Could it be the decriminalization of shoplifting? Or maybe excessive taxes? Or mandates on wages? Vandalism?

Could it be the K-shaped economy?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-08/top-1-ear...

"After years of declines, America’s middle class now holds a smaller share of U.S. wealth than the top 1%."

"Over the past 30 years, 10 percentage points of American wealth has shifted to the top 20% of earners, who now hold 70% of the total, Fed data show."

"About $42 trillion in new wealth was created in the first two years of the pandemic. Two-thirds of that has gone to the richest 1% of the world’s people, according to a report out Monday from the nonprofit organization Oxfam. In the United States, billionaires are a third richer now than they were before the pandemic."

> For example, if you create $10 of wealth, my share of the total wealth goes down, but my wealth is unaffected.

Sure. Inflation doesn't exist. Isn't that lovely?

Their wealth was not transferred to them, they created the wealth.

> billionaires are a third richer now than they were before the pandemic

That gives zero information about the non-billionaires.

66% of the federal budget goes to entitlements (welfare, medicare, social security, etc.). Not to rich people.

> Sure. Inflation doesn't exist. Isn't that lovely?

Inflation is the result of government deficit spending, not rich people.

2. invest in an existing business

May I recommend reading biographies of Gates, Jobs, Bezos, Musk, Buffet, etc.

So the question still remains, what did they create to make them worth the money they have? Because it seems to me the only thing that correlates to their wealth isn't what they created but the contracts they've signed. Which is fine but your contention was they as individuals created something to make them worth that much, and I'm wondering what that is.

I again suggest picking up and reading one of those biographies.

> selling a product or service for more than it costs you is creating value.

Okay but other people are building and selling the service, not the 1%. I agree that's what business is, and they create value, but the 1% is not "the business".

So again I'm left wondering what the 1% actually created themselves such that wealth was not transferred. Because if the value is in selling the product or service, then it would seem to me the people who deserve the benefit are the sales/engineering/manufacturing/service people. But you said it's not a transfer of wealth, it's the actual 1% who created the value. You still haven't said what they create and why that means they deserve to own and control all that wealth.

That's creating wealth.

Jobs also did something similar with Pixar. Maybe reread what he did at Pixar? It was Jobs that made the difference and created the wealth.

Do you really think that you (or I) could have replaced Jobs and created the same amount of wealth that you attribute to everything but what Jobs actually did?

Not a chance.

BTW, look at the history of the United States. If you believe wealth is transferred, not created, where in heck was the wealth today back in 1776? Who the heck was it transferred from? Did it randomly somehow fall out of the sky?

If you still cannot see this, start your own business. It will soon be very apparent how wealth is created.

The entrepreneurs invested in or built from scratch organizations able to deliver an incredible amount of value to our society in the form of products, services and jobs. These organizations, called businesses, are the unsung heroes that differentiate our lands of plenty from the hunger and cold of countries suffering under communism.

The professionals (doctors, lawyers, programmers) worked in such organizations and added significant value ensuring their success in the market place.

Finally, politicians managed to convince a sufficient number people that only they can solve their problems and thus got themselves elected into positions where they control significant flows of money and/or influence.