

The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats - hodgesmr
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html?ml=m_b2_2#.U61ec-K9LCQ

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seren
I think it is voluntarily self-depreciating, and exaggerated, but it is
impressive that the author acknowledges that his success is only due to the
fact that he knew Jeff Bezos at the right time (and some insight).

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throwaway2442
The real question that leftism of any kind should be tackling is: What Ate All
the Jobs and Money?

The basic answer is that Silicon Valley and China Ate All The Jobs. This is
half true.

This however wouldn't be such a problem (and historically was a net positive)
except that Government and Wars Ate All The Money as well.

See we live in a world where you require capital to complete the transition
from destruction of old jobs to the creation of new ones. We managed the first
and are failing the last.

This is a crisis of a lack of capital caused by redistribution and wars.
Capitalism requires capital and we don't have any to work with. That is why we
have the affects of a world war without actually having one.

Not only have past generations not planted trees to provide shade for future
generations, they have burnt the tree to a cinder and sowed the surrounding
soil with salt.

Democracy is finished and good riddance. People who write articles like this
will probably wind up eating each other or getting blown up by robots.

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collyw
Nice to hear it from someone that actually worked their way to wealth (and got
lucky) rather than inherited it.

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cpncrunch
It sounds like he did inherit some wealth, which is what allowed him to invest
in Amazon. Of course he and his family did also work hard to build those
businesses in the first place.

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cpncrunch
This proposal does make a lot of sense when you think about it, unlike the
basic income schemes that sometimes get posted here on HN.

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webmaven
The general effect of basic income and a living minimal wage is fairly
similar, and not incompatible with each other (figuring out the 'right' mix
between the two is an interesting problem, and I am surprised more work hasn't
been done on it).

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dllthomas
With a sufficient basic income, zero is a living wage, and forcing a higher
needlessly prevents some instances of cooperation. As far as I am concerned,
it remains an open question whether the ideal level of basic income, all
things factored in, is "sufficient" to that end (and, for that matter, what
that ideal level of basic income is).

