# Income Inequality: revolution, taxes, or war? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 21, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573 "2015-03-21T05:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/161 "2015-06-08T00:47:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Emphasis added. Was that supposed to be “couldn’t”? No. **cornopean** could imagine ways in which his neighbour having millions of dollars could help him; [QUOTE=cornopean] Why does it effect me at all that my neighbor has millions of dollars? I can certainly think of reasons why I am benefitted by his having millions; I can’t think of any reason why it hurts me. [/QUOTE] > [@John Mace](#): > > How does it hurt him? How _can_ it hurt him. An important difference. How it could hurt him is that, if the company owner by paying himself $500,000 or whatever means that there is that much profit less to put back into the company, the company’s profitability may be harmed. It may fail as a business altogether - or merely fail to reach the heights it might have if the owner were an astute businessman, to borrow **Starving Artist** ’s terminology. The failure of a company, either completely or merely partially, can harm an individual in a good many ways. Off the top of my head; if **cornopean** works for his neighbour, he might be laid off. That would be an example of how his neighbour having millions of dollars would mean bad things for him; the end result of the creation of that situation would be his firing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/162 "2015-06-08T01:05:56Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > No. **cornopean** could imagine ways in which his neighbour having millions of dollars could help him; > How _can_ it hurt him. An important difference. > > How it could hurt him is that, if the company owner by paying himself $500,000 or whatever means that there is that much profit less to put back into the company, the company’s profitability may be harmed. It may fail as a business altogether - or merely fail to reach the heights it might have if the owner were an astute businessman, to borrow **Starving Artist** ’s terminology. The failure of a company, either completely or merely partially, can harm an individual in a good many ways. Off the top of my head; if **cornopean** works for his neighbour, he might be laid off. That would be an example of how his neighbour having millions of dollars would mean bad things for him; the end result of the creation of that situation would be his firing. OK, well I let him respond, but that seems like a rather contrived situation. He specifically said his neighbor, not his boss. Hell, he could be harmed by someone having millions of dollars if that someone robbed him of those millions. But that’s not what income inequality is about. Someone could pay themselves $500K instead of investing in his company not matter what income inequality was like. Suppose the difference between the boss paying himself $500K but instead investing that $500K in automation that gets the guy fired? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/163 "2015-06-08T01:20:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > OK, well I let him respond, but that seems like a rather contrived situation. He specifically said his neighbor, not his boss. Hell, he could be harmed by someone having millions of dollars if that someone robbed him of those millions. But that’s not what income inequality is about. Someone could pay themselves $500K instead of investing in his company not matter what income inequality was like. I’ve already agreed it’s not a question of income inequality. Is this weirdness something to do with this thread? I don’t think I’ve written a post yet that hasn’t had someone assume I mean something I’ve explicitly denied meaning already. If you’d prefer a less contrived situation (should I be taking it as a given that “contrived” not being “impossible” means you agree that this is a way that he could be harmed?), how about simply that **cornopean** no longer has the option to buy the products of the failed company. Or that, because money that could have gone into improving the product went instead to the owner, the option still exists but could have been a better one. Perhaps the improved profitability of the company with that $500,000 would have led to more jobs and an improved economy in **cornopean** ’s local area. > [@](#): > > Suppose the difference between the boss paying himself $500K but instead investing that $500K in automation that gets the guy fired? Yes, that would be an example of how **cornopean** ’s neighbour having millions would help him. Since he started off by saying that he could, in fact, think of ways that his neighbour having millions would help him, I felt no particular need to think up an example. If you’d like another very simple one; his enriched neighbour might well be more amenable to lending **cornopean** money. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/164 "2015-06-08T01:22:49Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Would you stop with them, or will you come gunning for my stuff too? Good question. If what you have is in absolute disproportion to your contributions to the world – as is the case with the aforementioned examples I gave – then I would have to be consistent and answer, “possibly.”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/165 "2015-06-08T01:31:14Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > Good question. > > If what you have is in absolute disproportion to your contributions to the world – as is the case with the aforementioned examples I gave – then I would have to be consistent and answer, “possibly.”😃 So then why do you feel it’s wrong that Lebron James makes the money he does? The owner of the Cleveland basketball team isn’t paying him that money because he likes Lebron, but because Lebron will generate vastly more money for him. What’s wrong with that? Yes, lots of butter white losers are jealous of him, but why should we care about those losers? Why shouldn’t he get a piece of the money that he makes for the rich white NBA owners? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/166 "2015-06-08T01:35:21Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > If what you have is in absolute disproportion to your contributions to the world – as is the case with the aforementioned examples I gave – then I would have to be consistent and answer, “possibly.”😃 Well, then, I guess I’d be screwed, since as far as I can tell they’ve done what I have: earned their money by splitting it with the folks who were thereby making money off them. And since they’re not out to take my stuff – but you “possibly” are – I guess I’ve got to stick up for them and me against you. [Dangit, ninja’d by **Ibn Warraq**!] ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/167 "2015-06-08T01:44:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Well, then, I guess I’d be screwed, since as far as I can tell they’ve done what I have: earned their money by splitting it with the folks who were thereby making money off them. And since they’re not out to take my stuff – but you “possibly” are – I guess I’ve got to stick up for them and me against you. > > [Dangit, ninja’d by **Ibn Warraq**!] True but who knows. You’ll notice he’s furious about NBA players, most of whom are African-Americans from deprived backgrounds, making money but shows no resentment whatsoever towards the vastly wealthier owners, who are virtually all white from wealthy backgrounds. His reasoning doesn’t strike me as terribly logical so I’m not sure I’d be frightened were I you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/168 "2015-06-08T02:20:09Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > I’ve already agreed it’s not a question of income inequality. Is this weirdness something to do with this thread? I don’t think I’ve written a post yet that hasn’t had someone assume I mean something I’ve explicitly denied meaning already. Maybe it has something to do with the thread title. 😉 > [@](#): > > If you’d prefer a less contrived situation (should I be taking it as a given that “contrived” not being “impossible” means you agree that this is a way that he could be harmed?), how about simply that **cornopean** no longer has the option to buy the products of the failed company. Again, maybe we need him to clarify what he means by “harm”, but since that kind of harm can be caused by many other things other than the $500K payout, I’m not really seeing what makes that pertinent. I’m think what the issue is here is how am I “harmed” by the mere fact of my neighbor having $500K that I don’t have. Sure, he could have stolen it from me, or he could have tricked my parents into giving him a $500K inheritance that could have gone to me. But we’re not talking about how he got it, just that he has it. Wealth is not a zero sum game, so my neighbor having more than me is not, per se, and indication that I must necessarily have less. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/169 "2015-06-08T02:24:12Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I guess I look at the issue from several points of view: > > 1. What are the barriers that prevent someone who is poor from rising to a higher level (not millionaire per se, but comfortable middle class). > > 2. What are the forces that are shifting wealth and opportunity away from the middle class? > > 3. What is the minimum standard of living we will accept for the most incompetent, drug addict asshole? It’s all well and good to talk about education and training, but some people just don’t have the wherewithal to do much more than the most rudimentary jobs. Or any job for that matter. Do we just drive them into shanty towns on the outskirts of civilization like you find in places like Calcutta or Sao Paulo? I care much more about these issuee than I do about whether Joe Billionaire has lots of money. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/170 "2015-06-08T02:29:16Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > All because of voluntary exchanges, where both parties in each exchange come out ahead. You are welcome to withhold your participation; I do. Their high wages do not concern me in any major way. They do concern me. Think of it this way. Take Judge Judy; for _one_ lousy show, she receives far more dough than MILLIONS of good and hard-working folks make in a lifetime that are grunting out their lives in important jobs but which pay them peanuts because many consider them menial and, too, because they often don’t require much education or training. Those many millions of folks are doing the best with their meager God-given abilities and I can’t think of one logical reason why those machines that print out money morning, noon and night ought not have a few more bucks going into their pockets so that they can feel loved and respected by getting more than just a few crumbs than the current construct gives them. I listen to my fair share of conservative talk-show radio and I hear many of those dudes hammer on about how what a wonderful and fair system this is, and supposedly how “everybody has the same shot at success in this country if they’re willing to work hard for it.” That sounds great but it’s not true. Judge Judy, like so very many of these other gazillionaires out there, has benefitted big time by the musical chairs aspect to the current construct. And that’s something she nor any of the Limbaughs out there ever make a mention of, and for good reason. It’s not so much that Judge Judy is in many ways a joke of a judge (even though she’s clearly very bright), as we see her time and again involve her bailiff in ill exchanges of what a ditz she thinks a plaintiff is, or how she tramples on normal courtroom protocol by hollering at someone having their case heard with an – “I’m smarter than you’ll ever be!,” or how she sometimes rudely SCREAMS at someone merely sitting in the witness booth, “Get up here!” My main problem with her and others like her … is that those dark(??) forces behind the scenes have anointed these people with being winners in a game of musical chairs. And said game starts with one’s genes. Just consider Winfrey. Can anyone honestly point to even one thing that she’s ever said or done that would make sense for her to have received all that big dough the construct we live under has placed in her lap? The answer is no. She’s a person with modest speaking talents that was literally taken by the hand with a great many doing her hair and makeup, taking care of the technical TV camera stuff, scheduling guests, researching topics, … and then escorting her out to an obsequious TV audience where someone sitting off to the side hits the Applause switch for her! It’s all a farce on so many levels, it really is. And while I’m no big fan of Bill Gates and his wife on account of them discriminating against poor Caucasian males by not giving them financial help as they do with all of the other groups of poor kids, I put him and all of his billions in a different category simply because he (and yeah; he did have some help) created a great thing and lots of folks benefit in many ways, including having well-paying jobs. It’s not all black and white. And for me personally, while I enjoy doing my part to help open people’s thinking in new ways, I don’t stress out about any of it because at the end of the day it’s only what The Good Lord thinks of a person, and not a lot else (by comparison) matters. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/171 "2015-06-08T02:31:51Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > How am I getting hurt by any of those things? > > I know lots of people are upset that Lebron James and Oprah Winfrey make vastly more money than they do, but that’s because frankly Oprah and Lebron generate far more money than most of the bitter white losers upset and jealous of them. > > They don’t get their money due to white guilt or luck but because they can generate vastly more money for the team they play for or the studios that produce their shows. If I was as good a basketball player as Lebron or as good a talk show host as Oprah and had the drive and discipline they have then I’d be where they are, but I don’t so I’m not. > > Hebron making all that money due to his talent, hard work, discipline and sacrifices, doesn’t take away money from me. > > And let’s be honest, while this certainly isn’t true of you, much of the reason for this envy and why professional basketball players are subjected to it more than say actors, musicians or other entertainers is at least partly due to racism(conscious or otherwise) on the part of bitter white losers who are pissed off and probably a little embarrassed that with all the advantages they had being born straight, white and male they still make vastly less money than some black men they they view as less deserving. > > And of course, in some cases it’s probably people who never got over high school and they still have issues with the “jocks” whom they were jealous and or afraid of in school The “white losers” remark isn’t acceptable. Bye. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/172 "2015-06-08T02:42:46Z")
“These people are the only ones who can do what they do at the level they do it at.” I don’t agree. Sure the basketball guy can demonstratively prove that he’s significantly better at putting a ball through a hoop, but other than his talent resulting with a lot of folks getting heart disease due to sitting around drinking beer and hollering their heads off, I don’t see how his contribution to the human condition is particularly healthy. As far as generating TV revenue and ticket sales goes? Same thing; might as well get those handsome announcers with the square jaws to do their psychology with talented cherry-seed spitters … and hook a big chunk of the American public into thinking they’re all that and a bag of chips. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/173 "2015-06-08T02:48:18Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > They do concern me. > > Think of it this way. Take Judge Judy; for _one_ lousy show, she receives far more dough than MILLIONS of good and hard-working folks make in a lifetime that are grunting out their lives in important jobs but which pay them peanuts because many consider them menial and, too, because they often don’t require much education or training. > > Those many millions of folks are doing the best with their meager God-given abilities and I can’t think of one logical reason why those machines that print out money morning, noon and night ought not have a few more bucks going into their pockets so that they can feel loved and respected by getting more than just a few crumbs than the current construct gives them. > > I listen to my fair share of conservative talk-show radio and I hear many of those dudes hammer on about how what a wonderful and fair system this is, and supposedly how “everybody has the same shot at success in this country if they’re willing to work hard for it.” > > That sounds great but it’s not true. Judge Judy, like so very many of these other gazillionaires out there, has benefitted big time by the musical chairs aspect to the current construct. And that’s something she nor any of the Limbaughs out there ever make a mention of, and for good reason. > > It’s not so much that Judge Judy is in many ways a joke of a judge (even though she’s clearly very bright), as we see her time and again involve her bailiff in ill exchanges of what a ditz she thinks a plaintiff is, or how she tramples on normal courtroom protocol by hollering at someone having their case heard with an – “I’m smarter than you’ll ever be!,” or how she sometimes rudely SCREAMS at someone merely sitting in the witness booth, “Get up here!” > > My main problem with her and others like her … is that those dark(??) forces behind the scenes have anointed these people with being winners in a game of musical chairs. And said game starts with one’s genes. > > Just consider Winfrey. Can anyone honestly point to even one thing that she’s ever said or done that would make sense for her to have received all that big dough the construct we live under has placed in her lap? > > The answer is no. > > She’s a person with modest speaking talents that was literally taken by the hand with a great many doing her hair and makeup, taking care of the technical TV camera stuff, scheduling guests, researching topics, … and then escorting her out to an obsequious TV audience where someone sitting off to the side hits the Applause switch for her! > > It’s all a farce on so many levels, it really is. > > And while I’m no big fan of Bill Gates and his wife on account of them discriminating against poor Caucasian males by not giving them financial help as they do with all of the other groups of poor kids, I put him and all of his billions in a different category simply because he (and yeah; he did have some help) created a great thing and lots of folks benefit in many ways, including having well-paying jobs. > > It’s not all black and white. And for me personally, while I enjoy doing my part to help open people’s thinking in new ways, I don’t stress out about any of it because at the end of the day it’s only what The Good Lord thinks of a person, and not a lot else (by comparison) matters. So, let’s say the corporate big wigs wake up tomorrow and go :smack: day-um that **Dibbs** guy is right. Let’s cut the good Judge’s salary by 3/4. How does any of that savings make it into the pockets of your average American? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/174 "2015-06-08T02:57:18Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > Sure the basketball guy can demonstratively prove that he’s significantly better at putting a ball through a hoop, but other than his talent resulting with a lot of folks getting heart disease due to sitting around drinking beer and hollering their heads off, I don’t see how his contribution to the human condition is particularly healthy. Lebron isn’t being paid to make people healthy. He’s being paid to entertain people. You may think that customers shouldn’t give as much of their money to entertainment as they do, but your opinions don’t run the world. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/175 "2015-06-08T03:02:52Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > So then why do you feel it’s wrong that Lebron James makes the money he does? > > The owner of the Cleveland basketball team isn’t paying him that money because he likes Lebron, but because Lebron will generate vastly more money for him. > > What’s wrong with that? > > Yes, lots of butter white losers are jealous of him, but why should we care about those losers? > > Why shouldn’t he get a piece of the money that he makes for the rich white NBA owners? Your focus seems limited to the white/black thing, while mine isn’t. My assertion is that the whole construct needs to be examined with honesty and then, maybe, ripped to shreds (after a revolution, I fear) with a better one taking its place. I would like to think that the answer to a fairer system would be to philosophize jobs by applying a sliding pay scale that would affix a value to each and every occupation known to man, with one of the big results being that a finite amount of dough circulating would be wisely spread out so that every human gets to feel like a human, instead of the current thing were mere talkers or ball bouncer … are getting obscene amounts to last them into a million life-times. Under said system, a janitor that busts his butt while doing an important job with the limited talent/smarts The Good Lord gave him, and with little light at the end of his tunnel for things to get easier, wouldn’t be stuck with getting a nothing paycheck that’ll only allow him a few burgers over the course of a week and maybe a six-pack of Bud, while some yahoo having fun playing a kids game and having people getting worked up to get his autograph, is getting a check that allows him to pay a weekly visit to the local Rolls Royce dealership every couple of days! If valuing proportion and fairness makes me a “racist,” then by all means call me a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/176 "2015-06-08T03:12:20Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > The “white losers” remark isn’t acceptable. Bye. Huh. What’s wrong with referring to white trash racists as “bitter white losers”? ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/177 "2015-06-08T03:13:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Well, then, I guess I’d be screwed, since as far as I can tell they’ve done what I have: earned their money by splitting it with the folks who were thereby making money off them. And since they’re not out to take my stuff – but you “possibly” are – I guess I’ve got to stick up for them and me against you. > > [Dangit, ninja’d by **Ibn Warraq**!] But what you’re leaving out is the musical chairs element, as well as the flat-out-getting waaay too much dough for doing too little. I gotta go in a minute, but certainly I look forward to anyone pointing out ONE thing that Winfrey has ever said or done under this current crap construct, that would come even slightly close to justifying how she should receive (not earn!) more money than the state of California or a hundred first world countries have in their treasuries. Good luck with THAT one!😛 P.S. Please refer to my recent post on this thread concerning the method of formulating a construct that’s much more fair, thanks!🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/178 "2015-06-08T03:15:05Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > Your focus seems limited to the white/black thing, while mine isn’t. > > My assertion is that the whole construct needs to be examined with honesty and then, maybe, ripped to shreds (after a revolution, I fear) with a better one taking its place. > > I would like to think that the answer to a fairer system would be to philosophize jobs by applying a sliding pay scale that would affix a value to each and every occupation known to man, with one of the big results being that a finite amount of dough circulating would be wisely spread out so that every human gets to feel like a human, instead of the current thing were mere talkers or ball bouncer … are getting obscene amounts to last them into a million life-times. > > Under said system, a janitor that busts his butt while doing an important job with the limited talent/smarts The Good Lord gave him, and with little light at the end of his tunnel for things to get easier, wouldn’t be stuck with getting a nothing paycheck that’ll only allow him a few burgers over the course of a week and maybe a six-pack of Bud, while some yahoo having fun playing a kids game and having people getting worked up to get his autograph, is getting a check that allows him to pay a weekly visit to the local Rolls Royce dealership every couple of days! > > If valuing proportion and fairness makes me a “racist,” then by all means call me a racist. Er…nobody has called you a “racist” though I’ll confess to finding your complaint that Bill Gates “discriminates against Caucasians” quite amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/179 "2015-06-08T03:21:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So, let’s say the corporate big wigs wake up tomorrow and go :smack: day-um that **Dibbs** guy is right. Let’s cut the good Judge’s salary by 3/4. How does any of that savings make it into the pockets of your average American? The general answer is this: the answer to a fairer system would be to philosophize jobs by applying a sliding pay scale that would affix a value to each and every occupation known to man ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573/180 "2015-06-08T03:25:39Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > The general answer is this: the answer to a fairer system would be to philosophize jobs by applying a sliding pay scale that would affix a value to each and every occupation known to man So, it’s not about lifting everyone up, but holding everyone down. Got it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/income-inequality-revolution-taxes-or-war/715573.md?page=10)