
Ray Dalio: The Two US Economies: The Top 40% and the Bottom 60% - uptown
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/our-biggest-economic-social-political-issue-two-economies-ray-dalio/
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georgeecollins
I don't think the people in the bottom 60% really care about this because they
are becoming increasingly segregated physically. I have relatives that
probably fit in the upper end of that bottom 60%, although like almost all
Americans they consider themselves "middle-class". They don't really see the
difference in income and opportunity between "middle class" in their part of
the country vs. other parts, like San Francisco. It all seems fair to them,
because they face the same choices as almost everyone around them and everyone
they know.

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tabtab
Re: "I don't think the people in the bottom 60% really care about this because
they are becoming increasingly segregated..."

If they can get a decent income to raise a family under "civilized"
conditions, I generally agree. Factory jobs usually provided that, but they
are drying up without a clear alternative replacing them, at least in certain
areas. There are "low skill" jobs like fast food or Uber driving, but it's
difficult to raise a family on that.

It looks like either socialism and/or subsidization of higher education will
be needed. These may require taxing the rich. Automation and offshoring are
eating into mid-skill careers. (They may eventually eat into more levels.) I
don't buy the right's "float all boats" theory, except under a short-term boom
cycle.

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tabtab
Both political parties have a different take on a solution. The right will
probably claim that tax-cuts and deregulation will stimulate the economy and
"float all boats", while the left will probably claim that taxing the rich
will create more money for post-high-school education to help lower-income
families climb the economic ladder and compete in the world economy, and
provide more social programs, which also generate service jobs. As far as
"deregulation", the devil's in the details, but the left generally believe
such often leads to pollution and health risks, noncompetitive oligopolies and
monopolies, and financial crashes. The right believes this to be an
exaggeration.

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CryptoPunk
>> As far as "deregulation", the devil's in the details, but the left
generally believe such often leads to pollution and health risks,
noncompetitive oligopolies and monopolies, and financial crashes. The right
believes this to be an exaggeration.

There is also the argument that regulations primarily create oligopolies and
walled gardens that exacerbate income inequality. This is part of a larger
argument that state intervention in the market is primarily motivated by
private interests, and serves their interests. The FDIC would be one such
example:

[http://www.nber.org/papers/w22223](http://www.nber.org/papers/w22223)

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nugget
My first day of grad school, a very well-known history Professor asked us what
two groups have existed in every civilization since the dawn of time - his
answer - "the rich and the poor".

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convolvatron
i think the evolving difference is that the rich used to want to exploit the
poor for their labor

increasingly they just want most of them to quietly go away

