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Only The Rich Are Poisoned: The Preference of Others | Medium

Only The Rich Are Poisoned: The Preference of Others
The salesman is the boss — How to drink poison — Advertising and manipulation

Very few people understand their own choices, and end up being manipulated by those who want to sell them something. In that sense, impoverishment might be something desirable. Looking at Saudi Arabia which should progressively revert to the pre-oil level of poverty, I wonder if Vauvenargues would tell them that taking away some things from them –and the swarm of fawning foreigners coming to skin them –will make them better off.

To put it another way: if wealth is giving you fewer options instead of more (and more varied) options, you’re doing it wrong …

WEALTH INEQUALITY AND SKIN IN THE GAME

WEALTH INEQUALITY AND SKIN IN THE GAME
A well functioning society isn’t one in which people are equal but one in which people have equal *probability*. So measuring static inequality is severely flawed.
Take the United States. Less than 10% of the people in the 1982 list of richest 500 were there in 2012. Compare to France where 60% on the rich list today have inherited their wealth. And there are other more robust metrics: 56% of Americans will spent at least a year in the top 10% (in income not wealth). Not in Europe.
So a good society is one in which people at the top have *skin in the game* hence can lose their money. Wealth generation should not lead to protected position at the top. Social mobility isn’t in elevating people, it requires the top to open a position.
So in Europe a civil servant from the “mandarin class” is safe for life as they extract rent from the system, while a good entrepreneur will run a chance of getting poor, leaving room for others.
PS- Let me explain to those who don’t get it. SITG means the rich needs to remain exposed to losing back his money rather than shielded.
PPS- 39% of Americans will spend a year in the top 5 % of the income distribution, 56 % will find themselves in the top 10%, and 73% percent will spend a year in the top 20 %. Ref http://www.nytimes.com/…/…/from-rags-to-riches-to-rags.html…

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