[quote] The idea that increased income inequality makes economies more dynamic has been rejected by an International Monetary Fund study, which shows the widening income gap between rich and poor is bad for growth.
A report by five IMF economists dismissed “trickle-down” economics, and said that if governments wanted to increase the pace of growth they should concentrate on helping the poorest 20% of citizens.
The study – covering advanced, emerging and developing countries – said technological progress, weaker trade unions, globalisation and tax policies that favoured the wealthy had all played their part in making widening inequality “the defining challenge of our time”.
The IMF report said the way income is distributed matters for growth. “If the income share of the top 20% increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term, suggesting that the benefits do not trickle down. In contrast, an increase in the income share of the bottom 20% is associated with higher GDP growth,” said the report. [/quote]
Thoughts?
Edit: That feel when you can tell everyone is just liking the bobcast comment and moving on instead of commenting.
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Here's the full text of the report if anyone wanted it: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1513.pdf
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4 RepliesJust paying the poor will not work. Even if you account for the fact that "poor people make poor choices" factor, I.E. a certain segment of the population will waste any increase of pay on trivial things. We are still faced with the fact that, at least in the US, inflation and degradation of the value of the dollar is killing us. If we want to truly help the poor we need a combination of mild pay increases and a restoration of the value of our currency. We can give people as many dollars as we can print, but the power behind those dollars is what really matters.
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4 RepliesWe should just deport all the poor people to third-world countries so we don't have to support their lazy asses.
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As a homless, i feel that there could be more the gubment could do for me.
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Am I the only who thinks Impossible Mission Force when I see IMF?
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Lol @ all the sheep in this thread who are unknowingly bending over for their corporate and political masters. How mentally deranged and insane do you have to be to actually believe it when rich and powerful people tell you that making them more rich (at the cost of making yourself less rich and powerful) benefits EVERYONE????? The only way that would possibly work is if that money went to technological advancement BUT IT FUCKING ISN'T, IT'S GOING TO PRIVATE JETS AND BILLION DOLLAR BEACH HOUSE MANSIONS. And let's not forget the democrat's master plan of keeping people poor so they have NO CHOICE BUT TO VOTE FOR THEM IN ELECTIONS. It's social darwinism at its finest. The powerful people rise to the top because they are ruthless and selfish. And therefore we have ruthless and selfish leaders conspiring against everyone else for the sake of their yachts, planes, helicopters, whatever. The only reason the middle class exists is because they don't want us to rebel against them, otherwise they'd have us all be dirt fucking poor.
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I only read the first word and clicked on any button.
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6 RepliesEdited by Kazz0ng: 7/17/2015 4:06:08 AMI think that the minimum wage is fine as is. it wasn't ever intended on being a wage that could support cost of living. it was intended to give high school students something to do in the summer to earn a little cash, and gain some experience in a real work environment. but when people outside of high school, who have bills and sometimes have families cannot get a BETTER, higher paying job for whatever reason... they are forced into a minimum wage job. ( which causes other problems outside of their own. more on the scale of national economy status ones.) The US is the most over-qualified work force in the world. so many people go to school for years to get a good education, but cannot seem to get a good job despite being able to do the job well. hence they are forced into flipping burgers or something similar. I think that if we really want to help people have a better standard of living, the key is not to raise the minimum wage, but rather help people get the better job. when you give companies reasons create jobs within a field, people flock to the opportunities. increased innovation and industry are what keeps an economy healthy and happy. while just throwing money at a problem like this tends to only make things worse. if we can get the over-qualified people out of minimum wage jobs and into those ones... then things balance out because people who have to pay bills will make enough to do so, while those high school students who do not have that need, are not making as much, but still have plenty for their wants. if we simply raise the minimum wage, then companies who pay minimum wage to their employees will generally do one of two things: a) cut jobs to keep earnings rates the same, or b) raise the prices of their products/services to cover the new amount that they are having to pay. (some companies may do both.) now not all companies will act the same, so the end result will be a combination of the two, leaving less people with jobs and a higher overall cost of living. which is the exact opposite of what we want. also, many small businesses may simply not be able to afford to pay employees at the higher rate and could go out of business altogether, thus the job market shrinks even further. so to me the best course of action is to help people who need to pay bills and support families out of minimum wage (or under the cost of living) jobs, and into a better paying job.
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Wealth inequality is a huge problem it seems most people would rather ignore and avoid.
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[quote] Edit: That feel when you can tell everyone is just liking the bobcast comment and moving on instead of commenting.[/quote] He hit the head on the nail though IMO
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They should provide with the necessary resources to live and progress not just hand them money like nothing so that they can't spend on whatever they want. If we are going to give poor people free money, we might as well be in control it to prevent the from wasting it on useless things. [quote]Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.[/quote]
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You realize the large amount of homeless are mentally ill and most of the poor weren't educated correctly.
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3 RepliesEdited by U6757109: 6/18/2015 8:26:08 AMThe problem is that since 1981, income for the top 1% of Americans has increased by roughly 200%, while income for the middle class has increased by roughly 2-3%: www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-historical-trends-in-income-inequality The most powerful CEOs and shareholders have been hoarding all the money for themselves. There are many factors why this has happened. This study suggests raising the minimum wage to $12 dollars per hour will provide decent wages without hurting the economy: http://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-minimum-wage-to-12-by-2020-would-shrink-the-wage-gap/ 1) Reaganomics (Trickle-Down Economics): This idea that reducing taxes while also reducing regulations on the CEOs of the richest corporations in this country will somehow magically "create jobs" is absurd. This fantasy completely ignores the most important aspect of corporate CEOs: [b]GREED[/b]. 2) "Free" Trade Agreements: Thanks to Bill Clinton and his Congress passing NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR w/China, this country has allowed corporations to hire workers in other countries for 24 cents an hour. American workers can't compete with that. I'll borrow a quote from Mike Huckabee: "If it's not fair trade, it's not free trade."
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I'm sick of poor people. Stop being poor. It's hard but I did it. I was poor now I'm not. Get a job. Impress your boss--> Make more money. Find better job. Repeat process. Stop raising my taxes cause others don't know how to invest in themselves or save money. OR WORK FOR YOURSELF! every state has lending opportunities for entrepreneurs. Even if your credit sucks. I know because I work with the SBA in Ohio.
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Help the middle class, tax the rich more
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This is terrible why pay more to low income? People with high encore deserve it
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3 RepliesWorking at McDonalds is your own fault...you do not deserve any more.
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3 RepliesEdited by DeadSoul103: 6/16/2015 8:13:06 PMI don't have a source for this so you can search it up, but supposedly if a poor and a wealthy person were to be given $1,000,000 dollars, both would spend it in different ways. The poor individual would more than likely spend it on wants and go on a crazy shopping spree, and the wealthy person would more than likely invest it, and purchase wanted items after they profited more cash out of the million given. Giving more money to the poor won't help, they'll just spend it on non-necessities. Education though, will assist the poor population, because the key to making money is saving it, investing it, and profiting off of it. Btw, I went to an economically disadvantaged high school, and please elaborate why the teens who were supposedly "poor" (according to themselves) would have the lastest smart phone, would brag about a new console/game that they've purchased, would talk about watching shows on cable, having a decent car, etc. Some of these people who I've interacted with also live government housing areas, yet they still have more shit, than I do.
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No, the rich need that money to waste on frivolous government contracts to get richer.
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Edited by Kalameet: 6/18/2015 3:18:54 PMIt's almost as if people who think otherwise will just blatantly ignore the evidence. Gotta love our psychological quirks.
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3 RepliesDamn, how many alts do you have now?
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1 ReplyThanks Reagan
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Income inequality is only a symptom. We have to cure the underlying problems with our economy if we want relieve the symptoms.
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3 RepliesWhere would this money come from?
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2 RepliesThe problem is not just reaganomics, it is a variety of issues that lead into the economy going to shit. 1: Wage suppression. This happened across the board, wether for minimum wage, or for middle class Americans. 2: Reaganomics. The idea that giving tax cuts to the wealthy, or to anyone, instead of having taxes proportional to your standing financially, is good for the economy and that the money will trickle down. 3: improper, or lack of, education on how to manage money. Self explanatory. And many other things that have led to the economy going to shit and America being put deeper into debt. It isn't just those evil commies. Nor is it just Reagan worshipping rednecks.