Posted by Sobriquet Style on May 10, 2006, at 9:08:37
In reply to Re: Estella » Sobriquet Style, posted by Estella on May 10, 2006, at 6:28:27
>is that relevant to the fact that 10% of the country have over half the wealth of the whole country?
Well, it wasn't wrote in conjunction with the above subject, more just expanding and focusing on the wealthy, not as a group, but as individuals.
>I mean... are those people *that much* more deserving than joe the illegal immigrant busting his balls for less than minimum wage so he can send his money home to mexico to look after his family 'cause there isn't enough work in mexico? and mexico aside... how about tom busting his balls working for minimum wage in some non tippable job doing a 14 or 18 hour day so he and his family can live in some tenemant as working poor? are these men less worthy or less deserving than anyone in the top 10%?
Well, yes and no. Firstly, you mention they are *illegal* Immigrants, therefore they are breaking the laws of the country in which they are choosing to migrate to. Secondly, the fact they are choosing to migrate maybe because of the politics in their own country. I know little about Mexican politics... So, if in your example the man is entering a country, and by doing so breaking laws of that given country, he is then extracting money on the basis of which is initially illegal to then export to his country of origin. On the flip side, this is decreasing opportunites for minimum wage workers who are legal citizens of their country trying to get by on minimum wage to provide income for their familes in America.
>people were created equal (in the sense of being equally deserving or equally entitled to a reasonable standard of life)
>and so when there is such an imbalance in wealth... when people are supposedly equal in the above mentioned respects... then isn't something going wrong? and shouldn't steps be taken to remidy the situation?
This is what politics is all about - what the politicians try to put forward, they are going to do something, to get votes, and the results are what you see today..
>IMHO more than a little luck is involved... More than a little
Using the *little*, with '*' this is what are was saying, kind of in a sarcastic sense - "Like, you need just a *little* bit of luck to win the lottery!"
>IMHO those cases of people 'working their way up' they happen just enough... and are publicised one hell of a lot so that... it supports peoples belief that anyone can make it so long as they are hardworking enough... so that people keep struggling and keep believing that it is possible for them and their descendents if only they keep working hard... and when people devote their lives to trying to become one of the millionares / billionares via slogging their guts out... via buying the odd lotto ticket just in case they can manage to strike it lucky... then the focus is on preserving the radical imbalance and longing to be part of the elite rather than thinking that maybe the whole system needs a radical overhaul and maybe forgoing the 'opportunities' of becoming one of the elite especially when the cost to others of ones own 'opportunity' is so high...
Thats very interesting..
>i'm not interested...
Me neither to be honest. Although when you see how some of the rich are involved in politics and their influence, with them, like the example of Nicholas van Hoogstraten who is quoted as saying
"He has spoken warmly of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, whom he once described as "100% decent and incorruptible". He holds vast fortunes in the African country and once said: "I don't believe in democracy, I believe in rule by the fittest."
Then, right down the scale of Robert Mugabe looking after the people of his country, I find it becomes an important factor. After all, if where talking about wealth distribution, its interesting to see how Mugabe lives and his money, compared to the people he serves. I won't go into too much detail, but the facts are out there. For example, he made homosexuality illegal in his country with a penalty of 10 years in prison. Some have described him as a dictator. But, i'm going off on a tagent..
>i'm more interested on looking to the poor and disadvantaged and trying to figure out how to help them.
I think one of the most rewarding things, if you're interested, is going to one of these countries and doing hands-on-work. There are numerous programmes available to do this, it has to be more rewarding than giving money to charity, which when someone like Robert Mugabe recieves it, it may end up in his bank account or palace etc On a larger scale, there are other ways too I guess - This may be, for instance, looking how the politics in the poor countries is run, and ways to improve it, this may eventually result in some being taken out of power, although at the rate things are elsewhere in the world, it doesn't seem top priority on the world leaders agenda's or if you like conspiracy theories - the Illuminati :-o lol
~
poster:Sobriquet Style
thread:633975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060417/msgs/642077.html