than that,
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
T</div>
rump is a
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div>
existential threat
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
.</div>
</font>
<div><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
> </div>
My bet is that the world will survive the Trump
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div>
vs Clinton election.</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline"><font size="4">I agree, we'll probably survive, the betting
market only gives Trump a 23.5% chance of winning.</font></div>
</div>
<div><font size="4"><br>
</font></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="4"> John K Clark</font></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset></fieldset>
<br>
</div></div><span class=""><pre>_______________________________________________
extropy-chat mailing list
<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>
<a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat" target="_blank">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a>
</pre>
</span></blockquote>
<br>
</div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
extropy-chat mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br></div>