Why "x% of people have y% of the wealth" is irrelevant.

[Brainwalter]

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You can very easily empirically show that your statement is a falsehood (not about your personal circumstances which I don't know, the i apologize for the adhominem aside) but just calculate for example what you would make per year working full time at a minimum wage job, and then calculate expenses for say, a family with 3 children headed by a single mother.

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Yeah Alex you forgot how the poor are always saddled with 3 kids and no spouse, through no fault of their own.

[AlexM]

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Again, this is such a corner case since there were SO FEW people of such great privilege. Even if a few people back then were better off than the janitors of today, clearly the 5th percentile of today is better off than the 95th percentile of 500 years ago. 99th and 1st percentiles are a bigger stretch.

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That's true. But like I said, Victoria was pretty recent. I might trade places with her (but probably not). Constantine? No way.

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What about a Roman Emperor with loads of sex slaves, all the alcohol he wants (hookers and blow of the time?), all day to sit on his ass and crap in his gold toilet. I mean, come on, that had to be better than cleaning crap from McDonalds. You can't be serious. It's not like these guys have plasmas and ipods.

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I thought about the sex slave angle, but the only thing I'd want with them is to free them. Being drunk constantly wouldn't be fun at all. People who think that being drunk constantly is fun have a very warped perception of what "fun" is IMO.

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You are the emperor of $*&$ing ROME! You can free them and they'll still want to bang you constantly. I mean COME ON!

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It would be pretty sweet, but it's not as good as air conditioning. Also, easy sex isn't nearly as fun/rewarding as finding sex with someone you know's really into you.

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Air conditioning? You live in ROME!! You have a more mild climate than Atlanta, you have chicks to fan you all day, you don't need Air Conditioning! You can probably swim in a pool of water all day if you want.

You don't think every chick will be into you? There are definite advantages in being "better off" than everyone around you.

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1. I've heard of these so-called "perfect climates" but I'm extremely skeptical. I like my temperature within a very narrow range.

2. Being into my money and power is not being into me. I know a lot of guys see it that way, but I damned well do not.

3. If I were Emperor of Rome, I would be responsible for running Rome. That kind of responsibility would be far more stressful than any job I've ever had.

[mmbt0ne]

Alex,

"She's the one who got knocked up, and while I have a great deal of sympathy for her and would help her if I personally could, ultimately it's her own damned fault. "

That a big over-generalization

[AlexM]

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Alex,

"She's the one who got knocked up, and while I have a great deal of sympathy for her and would help her if I personally could, ultimately it's her own damned fault. "

That a big over-generalization

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No, it's not. People choose to have sex. If all 3 of her children were a result rapes, that would be another story entirely and I'd be much more sympathetic and willing to help.

[mmbt0ne]

What if she was in a comfortable situation with a two income household and then her husband ran away with the money? Got killed? etc

[AlexM]

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What if she was in a comfortable situation with a two income household and then her husband ran away with the money? Got killed? etc

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Same difference. They weren't ready to have children if they couldn't deal with such unfortunate circumstances. Not being sure that your children will be taken care of if "something happens" is grossly negligent parenting.

[latefordinner]

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To repeat what I said:

"Everyone in this one (that works) can afford a car and a home unless they choose to waste their money on other things."

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Oh I see, not letting your children starve is "wasting your money on other things".

[pokerbobo]

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You can very easily empirically show that your statement is a falsehood (not about your personal circumstances which I don't know, the i apologize for the adhominem aside) but just calculate for example what you would make per year working full time at a minimum wage job, and then calculate expenses for say, a family with 3 children headed by a single mother.

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If you are old enuff to have three kids, you should have developed some marketable skills by that time (so you make more than min wage). If you have not...that is your fault, not mine. If you are dumb enuff to get knocked up not once not twice but three times when you are making min wage then that is an illustration of your lack of personal responsibility. When did it become my responsibilty to pay for kids I did not create? I have two of my own...I pay for them and expect no others to provide for them.

[BPA234]

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To put it differently, the rich need the poor; without the poor, they cannot exist. The poor, on the other hand, having nothing to lose but their chains (and homes and cars and color TV's) .

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The point you're missing is that it's the poor who build the homes, make the cars, and assemble the color TV's.

Why should they miss out on the things they themselves are creating?

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The poor don't perform any of the three cited examples. I think you could say former-autoworker now poor or former factory worker now poor. But, the only poor carpenters are those who refuse to work.

[AlexM]

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To repeat what I said:

"Everyone in this one (that works) can afford a car and a home unless they choose to waste their money on other things."

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Oh I see, not letting your children starve is "wasting your money on other things".

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No, having children you can't afford to care for is "wasting your money on other things".