Owners Of Walmart Are Wealthier Than Bottom 40% Of The US - Polidicks

It's quite absurd that there is any argument against increasing taxes for this brand of wealthy.

tax the rich and get the IRS on their ass

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;37064095]I am just going by the beloved phrase "hard working" people. "Not enough money? Work harder." Etc. Don't act like that isn't largely used.[/QUOTE] It's wrong and you shouldn't use it either, especially not ironically on the internet. [editline]3rd August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Sector 7;37064086]I would be totally fine with this if it wasn't possible to buy legislation.[/QUOTE] Nonono, you "donate" the legislation :downs: [editline]3rd August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=jA_cOp;37063946]It's not true for "any society". Scandinavia, continental Europe and Japan are varying levels of egalitarian.[/QUOTE] The owner of the biggest German food store chain, ALDI, is the 6th richest guy in the world or something.

what a surprise

[QUOTE=Ownederd;37064138]tax the rich and get the IRS on their ass[/QUOTE] Why? The wealth disparity isn't what's important - it's the overall standard of living that's important (which isn't reflected by measuring net worth).

[QUOTE=Biotoxsin;37062700]Gotta love wealth disparity. At least the money they're sitting on (hording) is doing them good. Why the fuck don't we have a graduated tax that imposes a wealth cap of sorts?[/QUOTE] "You're free to make yourself a living but only as comfortable as I like"

By this measurement, a homeless person with 2 pennies in his pocket and zero debt would have a greater net worth than [url="http://economyincrisis.org/content/one-four-households-have-no-net-worth"]25% of the US (who are in debt and have negative net worth) combined.[/url] Yet that homeless person would have a far less standard of living than virtually everyone in that 25%. This measurement isn't useful for anything other than political shock value. It says nothing about the overall standard of living.

[QUOTE=Noble;37068788]Why? The wealth disparity isn't what's important - it's the overall standard of living that's important (which isn't reflected by measuring net worth).[/QUOTE] Isn't the issue with the growing wealth disparity that the middle class has stagnated? Beyond that yeah I have no idea why someone would think this is somehow outrageous, Walmart is, well, Walmart.

The middle class has stagnated because people lost their jobs and had to scale back their lifestyles (and of course, went into debt). The wealth disparity is a reflection of that, not the cause. (if that's what you were suggesting)

It costs money to be born, it costs money to live, it costs money to die. I wonder if it'll cost money to get into heaven or hell. When I die I'd rather be buried in an unmarked grave without a coffin or anything than make my family pay 100$ just to put me in the ground. I wonder if we'll ever have a society that doesn't run on money but simple self sufficiency, one that doesn't consume its own world faster than it takes it to die. Our societies are a mess, it's no wonder there's so many suicidal people.

[QUOTE=Noble;37069242]The middle class has stagnated because people lost their jobs and had to scale back their lifestyles (and of course, went into debt). The wealth disparity is a reflection of that, not the cause. (if that's what you were suggesting)[/QUOTE] I mean over the past few decades not just now, but even if it is the result it indicates that the wealthiest prosper but the economy and public policy aren't growing the middle well enough.

Are people REALLY complaining about smart people making money? That's generally what happens in a capitalist society...

[QUOTE=clc666;37069614]It costs money to be born, it costs money to live, it costs money to die. I wonder if it'll cost money to get into heaven or hell[/QUOTE] well in ancient mythology you had to pay Charon to cross the river Styx into the underworld fear my basic knowledge of mythology

[QUOTE=rapperkid04;37071811]Are people REALLY complaining about smart people making money? That's generally what happens in a capitalist society...[/QUOTE] People are complaining about one small minority having an obscene amount of money, that's "generally what happens in a capitalist society." It has more to do with luck than intelligence.

[QUOTE=Biotoxsin;37062700]Gotta love wealth disparity. At least the money they're sitting on (hording) is doing them good. Why the fuck don't we have a graduated tax that imposes a wealth cap of sorts?[/QUOTE] Wealth cap? Seriously? Not every rich person completely fucks poor people over, quite a few actually deserve and earned their fortune. To tell them they can't get any more money for the work they do would cause them to not give ANY back and that's where you would see the hoarding. Also do you have any idea how many employee's Wal-Mart has? Sure you may not be raking in the big bucks but I'd rather work at Wal-Mart then be unemployed.

Living in Northwest Arkansas, I've actually come to appreciate that the Waltons actually do a lot of good things. They've supported art museums and tourism in the area, as well as donating millions upon millions to universities all around the state and more.

[QUOTE=Killuah;37064026]Money is not representing "hardness of work", it is representing VALUE of work.[/QUOTE] Actually it doesn't represent either, or do you think stock trading is somehow valuable to society?

[QUOTE=FreeOnions;37072430]People are complaining about one small minority having an obscene amount of money, that's "generally what happens in a capitalist society." It has more to do with luck than intelligence.[/QUOTE] Sam Walton was a business genius, plain and simple. The empire he created is absolutely massive. Insane, even. Sure, his kids and wife get a free ride on his work, but you can't understate his cunning.

I saw a video about WalMart, when I was in High School, that basically said WalMart is practically a monopoly and have been taking smaller companies out of business in rural areas because they are an all-in-one-shopping store. So to speak. But also; they rigged the punch-in clocks on their employees by saying most never worked over time when they did. Forcing workers to have too maintain two jobs because of no over pay. The study my grade conducted in class was to try and figure out how many hours a person needed to work a week for minimum wage just to barely live above minimal standards. Most people needed to maintain two jobs because one was not enough.

[QUOTE=FreeOnions;37072430]People are complaining about one small minority having an obscene amount of money, that's "generally what happens in a capitalist society." It has more to do with luck than intelligence.[/QUOTE] That small minority got "lucky" by creating successful businesses... You can argue that any idiot can make a lot of money but you can't really call that luck.

Well there ARE these studies that Walmart destroys every other market buisiness in an area where a new one opens. But that's modernization.

how dare people who create massive business empires get money from their empires

[QUOTE=valkery;37061894]But more than nearly half of America's wealth being spread among six people is ridiculous.[/QUOTE] not really. Keep in mind that those super rich people generally own most stuff that you use to make money. So they generally own stuff that generally has greater financial returns, while you generally only own stuff that is relatively static. So your wealth is only generated by stuff you do. Their wealth is at the point that it generates more wealth just from existing almost. So they generate money at a faster rate than you and their wealth generation line actually rises exponentially. Yours library, if at all.

Having a rich minority is not the problem. The problem is having a rich minority, then a huge income gap to the middle class and poor. That problem is made even worse when that gap keeps increasing, as it is now.

[QUOTE=rapperkid04;37071811]Are people REALLY complaining about smart people making money? That's generally what happens in a capitalist society...[/QUOTE] The people who currently own Wal-Mart didn't found it: Sam Walton did. And up until his death, people worked for Wal-Mart full-time, had full benefits, etc. And Mr. Walton continued driving around in a beat-up old pick-up truck and living in a very basic home. Then he died, his kids got a hold of it, and Wal-Mart became what it is today, with hardly any employees working full-time, no benefits for most workers, etc.

At first I thought the title said "Owners Of Walmart Are Healthier Than Bottom 40% Of The US" I was like No shit.