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A comment on Apple's cash hoard swells to $246B. Parent comment

Re:Apple's cash hoard swells to $246B by WalterBright on Sunday April 16, 2017 @06:23PM (#14127894)
Not having a consistent food surplus means subsistence farming.

(There's always been some level of trade.)

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Re:Apple's cash hoard swells to $246B by Retric on Sunday April 16, 2017 @09:21PM (#14128638)
Your definition of basically spending what you make would end up with subsistence fortune 500 CEO's. People who don't directly farm are by definition not subsistence farmers.

PS: Yes, subsistence farmers can include minimal trade, but not support more than local governments as that would imply a significant surplus.

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Re:Apple's cash hoard swells to $246B by maxerickson on Sunday April 16, 2017 @08:19PM (#14128403)
The more widely used definition of subsistence farming implies literal self sufficiency and living in a simple self constructed dwelling, not sending your children to college while slaves work in the fields or hiring local artisans to construct a grand estate (Monticello).
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