What do you think about income inequality?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Define “pays off.” </p>

<p>-Having what you want, be able to pursue your goals. It is very different from person to person. Some want to live on the streets and are very happy with that. I do not know if they have to work hard for that, it seems to me that it is harder than coming to office every day, I might be wrong. It seems that if they do not work hard, they will die which is not what most of them want. How one can define “pays off” for another? One thing I am certain in respect for my family and “hard work”. If one of us wants something and do nothing for achieving it, he most likely will not have it, it is not going to happen out of thin air.</p>

42

<p>There’s nothing wrong with being competitive, and there’s nothing wrong with using outside benchmarks (GPA, income) as ONE way to see how you’re doing relative to your peer group, but maybe it makes sense to also think of success in non-monetary terms. Sometimes you have money, sometimes you don’t. Having a “rich” life (IMO) is better than having one with money.</p>

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<p>^and having somebody else paying for your European trip, right?</p>

44

<p>^ Exactly.</p>

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<p>There is nothing noble and grand about being poor. Depending on taxpayers and handouts from strangers and family to provide for you is not admirable. On the other hand, you are not noble because you have wealth, but you should be respected if you have achieved and worked hard, being able to take care of your family.</p>

<p>Being wealthy does not make one particularly happy, but being poor can make you very unhappy. It is one thing if you can provide the things your family needs and be content with that, and an entirely different experience if you can’t. I’ve been “poor” for more of my life than I’ve been “rich”, and when you aren’t sure if you’ll ever be able to save any money, if you will ever get another decent job, and if you can even afford to go to the doctor…even in those times, I never blamed people who were wealthier than me and looked for handouts. I merely tried to figure out how to change my situation.</p>

46

<p>I’ve been poor and happy and rich and happy. When I was poor, I wasn’t really responsible for anyone but myself.</p>

<p>I’d have to give the nod to rich and happy, but it’s also very possible to be rich and miserable.</p>

<p>And NO MATTER WHAT, making more money than others, being successful in one’s career absolutely DOES NOT make you “better” than anyone else.</p>

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<p>@pugmadkate – I was totally kidding when I said you must be steamed that your parents didn’t make you wealthy. I’ve seen your posts on other threads and I really like them.</p>

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<p>I’ve been middle class my entire life, and I have absolutely no complaints about that, but I also think some of the standards, goals, aspirations of the middle class are askew. More, bigger, richer, is not better than enough. The problem with living competitively is that it inevitably leads to misery, whether you’re ahead or behind. Games, ie, sports, are a good place to be competitive, but real life is NOT. To the OP: confusing the two will lead to a very unhappy life.</p>

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<p>Just to clarify, perhaps I should have said living comparatively, rather than competitively. As in using others as a benchmark for your measure of yourself.</p>

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<p>I have never felt miserable after achieving my goal. Actually, the only way I am aware to feel miserable is to witness somebody being sick/hurt or being sick/hurt yourself or being a victim of crime/accident. Actually to sum it: being miserable is to be out of control. Yey, thinking about it, money do bring more control into one’s life, don’t they? For example. I hate cleanning the house and I hate to live in dirty one. With money I have control over it, without money, I am stuck with what I hate: either cleanning or living in dirty house. Here I go. This is it for me, CONTROL.</p>

51

<p>I don’t think anyone is advocating the riches of being poor. Everyone, at the very least should be able to function independently and provide for themselves and basic needs for their family.</p>

<p>However, the OP was stating she needed to be in the top 1% so she could be “better” than other people. I’m certainly not in the top 1%, but I’m certainly not poor. And it’s foolish to think that those “1%'ers” are somehow better than the other 99%.</p>

<p>I think America has a very distorted view of what being “poor” means. People think not having high speed internet makes you poor, or having to drive a used high-mileage vehicles makes you poor. It’s silly. I look around and see “poor people”, or people who fit many peoples definition of what poor is and think, “Gee, they sure got alot for a poor person.” I see “poor people” wearing $115 Air Jordan sneakers and driving 4-Wheelers and snowmobiles.</p>

<p>I’m sure many of us have had to deal with financial stress. Who hasn’t thought, “OMG, how am I going to pay this?” We know what a gut-wrenching feeling that is and we wouldn’t wish that on others nor would we be naive enough to suggest some extra cash wouldn’t solve many problems. </p>

<p>However, on the other hand, anyone who’s dealt with a serious illness of a spouse or child will tell you that the monetary problems pale in comparison. I’d rather go bankrupt 30 times over than see my wife suffer with breast cancer, or see my child harmed in an accident. </p>

<p>Sometimes we all just need to put things back into perspective, focus on our blessings and not our shortcomings. </p>

<p>Last year I almost lost my wife in a very scary “lone-shooter” incident. A madman walked into her location (don’t want to reveal the exact incident for personal reasons, but it made national news) and opened fire, just to kill. Four women were murdered, several others wounded. The police sealed off the area, and the people who made it out had no communication because they had left their cellphones and car keys inside - so people just waited to find out who was OK and desperately tried tracking down loved ones. </p>

<p>I passed the area on my way home from work, and I saw the police cars and ambulances. I knew she was there - I was helpless.</p>

<p>I saw paramedics working on the wounded, saw men covered in blood from trying to help before the authorities arrived. It was similiar to a war zone.</p>

<p>I had to wait to find out if she was dead or alive. I couldn’t find her and I feared for the worse…her car was parked in the lot, but she was nowhere. I knew the only people left inside were the authorities and the dead/wounded, but I wasn’t allowed to enter. Logic told me, “She must be inside”, which wsa a very bad sign.</p>

<p>Luckily she got out safely but she didn’t have her phone or keys so just ran home, finally I heard from her. Luckily, she was OK (although very traumatized). </p>

<p>I can’t type how I felt, but it was overwhelming. I cried because I was so relieved, but I also felt guilty because I knew somewhere out there, some other husband would’t be hearing his wife’s voice again, no telephone call saying, “Honey…I’m ok.” </p>

<p>During that same time, we were experiencing some financial problems, the kind that keep you up at night. Then, after this, they were an after-thought. Nothing can compare to losing, or almost losing someone you care about. Haven’t worried about finances sense, God willing, never will again.</p>

<p>We all want more, that is natural. But more doesn’t mean happier. No amount of money could have made me feel better if I would have lost my wife that night, no house is big enough to fill that kind of void. </p>

<p>Now, I just pay attention to what I have. I will always be able to provide for my family. If I lose my job, I still have my hands. I can still go out and build, grow or fix something. If that happens I’m still the same person, just with less money. The guy with more isn’t any better.</p>

<p>If you always look for a reason to be happy, you always will be. At night when my wife “hogs” the covers, I don’t get angry like I use to, I’m just grateful I have someone to share my bed with. When she “guzzles” down my expensive wine, I’m just happy I had someone to enjoy it with. </p>

<p>There’s nothing wrong and everything right when trying to make a good living. Get what you can, share what you can. Make alot, hopefully give alot back. As someone stated, we all use salary as an indicator of performance and that’s perfectly fine. Just learn to balance priorities. What’s really important is also really easy to forget, and sometimes we don’t get reminded until it’s to late.</p>

52

<p>^You type very fast!!!</p>

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<p>Thank you for sharing that, BigeastBeast.</p>

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<p>I really liked that, BigeastBeast.</p>

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<p>On the other thought, money may make difference between life and death. So, there is no clear line. We are going towards the system with 2 sets of health care and having money will mean longer and healthier life as I am sure it does for people in Canada. Those with $$ can come here for health care and not forced to wait in line which might be longer than their life expectancy without medical help.</p>

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<p>BigEast.</p>

<p>What a story…Thank God your wife made it out ok.</p>

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<p>Doesn’t the growing concentration of wealth in a small percentage of the US population and the shrinking middle class imply that hard work and education DO NOT “pay off” for most people in a reasonably equitable way? Doesn’t it imply that something in our society and/or economy is structured to produce that result and structured against the economic interests of the majority?</p>

<p>Reading this thread, I got stuck on this post. </p>

<p>I’m curious as to what anyone believes our society is doing to negatively impact the majority.</p>

<p>Why has so much wealth been created by a few?</p>

58

<p>

</p>

<p>In some abstract way, sure. In material terms: nonsense.</p>

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<p>I would say part of the reason for the shrinking middle class is the growth of unwed mothers. Two parent households are far less likely to be in poverty. Two parent households are far more likely to be middle-class or above.</p>

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<p>I think the biggest part was paying unrealistic wages/benefits to unskilled workers. We got and continue to get blown out of the water by other countries. Witness Detroit. Now much of our skilled work force is being displaced in the global economy.</p>

<p>We haven’t invested what we needed to to remain thought leaders and grow on that basis.</p>