It means you have to work harder on start up.
How will that make profit? How will that help someone acquire the “skills needed to work profitably”? Are you now saying there is no skill, only a level of effort required?
If so, why would you have written that one needed to acquire “skills”?
I am willing. As I stated above, provided equal opportunity is there and technology/quality keep advancing like they are, I do not care about unequal outcomes. But I make no comment about your OP in terms of potential lawlessness or instability.
profit on a project occurs after you subtract expenses which don’t change. If it takes longer for a newbie to complete the job the “hourly wage” is lower but the profit doesn’t change.
This is exactly my plan for my unlicensed, unbonded plastic surgery business. Lots and lots of elbow grease.
Uh.. Does anyone know if elbow grease is sterile?
So you have no plans of actually debating this then?
I don’t believe that “poor people are just jealous of the wealthy”. Envious, perhaps, but who wouldn’t be. I do, however, think that poor people tend to think that the wealthy go there “just because” and fail to take in consideration the hard work and risks that most took to become well off. Sadly I am not in the 1%, not even close. But I know a few that are and they busted their butts to get there. It is very easy to hate someone who is wealthy when you think that their wealth was just handed to them. Maybe it is a bit easier to understand the wealthy if you have a good idea of the sacrifices they made to get them to that point.
My wife’s ex-husband was wealthy. But he got there by working 80 hour weeks, never home with the family and thinking only about business even when not working. She prefers my limited means much better because I am always available to be with the family.
As far as the tipping point? Who knows, but it mostly depends on the current state of the economy. When things are going well, even if you aren’t wealthy you are pretty much happy. It will be the mood and the condition of the economy overall that will determine when enough is enough. If the economy turns around and most are employed the feelings of the gap will subside. There will still be some upset at the disparity, but the majority will be quite content as long as their lives are on the right track.
I think my comments are just as humorous, if not more so, than your implied advice to homeowners to use unlicensed, unbonded, and inexperienced contractors for home improvement work.
You said nearly half are already “there”, where “there” was poverty. That’s not correct, even per your own cite. If half are poor (ie, in poverty) or low income, and (per the cite) 31% are low income, ~19% are poor. 19 does not round to 50 in any math class I ever took.
Well, maybe you need to tell us. As far as I can tell, your primary thesis (as stated in the OP) is that there will be “ugliness” when the current 50% poor + low income gets to 65%. Your secondary thesis is that, at 80%, our society will not continue in it’s present form. If that’s not correct, can you lay out just what your thesis is?
Debating what? That someone can start a business in contravention of laws, with no insurance and no experience? Yes, of course someone can break the law. And yes, some can rise from poverty into the 1%
However, that was not the OP.
The OP is “At what point is income inequality too unequal” You’re not answering the question And I already scoffed at the notion of “the poor should just earn more money” back in post #3. This pithy sentiment does not answer the question.
It’s very true that it’s the equality of opportunity that must be looked at in this context. Once people feel that they cannot get ahead, then the shit will hit the fan. And yes, there are those who are very wealthy who go there by hard work. Most of them also had many other advantages. A very very few got there from poverty, and most of those had a good dose of good luck (whether they admit this or not).
If we ever get to the place where it is virtually impossible to get to the 1% on hard work and luck alone (ie you must be born into it), then look out.
So, was it legal or not? Do you buy counterfeit software also? And what if he fell off the roof and sued you? What if he put a hole through your roof?
People make money selling themselves and selling dope - but I’m not sure a good career counselor should recommend either.
Or lemonade stands. My wife is a writer, and she didn’t need a lot of start-up money. But, as we’ve shown, much contracting requires education and licensing - and tools often. Perhaps a truck. And of course skill. Anyone can call himself a writer with no upfront expense, but not everyone can write.
Do I understand that you’re proposing that the rise in income inequality that we’re seeing is simply a temporary thing, one which will reverse itself when the recession ends?
I wonder if you have anything to back up this opinion. I was under the impression that while things have gotten much worse/more obvious lately, there is a longer term trend of increasing income and wealth inequality - dating from 1979. Indeed, is there not evidence that the recession has ameliorated the trend, rather than increasing it - due to losses in the stock market?
(I know it’sa wiki cite, but it seems correct:)
Brains, motivation, creativity, and interpersonal relationships are not capital. No amount of money in the world could make me a good storyteller.
Really? Would we really have to wait until it’s that late?
And the point is most businesses either have a barrier to entry consisting of raising capital or a barrier to entry of skills - or often both. We all know that offers of employment/franchising that promise big money for no skills and no capital are scams.
Usually, these days, when people talk about income inequality, they talk about the big gap between the 1-percenters (or some such group) and everyone else. The OP is talking about the recent census numbers talking about the increase in the poverty and lower income groups. Different issue, but no big deal. At any rate, the census data is probably lagging a bit, meaning it was close to the bottom of the Great Recession when it was taken. I expect that as the economy improves, fewer people will fall in those categories.
You’re talking about the other kind of income inequality. The OP is bemoaning the increase in poor/lower income people. My opinion is based on what has happened during and after every recession. Maybe it’s different this time, but I doubt it.
Let’s look at the business model for this “company.” We know his pricing - not much, which is to be expected when working illegally. How does he get business? Doe he drive around looking for crappy roofs? Wait for a hurricane? We know he doesn’t advertise in the Yellow Pages because his lack of a license would stand right out, and someone from the city might notice. Fliers? I’ve often wondered who responds to those “we buy houses” fliers, now I know.
I don’t think his company is going to get a lot bigger until he becomes legal. I’m having a hard time seeing how he is going to get enough business to eat, let alone save up to take the classes he needs to be legal. Maybe he is really good and careful, but maybe he isn’t and is going to get sued and go bust long before he makes his fortune.
BTW, has it rained since he did his work? 
How do we know he did his work illegally? Ya’ll seem to be making some assumptions, or I missed it where Magiver said he was not licensed or bonded (not sure where Magiver lives for that matter). This could be a legit sole proprietorship run by a guy who first worked for another roofer, then split off on his own.
There ARE a lot of semi-skilled service jobs out there. I have a guy doing some work for me on a property. Turns out once I pay him to help out for 2 weeks, I have to make him an employee. I am instead paying for his $275 general Mr. FixIt fee so that I can pay him directly instead.
As for the OP from Snowboarder Bo:
Nothing wrong with income inequality - it is to be expected in any society. I am not even concerned with the ratios. If Mark Zuckerberg has 10,000% of my net worth, good for him. I have heard that the Facebook IPO will create 1,000 millionaires - fantastic.
The type of income inequality I do NOT want in my society is people without the basic levels of Maslow covered. Someone working full time as an adult should be able to afford shelter (rented is fine), food and healthcare. They and their children should have education available to them that will help them move up the levels IF they so choose to do so. It bothers me that the quintile class movement in the US has stagnated in recent years, as I am someone who has moved up significantly from his parent’s levels.
I WANT there to be a big, shiny brass ring to reach for. But I want people to be able to make a buck or two as well.
The business mode is pretty simple. A person starts small doing work that doesn’t require a lot of capital and works up to larger jobs using the profit to build on it.
In my example the kid had 4 people working for him by the time I hired him.
It’s sad that you make light of people who start up their own company using hard work and a little initiative. If I had your “can’t do” attitude I would not have survived 3 1/2 years of unemployment.
If some states require a license to drive a nail into a shingle then you can eliminate this from an infinite number of jobs a person can do for money that don’t require much of an investment.
but to answer your question, no my roof doesn’t leak and has stood up to driving winds that destroyed the shingles done on commercial building in my area. I presume those were done by professional contractors.