Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackCrayon
As there is only so much wealth to go around, the more that make it to the 'top', the less wealth there is for those who already are there have to gain.
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Completely and utterly wrong, and false. Wealth is continually created, both by the creation of new products and services, improvements on existing products and services, and labor.
As for percentage of wealth, it doesn't make me poorer if my neighbor becomes a billionaire. Wealth is not a zero sum resource where one person having more means someone else has less. It is constantly created and expanded every time a new product or service is created which is determined to have value to other people. In fact if my neighbor becomes a billionaire it actually expands my opportunities to gather more wealth by providing that neighbor with goods or services that he wants and can afford.
The only way that this equation can be changed is by the government, which produces no wealth and can take mine from me by force, rather than the free exchange of wealth for the value of services, products, or labor. If the total wealth created in a society increase, then the PERCENTAGE of the total is inevitably in the hands of fewer, because the larger the amount overall, the greater the potential range is between those with the most and those with the least. Either way, people levels of wealth is never stagnant, which is why taking a "snapshot" of percentages is not an accurate way to perceive the reality.
If wealth is not created, then the total amount of all wealth existed 1,000 years ago. This is plainly not the case. An empty piece of land has a certain amount of value. Plowing and planting that land increases it's value. The rocks on the land have very little value, but if you create processes that extract minerals from that rock that can be used for other things that creates more value. If you extract iron it has more value, and if you then create a shoe for a horse so that it can walk longer you have again increased it's value. If there is a tree on the land it has a certain value. If you create a house with it that people can live in you have created much more value. If you transport those goods to a place where people need them to be that increases their value, etc, etc, etc......
Value and wealth are the same thing. Go ahead and look up VAT. Value added tax recognizes this basic economic fact.
Take a look at this little video. These guys have some decent, although simplistic, videos on basic economics....
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