Re:Richest 1% on target to own two-thirds of all wealth by 2030
by rayiner on Saturday April 07, 2018 @03:01PM
(#16782198)
> think the data supports this - is that it really doesn't matter what the top 1% are doing so long as the bottom half are seeing improved living conditions.
But what if there are alternative models where the bottom half are improving faster than they are now? I think it's helpful to think about different economic models in terms of optimizing a figure of merit. Free-trade globalization is probably good for optimizing aggregate global GDP. In a democratic society, that's not necessarily the most relevant figure of merit. Are there a different set of economic rules that, for example, maximizes the wealth of the middle 50% (such that they have more wealth under that system than they do under the current one)?
But what if there are alternative models where the bottom half are improving faster than they are now? I think it's helpful to think about different economic models in terms of optimizing a figure of merit. Free-trade globalization is probably good for optimizing aggregate global GDP. In a democratic society, that's not necessarily the most relevant figure of merit. Are there a different set of economic rules that, for example, maximizes the wealth of the middle 50% (such that they have more wealth under that system than they do under the current one)?