Greedy Billionaires Not Named Elon Megathread

[Grey Fox]

The rich have succeeded on taking complete control of the west. They do not fear anymore.

Is there a time when they didn't have complete control? Stone Age?

Like Sheilbh mentioned, the post war era until the petrol crisis.

[DGuller]

I think it's an interesting conversation to split off into its own thread, so that it won't die here.  It's the kind of thread that may be bumped again and again going forward.

[HVC]

The rich have succeeded on taking complete control of the west. They do not fear anymore.

Is there a time when they didn't have complete control? Stone Age?

Like Sheilbh mentioned, the post war era until the petrol crisis.

If you guys say so. That's not my understanding, but since I wasn't alive then I can't really say. My understanding is that the middle class flourished, but that the rich were around and still very much in charge.

[Grey Fox]

In charge and complete control is not the same thing.

1963s top income tax bracket in the USA was 91%. Today is, iirc, in the lower 30s. Poise to be eliminated in the next years.

[HVC]

30% is just for the honest ones. There are plenty of ways to pay less. Blame lawyers. They're the actual bad guys

[Razgovory]

I'm reading a book on the elites in this country, and their ideology.  Talking about the top 1% is a bit of an obfuscation.  They are elites, but not the only ones.  In fact, a lot of them on are on this board as we speak...

[HisMajestyBOB]

Some people are more equal richer than others.

Still, with all the horror stories about medical insurance in the U.S., I'm surprised that insurance companies aren't shot up/bombed more often.

Thus far the media have managed to direct people's anger towards the opposing political parties. But one thing we are definitely seeing is right wing men starting to just target anybody they can blame. So we had two of them go after Trump and now we have this dude shooting the United CEO instead of shooting up schools, minorities, and left wing protestors. So I guess Marx would say they are starting to become class conscious or something.

I do not know why the left doesn't seem to do these sorts of things outside of mob violence during protests gone nasty. So far we don't have antifa assassins gunning down CEOs and politicians.

But hey we might be headed that way. Really ever since the Cold War ended the people in the United States have been fed up and want country to change. But nothing really seems to.

The American left is generally way more interested in pointless slap fighting and purity testing.

[crazy canuck]

I'm reading a book on the elites in this country, and their ideology.  Talking about the top 1% is a bit of an obfuscation.  They are elites, but not the only ones.  In fact, a lot of them on are on this board as we speak...

I am pretty sure a lot of of the American one percent is not on this board as we speak

[Razgovory]

I'm reading a book on the elites in this country, and their ideology.  Talking about the top 1% is a bit of an obfuscation.  They are elites, but not the only ones.  In fact, a lot of them on are on this board as we speak...

I am pretty sure a lot of of the American one percent is not on this board as we speak

What about the top quintile?

[Syt]

On a global scale, I think pretty much all of us might be in the top 1% of the world's population, wealth wise.

[Josquius]

On a global scale, I think pretty much all of us might be in the top 1% of the world's population, wealth wise.

I'm not sure there, that's 80,000,000 people. A lot but still just a fraction of the west.

Also depends how you count it really. In terms of raw numbers a cleaner in Norway might be richer than a middle class person in Kenya, but in terms of general experience, quality of life, etc...?

[garbon]

On a global scale, I think pretty much all of us might be in the top 1% of the world's population, wealth wise.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/01/how-much-money-you-need-to-be-part-of-the-1-percent-worldwide.html

[Syt]

Fair enough. But we'll still be near the top.

[crazy canuck]

I'm reading a book on the elites in this country, and their ideology.  Talking about the top 1% is a bit of an obfuscation.  They are elites, but not the only ones.  In fact, a lot of them on are on this board as we speak...

I am pretty sure a lot of of the American one percent is not on this board as we speak

What about the top quintile?

How many Americans on this board do you think are in the top quintile?

You made the claim that a lot of the American elite are on this board? My comment was more of a joke, but come on, if you want to take it seriously not a lot of American elites are here. There just isn't a lot of Americans here compared to the population of the United States.  There isn't a lot of people here in general. 

[garbon]

Here's what looks to be recent US census data on household income:

Lowest Quintile    16345
Second Quintile    46381
Third Quintile    78202
Fourth Quintile    123006
Highest Quintile    281866
Top 5 Percent    506793

https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B19081?q=income%20quintile&y=2023

Well mean.

Maybe upper limit makes more sense?

Lowest Quintile   31942
Second Quintile   61190
Third Quintile   97458
Fourth Quintile   155515
Lower Limit of Top 5 Percent   250,000+