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General discussion (archive)Rich people make me feel socialist(176 posts)(176 posts)
(176 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 30, 2013
The shocking aspect comes from the fact that such amounts represent nothing for some people, while they represent survival for others. It's the differential of meaning. Beyond a certain wealth, the currency means something completely different. Caprices, pleasures, stuff to burn. Yet, crumbles of it have life-and-death importance to others.

It's like bathing in front dehydrated dying people, or (if you speak of social services or institutions requiring money), in front of dried fields. And this rather obscene differential is justified by an ideology that equals wealth to "merit", implying that the struggling people's moral quality is proportionally as lower than the super-rich people's moral quality as their respective wealth are (or that, in a "free market", that would be the case). Redistribution, or mechanisms of diminishing returns, are "immoral", because the "moral" system is the one that allows for exponential differences, seen as legitimate rewards for people's moral virtues (these virtues being, themselves, circularly enough, restricted to the traits that make someone economically productive).

The problem is that these quantifications of motivational rewards use a currency that doesn't mean "luxury" and "fun gratification" for everyone : it's also the same units that determine someone's access to survival, or minimum life decency (shelter, food, etc). It's not a little game for everybody.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by Telika
Posted January 30, 2013
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Stevedog13: .
Thanks. I should watch more movies instead of only mel gibson. Porkies sounds educational :)
Posted January 30, 2013
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tinyE: Did you SEE her!?
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HomerSimpson: Yes. Should I be making an assumption about her charitable habits (or lack thereof) based on her appearance?
Of course not, except in this case. The girl is obviously a debutant. She is an English Paris Hilton. If I find out that she has pulled a Carnegy and funded a billion dollar library and performing arts center then I will happily crawl back in here on my hands and knees begging for forgivness and be content to live the remainder of my life being ridiculed as the gutless idiotic perveyor of stereotypes that I will have been exposed as. You have my word.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by tinyE
Posted January 30, 2013
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Telika: The shocking aspect comes from the fact that such amounts represent nothing for some people, while they represent survival for others. It's the differential of meaning. Beyond a certain wealth, the currency means something completely different. Caprices, pleasures, stuff to burn. Yet, crumbles of it have life-and-death importance to others.

It's like bathing in front dehydrated dying people, or (if you speak of social services or institutions requiring money), in front of dried fields. And this rather obscene differential is justified by an ideology that equals wealth to "merit", implying that the struggling people's moral quality is proportionally as lower than the super-rich people's moral quality as their respective wealth are (or that, in a "free market", that would be the case). Redistribution, or mechanisms of diminishing returns, are "immoral", because the "moral" system is the one that allows for exponential differences, seen as legitimate rewards for people's moral virtues (these virtues being, themselves, circularly enough, restricted to the traits that make someone economically productive).

The problem is that these quantifications of motivational rewards use a currency that doesn't mean "luxury" and "fun gratification" for everyone : it's also the same units that determine someone's access to survival, or minimum life decency (shelter, food, etc). It's not a little game for everybody.
Thank you.

I really need to move to Switzerland.
Posted January 30, 2013
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HomerSimpson: Just to play devil's advocate here, but how do we know the spendthrift in question hasn't donated twenty times the amount she spent at the bar to charitable causes in the last six months? I'm not defending wastefulness by any means, but would anyone jump on Bill Gates' back if he drops 45k on a game of bridge with Warren Buffet?
yes. thats why you never help anybody. somebody always chooses to take it wrong and be a dick(like me: he only gives so much to charity to flaunt his ability to throw that money away)
Posted January 30, 2013
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StingingVelvet: $45,000 for one night at the bar for this rich young heiress.

FUCK YOU, YOU ARE EVIL.
Corrupt politicians make me feel anarchist

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.399747-U-S-Senator-Says-Videogames-Are-Worse-Than-Guns
Posted January 30, 2013
I took the liberty of looking up her charitys. She once did some fund raising for a hospital, potentially very nice but it didn't get into specifics and I'd like more details before I give her the Nobel.

She also does a lot of work for PETA with anti-fur protest. I think that alone merits our ridicule, forget the spending spree.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by tinyE
Posted January 30, 2013
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HomerSimpson: Yes. Should I be making an assumption about her charitable habits (or lack thereof) based on her appearance?
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tinyE: Of course not, except in this case. The girl is obviously a debutant. She is an English Paris Hilton. If I find out that she has pulled a Carnegy and funded a billion dollar library and performing arts center then I will happily crawl back in here on my hands and knees begging for forgivness and be content to live the remainder of my life being ridiculed as the gutless idiotic perveyor of stereotypes that I will have been exposed as. You have my word.
Sorry, no library, but she apparently does do charity work for Children's Hospitals, and other programs that benefit sick children. (I'm going to ignore her work with PETA because I can't stand that organization)


Edit: And of course we both look it up at the same time.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by Sielle
Posted January 30, 2013
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Ian:
and when you have none it turns out to be more neccesary, evil and harder to get than ever.
it was only the other year i calculated i have spent more than seven years of my adult life below the poverty line and that metaphorical line was one of the things preventing me from getting beyond it - but thats a different story.
i agree with you though.
...and this just aint right at all:

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pseudonarne: meh, what'd you rather she do horde it like a jew? then it may as well not exist(except to the big nosed jew(or big nosed roman) bankers who'd be rolling in it when nobody was looking like scrooge mcduck). If she spends it the fat jew bar keeper can spend it and so can his hard working Australian employes(even if they do get pennies to the dollar their boss grabs) his (also probably jewish because all useless middlemen who exploit and keep down the working class are dirty kites*)suppliers and eventually fractions of pennies from her massive purchase will filter down through the sticky jewish fingers to the filthy mexican peasants who picked the grapes to make the champagne(thus stealing good jobs from white people and also shitting on everything they don't steal including the grapes so enjoy your bowl cramping montezuma's revenge(well I suppose they'd be aboriginal instead)) ect.

sorry I'm drunk ;) I hope you can forgive me

- - - - - - - - -
*incidentally why is that even a word? Whats the entomology behind it? did they once fly kites for some jewish ceremony or something?
Post edited January 30, 2013 by Sachys
Posted January 30, 2013
ha, have to label things better or think them through more. that was supposed to make fun of mell gibson
Posted January 30, 2013
I think people should be able to spend their money on whatever they want, without getting heat from others about what they spend it on.

Just because something seems like a waste of money to one, doesn't mean it is to the other person as well. For example, a guy 1 thinks spending money to buy a fullpriced game at release is a waste, 'cause the game will be cheaper later and he doesn't get more enjoyment from it by playing it earlier. While guy 2 enjoys buying the game right away despite the higher price. Guy 1 might prefer to spend his money eating out, while guy 2 thinks it's way too expensive and does not bring him more enjoyment than eating that homecooked meal. In the end, both spend their money on something they enjoy, while they spend their money on different things. Now she spends a lot more, I get that, but the principle is still the same imo, she just has more money to spend on what she likes than most.
Posted January 30, 2013
Have you ever read a children's book called Rainbow fish?

Its a story about how one fish had shiny scales and who tired to be nice to everybody... so some assholes that didn't have shiny scales ostracized him until he gave them some...not just some but to the point he had no more than them. The wealthy fish realized happiness couldn't be his until he gave everything away for the common good and communism and happiness ruled the day.

A few decades later the author wrote a second book in the series.
In the sequel The fish have formed a school and are playing around when a fish who has no shiny scales shows up...Only rainbowfish was in favor of allowing him to join their group the others shunned him for being below them by not having any shiny scales. the same fish that bullied rainbowfish into giving up what he had were being dicks to a fish that had less than they did. So they all swim away leaving a disappointed rainbowfish and crushingly sad and lonely new fish behind and are pretty much immediately eaten by a shark. At that point ranbowfish and newfish have to come up with a plan to save the ungrateful parasites lives for some reason which they then carryout risking their own lives in the process. They save the other fish and make the shark sad because it doesn't get to eat today. And they all live happily ever. except the shark.

(I guess this way the author has a book for all target markets and makes up for accusations of socialist propaganda from the first one lol. I'm on to her she's still a dirty pinko no matter what camouflage she tried later on. I'm not buying the jaded ex liberal act)
Post edited January 30, 2013 by pseudonarne
Posted January 30, 2013
Haha. This is awesome and has such genuine documentary value let me try too.

It's the story of an elephant, he liked coconuts and coconut harvesting so while all other elephants were doing stuff like going to elephant school and reading elephant books and chatting with elephants and making elephant babies, he would only train at snapping coconuts and making his trump very muscular and his feet very agile and after 40 years he became a badass dumbass of an elephant, and suddenly grabbed all the coconuts because it was the only thing he could do but he was so good at it that no other elephant could ever get a coconut anymore but they were island elephants who could only feed on coconuts so that elephant became the only elephant having coconuts and wouldn't share coconuts with the other elephants and all the other elephants who were good at a million things but not as much as him at coconuts they all DIED and so that elephant ended up VERY LONELY and it TOTALLY HAPPENED LIKE THAT and there is probably a lesson in it.

And in the sequel, a boat carrying zoo elephants capsized nearby and all the surviving elephants swam to his island, and this time he shared his coconuts but the elephants ate ALL HIS COCONUTS and he DIED OF STARVATION and it TOTALLY HAPPENED LIKE THAT and there is probably a lesson in it.

And in the prequel, the island was full of giraffes and one of the giraffe was gay, and another giraffe said that it was not cool but all the giraffes said that it was cool and they killed the giraffe who said that it was not cool but then all the giraffes became gay and they all stopped making babies and they all disappeared and it TOTALLY HAPPENED LIKE THAT and there is probably a lesson in it.

And in the epilogue there are turtles on the island but one of the turtle was jewish so the island burned down and sank.

Letthisbealessontoyouallthankyouforyourattention.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by Telika
Posted January 30, 2013
Why did that guy have to share the recipe? I would be thrilled if someone were to spend an obscene amount of money at my bar and encourage her to come back and spend some more. If I were her I would not be coming back. Of course if I were her, I would be spending my money on getting the bleeding edge of technology and going to an elite school.

I'm on the side of her money, her business. I don't think this should be news. Although, seeing such frivolous spending without care irks me too especially since I have bills of my own to pay.

At least she treated everyone in the bar, not many rich peeps would do that.
Post edited January 30, 2013 by Thunderstone
Posted January 30, 2013
You know, being born in a failed and dismantled socialist country, I find that bill extremely funny.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Rich people make me feel socialist(176 posts)(176 posts)
(176 posts)