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US income inequality at record high

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Could you please clarify this statement?

Just remembering off the top of my head, so grain of salt and all. Some (Scottish?) gentry had "tobacco houses" where tobacco was bought and goods sold. They controlled all the prices of everything in the region which led to indebtedness of everyone else. They were one of the first to get booted when things hit the fan, and most of that debt was not repaid.

Remember the motto we are given was, "No taxation without representation." The money was moving to those in control. Taxes are economic in nature, no?
 
And in my most humble of opinions these were mistakes.

I'm not sure about the auto bailouts - they may have changed their business model enough to make them potentially worth bailing out. Still a socialized loss though.

The financial institutions on the other hand are continuing to engage in exactly the behavior that led to the collapse - so a socialized loss PLUS no reduction in volatility/danger to the economic system.
 
I'm not sure about the auto bailouts - they may have changed their business model enough to make them potentially worth bailing out. Still a socialized loss though.

The financial institutions on the other hand are continuing to engage in exactly the behavior that led to the collapse - so a socialized loss PLUS no reduction in volatility/danger to the economic system.

Am I assuming too much to think that you agree that the Wall Street bailout was a mistake?
 
Yes...

...and small tribal societies were communist before Karl Marx ever started throwing around the term.

...and folks who died of Tuberculosis in 1800 might have called it "consumption", but they still died of Tuberculosis.

The ACTIONS are what define it, not the label.

Sigh . . . Whatever. Find me just one authoritative source that considers armies and navies inherently "socialist." If you are going to call anything that government does "socialist," it is going to be impossible to have an intelligent conversation with you.
 
Am I assuming too much to think that you agree that the Wall Street bailout was a mistake?

I'm not sure the bail out itself was a mistake. Distasteful and a socialized loss - yes. Potentially a "lesser of two evils" choice that prevented a worldwide economic collapse? Quite likely.

I'd argue that the Wall St. bailout, with no corresponding changes to the system to prevent future occurrences and no punishment for the decision makers whose decisions led to the issue, was a mistake.
 
I'm not sure the bail out itself was a mistake. Distasteful and a socialized loss - yes. Potentially a "lesser of two evils" choice that prevented a worldwide economic collapse? Quite likely.

I'd argue that the Wall St. bailout, with no corresponding changes to the system to prevent future occurrences and no punishment for the decision makers whose decisions led to the issue, was a mistake.

My opinion is that these people somehow absconded with 15 trillion dollars of your, mine theirs money and were rewarded with somewhere in the vicinity of a trillion for that service.

It is beyond my comprehension that they weren't jailed.
 
Sigh . . . Whatever. Find me just one authoritative source that considers armies and navies inherently "socialist." If you are going to call anything that government does "socialist," it is going to be impossible to have an intelligent conversation with you.

General Wesley Clark:

Retired General of the United States Army
Valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point
Rhodes Scholar
Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Master's degree in military science
Commander Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War
Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom winner

On the nature of military organization...

It’s the purest application of socialism there is
 
Sigh . . . Whatever. Find me just one authoritative source that considers armies and navies inherently "socialist." If you are going to call anything that government does "socialist," it is going to be impossible to have an intelligent conversation with you.

Out of interest, how would you classify most armed forces?

Are they socially funded or privately funded? Police and fire services are another example of socially provided, funded and run organisations. Some of the earliest fire services were private (you needed a plaque outside your house for them to put a fire out!).
 
General Wesley Clark:

Retired General of the United States Army
Valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point
Rhodes Scholar
Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Master's degree in military science
Commander Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War
Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom winner

On the nature of military organization...

A liberal talking head does not qualify as an authoritative source. I'm talking about an authoritative, definitive textbook, etc.
 
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