Occupy Wall Street

[Duck Rodgers]

I'm a Raiders fan and everything.....but arresting anybody wearing Raiders gear is probably the best way to keep the peace.

 

[PearlWatson]

I'm a Raiders fan and everything.....but arresting anybody wearing Raiders gear is probably the best way to keep the peace.

That looks like an Occupy Israel protest with that cloth on his head.

 

[PearlWatson]

 

[Jazz Spazz]

While I think it's funny, I also notice Will Smith's hand and arm have strangely faded to a very "white" hue. Weird.

 

[LogGrad98]

Looks photoshopped to me. Still pretty good.

 

[PearlWatson]

 

[LogGrad98]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Millsapa again.

 

[Gameface]

And I wasn't making a comparison between the United States and third world poverty, so there's no reason to bring up Sudan or the 1300's or anything else. I was comparing the life styles of those living near the median income level 50 years ago with those living near the median income level today. My opinion is that that even though the lower end has not kept up in measurements of income/wealth over the last 50 years, they haven't lost as much in functional living standards.

This is what makes being a libertarian so easy for me. People aren't starving. People have clothes to wear. People with little money have an easy time getting fat. People who work at all generally have a place to live.

Why are living standards better today than they were 50 years ago, even with greed and capitalism playing so large a role in what we have done over that period of time?

Greed. It annoys me when people use that term. I consider eating to be the greediest thing a person can do. Once food is consumed it can't do any good for anyone but you (the person who ate it). It is the essence of our lives. Anything we consume gives us life and that power is denied all other people in existence. Anyway, I still eat my dinner. I absolve myself of the guilt. I refuse to feel greedy for not giving up the earned spoils of my own labor to others.

So what is greed? Do I have it wrong? Is it ever okay to take? Should we all hang ourselves on a cross? Can I live an be happy if there is suffering in the world? Am I greedy if I seek happiness when others are sad?

 

[moevillini]

^ oh my, you sound more like an existentialist than a libertarian!

 

[moevillini]

perhaps I'm mistaken in thinking this, but I generally think some of the ill-will has to do with how the gains were gotten and how they are used. I don't think folks begrudge Bill Gates his wealth to anywhere near the same degree as they may begrudge Dennis Kozlowski or Bernie Madoff their wealth (or former wealth)

I was listening to an interesting podcast comparing the those who get their wealth through their own capitalist enterprises versus those who get their wealth merely by kissing the right asses on their way up the corporate ladder. (ok, that's not quite how the podcast put it...) One factor mentioned as creating different perceptions of the wealthy was philanthropy. Those like the Carnegies, the Rockefellers, the Gates etc got "credit" for their philanthropic endeavors whereas those like Kozlowski, Skilling and Madoff - aside from their status as convicted criminals - were also known for their lavish and self-indulgent lifestyles.

 

[One Brow]

You also don't see the resentment to families like the Waltons (the owners of Wal-mart), even though they don't have the track record of philanthropy. I think there is a general sense of financial institutions as predatory, and commercial enterprises as contributary (at best, this is an exaggeration, and dependent on the degree to which they are regulated).

 

[PearlWatson]

This is what makes being a libertarian so easy for me. People aren't starving. People have clothes to wear. People with little money have an easy time getting fat. People who work at all generally have a place to live.

Why are living standards better today than they were 50 years ago, even with greed and capitalism playing so large a role in what we have done over that period of time?

Some of that is due to overspending and kicking the debt can down the road.

Greed. It annoys me when people use that term. I consider eating to be the greediest thing a person can do. Once food is consumed it can't do any good for anyone but you (the person who ate it). It is the essence of our lives. Anything we consume gives us life and that power is denied all other people in existence. Anyway, I still eat my dinner. I absolve myself of the guilt. I refuse to feel greedy for not giving up the earned spoils of my own labor to others.

So what is greed? Do I have it wrong? Is it ever okay to take? Should we all hang ourselves on a cross? Can I live an be happy if there is suffering in the world? Am I greedy if I seek happiness when others are sad?

This is the conclusion of an article that I think pertains to the issue of mislabeling rational self interest as greed:

Look at the horrific plight the Palestinians have chosen, and you can observe the real meaning of a culture of self-sacrifice. Look at America, by comparison, and you can see the life-affirming benevolence of a culture of rational self-interest.

The Suicide Bomb Morality