Re:Our Broken Economy, in One Simple Chart
by toss1 on Tuesday August 08, 2017 @01:22PM
(#14960075)
No, sort of, No, and No.
Most of the population IS worse off. Just look at the chart - you need to go to about the 96th percentile to find people who aren't worse off.
Yes the growth should go to the people who make it possible, but it is NOT actually doing so (and if you think that the founder/ceo is solely responsible for the growth and we can safely ignore the contribution of all the people who actually do the work, well, you're beyond help).
While there are some true innovators in the tech industry, vastly more capital goes to extractive, rent-seeking corporations that are actually ANTI-innovative, and merely exploit their position to extract maximum rent dollars from customers. Examples: Cable/ISPs who get anti-competitive laws passed to eliminate potential competition, even from towns themselves who want to install cable, MPAA fighting new distribution models, fossil-fuel power providers getting anti-solar legislation passed, high-frequency trading shops that extract money by quasi-legally front-running the market, providing no extra value, auto-dealer associations attempting to prevent Tesla's direct sales business model from coming to their state, real estate agents trying to prevent innovation from changing their commission structure, etc, etc., etc...
Although some of them do actual work, their protectionist anti-innovation behavior puts them all in the "predatory capitalist" class -- they actively prevent the very improved productivity and growth that you cite as deserving of the income, and in doing so they take money out of the economy.
Most of the population IS worse off. Just look at the chart - you need to go to about the 96th percentile to find people who aren't worse off.
Yes the growth should go to the people who make it possible, but it is NOT actually doing so (and if you think that the founder/ceo is solely responsible for the growth and we can safely ignore the contribution of all the people who actually do the work, well, you're beyond help).
While there are some true innovators in the tech industry, vastly more capital goes to extractive, rent-seeking corporations that are actually ANTI-innovative, and merely exploit their position to extract maximum rent dollars from customers. Examples: Cable/ISPs who get anti-competitive laws passed to eliminate potential competition, even from towns themselves who want to install cable, MPAA fighting new distribution models, fossil-fuel power providers getting anti-solar legislation passed, high-frequency trading shops that extract money by quasi-legally front-running the market, providing no extra value, auto-dealer associations attempting to prevent Tesla's direct sales business model from coming to their state, real estate agents trying to prevent innovation from changing their commission structure, etc, etc., etc...
Although some of them do actual work, their protectionist anti-innovation behavior puts them all in the "predatory capitalist" class -- they actively prevent the very improved productivity and growth that you cite as deserving of the income, and in doing so they take money out of the economy.