The Unfathomable Stupidity of Rich White Men

[jclay]

This isn't news to any thinking person and it certainly isn't the only article along these lines but it resonated with me this morning. Hell, didn't the rich folks at Davos get treated to a presentation advancing the notion that if capitalism, and by extension, their ability to acquire vast wealth (even if somewhat less then they'd like), was to survive they would need to make changes that improved the lives of the bottom 90 (or whatever) percent?? Anyway, I thought it was a fine summary and worth much thought.

The Unfathomable Stupidity of Rich White Men

[Too Tall]

John John John it ain't fair kidding on the truth ;) Thanks for the link.

[Saab2000]

Not everyone who goes to the WEF in Davos is white or unfathomably stupid though most are wealthy or influential or both. It's a forum to discuss many things, including inequality and the responsibility of the haves vis-a-vis the have nots.

Sorry, but an article like this seems not to elevate dialogue and critical thought but rather seems like screaming into the wind.

[vertical_doug]

I have to agree with Saab but even more harshly. It's a sad little article with no idea how many ways the levers of power work. The person writing the article still is stuck in thinking about 'how much money do you need? ' It isn't about that. The mindset is how much money do you want? The answer is 'MORE'.

The wealth gap is exploding under coronavirus and I think most people don't have a clue the new high unemployment is permanent. Once corporations realize you can do 80% of the biz with 20% of the staff, well I'd expect more cuts later this year.

Our reality has nothing to do with theirs. The stock market is telling you as much.

[j44ke]

W

I have to agree with Saab but even more harshly. It's a sad little article with no idea how many ways the levers of power work. The person writing the article still is stuck in thinking about 'how much money do you need? ' It isn't about that. The mindset is how much money do you want? The answer is 'MORE'.

The wealth gap is exploding under coronavirus and I think most people don't have a clue the new high unemployment is permanent. Once corporations realize you can do 80% of the biz with 20% of the staff, well I'd expect more cuts later this year.

Our reality has nothing to do with theirs. The stock market is telling you as much.

Yep

[Bob Ross]

an article like this seems not to elevate dialogue and critical thought but rather seems like screaming into the wind.

Maybe... but if folks don't seriously consider the implications of a sentence like "You should be grateful they’re only coming for the statues" they're not understanding the severity of the situation.

[Clean39T]

“Remember this. The people you're trying to step on, we're everyone you depend on. We're the people who do your laundry and cook your food and serve your dinner. We make your bed. We guard you while you're asleep. We drive the ambulances. We direct your call. We are cooks and taxi drivers and we know everything about you. We process your insurance claims and credit card charges. We control every part of your life.

We are the middle children of history, raised by television to believe that someday we'll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won't. And we're just learning this fact. So don't fuck with us.”

Can't believe that book is twenty years old at this point...... Tempus Fugit.

[jclay]

Not everyone who goes to the WEF in Davos is white or unfathomably stupid though most are wealthy or influential or both. It's a forum to discuss many things, including inequality and the responsibility of the haves vis-a-vis the have nots.

Sorry, but an article like this seems not to elevate dialogue and critical thought but rather seems like screaming into the wind.

The author was screaming, and likely will be about as effective in catalysing change amongst seriously rich white men (and the somewhat rich white male political hacks in the photo), as screaming at the wind; but his thesis isn't wrong and speaking nicely wouldn't improve his odds. Obviously there are a bunch of very-much-not rich white men who reacted in the same fashion (vis-a-vis LBJ's correct observation about the poorest whites being OK as long as they could look down upon black folks), hence the train wreck we're living. And all of that is incredibly short sighted and counter productive to them (the rich) over the long haul (and maybe not so long haul). Maybe that's not unfathomable, less and less seems to rise that that level in the era of Trump but I can live with the editorial license to use the phrase.

I referenced Davos wrt only a presentation concerning the threat to capitalism of failing to address the ever increasing concentration of wealth and related issues. As an aside, the attendees aren't really stupid and aren't all white, but if those sorts of folks (uber rich, irrespective of race or gender) don't advance certain changes then the system that they adore will face ever increasing threats to it's very existence. And that is extremely stupid, or short sighted, or whatever. On the chance that they can't sense where the increasing level of inequality and lack of opportunity (not to mention other existential threats) will likely take humanity, they have actually been warned by folks with the intellectual bona fides and relevant subject area expertise that they should prize, but I don't sense a sea change coming of it.

I have to agree with Saab but even more harshly. It's a sad little article with no idea how many ways the levers of power work. The person writing the article still is stuck in thinking about 'how much money do you need? ' It isn't about that. The mindset is how much money do you want? The answer is 'MORE'.

The article made no attempt to address or comport with how power works. And it isn't about MORE, directly; it's about power, prestige, and in the case of the USA, maintaining cultural stasis. Money is just one of the measuring sticks.

I thought it was a pretty funny slam, a bit cathartic, and spot on...though certainly neither unabridged nor academic in treatment; not that that was intended.

As another aside, the photo in the article makes me want to puke. The people in those positions are going to change in gender, race and content or this country will not survive too terribly much longer. The rapid collapse of the Soviet Union should serve as a frightening lesson in metastability to the USA and anybody else who's paying attention.

[Too Tall]

Thanks John, I appreciate your dialogue.

[Corso]

" If it happens like that, you might even come out OK. Not as rich, and not in charge, but OK. And if not – well, good luck to you, dumbasses. You had a good run, and you probably could have kept it going – but you were too impossibly, unbelievably, unfathomably stupid. "

Hate to break it to the author, but in the real world, rich white guys are not going anywhere. But if ranting makes hime feel better...

[ides1056]

Michael Hawley, Programmer, Professor and Pianist, Dies at 58 - The New York Times

one size does not fit all

[guido]

" If it happens like that, you might even come out OK. Not as rich, and not in charge, but OK. And if not – well, good luck to you, dumbasses. You had a good run, and you probably could have kept it going – but you were too impossibly, unbelievably, unfathomably stupid. "

Hate to break it to the author, but in the real world, rich white guys are not going anywhere. But if ranting makes hime feel better...

Spreading the money they are hording around much more equitably would solve a huge proportion of the world's ills though...

[Diablo de Acero]

This is a very simplistic question. Why if extreme hoarding is considered a form of mental illness, then how come hoarding money is quite acceptable while it has a detrimental effect across the general population?

[sine]

Spreading the money they are hording around much more equitably would solve a huge proportion of the world's ills though...

Most monies is invested....high tech, pharma, healthcare, green energy, food production, etc. Millions of jobs created.

[guido]

Most monies is invested....high tech, pharma, healthcare, green energy, food production, etc. Millions of jobs created.

Millions of jobs from billions of dollars is not a good investment return.

[sine]

Millions of jobs from billions of dollars is not a good investment return.

.

[72gmc]

Hate to break it to the author, but in the real world, rich white guys are not going anywhere. But if ranting makes hime feel better...

My feelings too. The kind of selfishness we're seeing now leads to self-inflicted wounds by the wealthy, for sure, but the typical outcome is less relative wealth for a period of time, not the end of wealthy people.

A much better place for the world will be a much more diverse wealthy class--the replacement of "white guys" in your sentence with all genders, orientations, and people of color. So-called job creators do limit the jobs created by controlling their contributions according to their life experiences. A set of contributors with experiences far broader than the typical rich white guy should lead to more pathways for regular people of all types.

[Corso]

My feelings too. The kind of selfishness we're seeing now leads to self-inflicted wounds by the wealthy, for sure, but the typical outcome is less relative wealth for a period of time, not the end of wealthy people.

A much better place for the world will be a much more diverse wealthy class--the replacement of "white guys" in your sentence with all genders, orientations, and people of color. So-called job creators do limit the jobs created by controlling their contributions according to their life experiences. A set of contributors with experiences far broader than the typical rich white guy should lead to more pathways for regular people of all types.

I agree - everyone should have the opportunity to be a "rich white guy" (authors term, not mine).

In fact, if it wasn't for a certain RWG, BLM may not exist. I guess it depends what political hat one wears makes a RWG "good" or "bad".

Scholarships and grants may not be around either. Making RWGs the enemy and constantly ridiculing them may not be the path to getting them to share what they have.

[sine]

Agreed. Everyone should have the opportunity to earn as much as one can. No one has the right to unfairly confiscate what was rightfully earned. Be it US$250K or US$2,000,000,000.

But with wealth also comes responsibility. But again, it is up to the individual to decide how they want to leave this world.

Still fascinated with guido's ROI..........

[mjbabcock]

Wealth Tax...