US Income Inequality Higher Than Ancient Rome

[Hasbinbad]

"Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the top 1 percent used to control a little over 30 percent of the wealth, they now control 40 percent."
"In total, Schiedel and Friesen figure the elite orders and other wealthy made up about 1.5 percent of the 70 million inhabitants the empire claimed at its peak. Together, they controlled around 20 percent of the wealth."
http://persquaremile.com/2011/12/16/income-inequality-in-the-roman-empire/

Source Story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/us-income-inequality-ancient-rome-levels_n_1158926.html

[runlvlzero]

4 real.

[runlvlzero]

Also, I almost forgot. Post your creepy pictures of Vatican residents.

http://i.imgur.com/yJjSzVl.jpg

[r00t]

There's this concept called capitalism that works on an evolutionary model. If the guys at the top got brains to concentrate the wealth, good one them. Philanthropy is a wonderful thing, go get yourself one of Bill Gates sterilization-- err malaria shots

[r00t]

also lol when 1% controls 40% & ppl call me tinfoil for saying bilderberg picks the president and assassinated jfk

[Daldolma]

good reason to be top 1%

[Ahldagor]

and posting this in an elf sim forum changes things how?

[runlvlzero]

Get a machete and live off crabs and coconuts. EZ.

Or learn Russian, Mandarin, Latin, Scandinavian, and become an expatriate with your veterans/social security/welfare/retirement funds.

[runlvlzero]

Disability might work to. Not sure how all that will pan out in the long run for an expatriate. You just need to show an income in the range of 900$ a month to emigrate most places.

[runlvlzero]

OH SHIT IT WAS A GODAMN TRAP. This is not r00ts thread. =/

I suck at life.

[Recycled Children]

Is this another thread where corporatism gets confused for capitalism?

[runlvlzero]

Nah, were calling this a plutocracy, not blaming capitalism here. Dynasty and Power Elite exist outside of economic systems. See China too for all that.

[Recycled Children]

Nah, were calling this a plutocracy, not blaming capitalism here. Dynasty and Power Elite exist outside of economic systems. See China too for all that.

Whew. Thank Allah. I'm tired of listening to people discuss economics and not know what the fuck their talking about.

[Orruar]

Data:
Income inequality less in ancient Rome
Death by lion somewhat more common in ancient Rome

Conclusion:
Any redistribution of wealth will lead to more deaths by lion


So, are you pro-capitalism, or pro-lion mauling?

[Ahldagor]

The question is, WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO ABOUT IT???????????? HUH???? ANY THOUGHTS???? WHAT THE FUCK?????? DO WE JUST WATCH IT BURN???????? HUH????????? ANY ANSWERS??????? OR ARE YOU JUST HOLDING THE MIRRIOR AT AN ANGLE WE CAN ALL SEE????????

and none of you ask that question because you are all spoiled rich kids who live off of your parents still.

how do you know it's gonna burn?

[runlvlzero]

Data:
Income inequality less in ancient Rome
Death by lion somewhat more common in ancient Rome

Conclusion:
Any redistribution of wealth will lead to more deaths by lion


So, are you pro-capitalism, or pro-lion mauling?

Pro-lion mauling. Life is boring if you just seek security until you die. Risk vs Reward.

Need to crank it up a few notches.

[Barkingturtle]

I'm tired of listening to people discuss economics and not know what the fuck their talking about.

*they're

[Hasbinbad]

how do you know it's gonna burn?
because i sprayed everything with naphtha and i'm about to light this match

[Ahldagor]

because i sprayed everything with naphtha and i'm about to light this match

suicidal thoughts and narcissism do go together. you should try doing gay cam shows, it's an occupation for attention addicts.

[Rellapse35]

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg

HBB hates life all he does all day is change bedpans

[Orruar]

Pro-lion mauling. Life is boring if you just seek security until you die. Risk vs Reward.

Need to crank it up a few notches.

I suppose we could use more lions to help keep our overweight population in check.

Bring on the communism.

[Orruar]

That looks like the saddest fan in the world.

[runlvlzero]

Hehe I ad-block plussed that Image specifically. Technology is wonderful.

We should have death games.

[Ephirith]

There is no repressed underclass in America, only temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

[Alorae]

get a job hippies

[myriverse]

get a job hippies
The wealthy got rid of them all.

[r00t]

It's still capitalist society ya'll. Nothin stoppin you from startin your own bank, incorporating in the cayman island tax shelter, chargin a bunch of bullshit fees on every transaction, buying a bunch of toxic derivatives and failing mortgage back securities with your clients money since there is no more glass steagall act, and then finally bribing the president and members of congress so you can fuck your clients all over again by having their tax money go to bailing you out. twice

[r00t]

If you're trying to affect change tell your hippy occupy buddies to pull out of the megabanks that fucked us and join a local credit union or somethin.. Though it's too late to cripple them, they own 40% of everythin (LOL)

[Rellapse35]

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg



http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg



http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg

[r00t]

Im not relapse35

also estate tax loopholes bro they use loopholes for everythin else why wud the elite ignore those

[runlvlzero]

It's still capitalist society ya'll. Nothin stoppin you from startin your own bank, incorporating in the cayman island tax shelter, chargin a bunch of bullshit fees on every transaction, buying a bunch of toxic derivatives and failing mortgage back securities with your clients money since there is no more glass steagall act, and then finally bribing the president and members of congress so you can fuck your clients all over again by having their tax money go to bailing you out. twice

Nothing but morality, ethics, and legalities, and money.

You or I are not starting a bank incorporated in the caymans unless we kill, steal, extort, fraud, bribe, and generally do all the same shit the banks right now are doing. A lot of it is legal grey area.

But the way these people built their empires was on the backs of organizations like the mafia.

So STFU that its even capitalism. Because success is not measured by lawful trade of property. Aka capital.

[aowen]

The Power Elite by C Wright Mills is the best written discussion I have seen addressing this issue. Extremely comprehensive, it could be updated to include some of the more contemporary international organizations/structures, but does a pretty damn good job for its time.

If you're concerned about a corrupted and manipulative system masquerading as equal opportunity capitalism, this would be the place to start.

[JayN]

I would fuck her folds; Fuck the law

Follow moral high ground and say fuck the law!

FREEEEEDOM!

[Raavak]

Whew. Thank Allah. I'm tired of listening to people discuss economics and not know what the fuck their talking about.

Eggsectly, bunch of morans.

[Raavak]

Whew. Thank Allah. I'm tired of listening to people discuss economics and not know what the fuck their talking about.
Eggsectly, bunch of morans.

Give me a freakin' migraine, like when people try to label something Naziism (i.e. nationalistic socialism) to something that is not nationalistic and socialist.

[JayN]

Give me a freakin' migraine, like when people try to label something Naziism (i.e. nationalistic socialism) to something that is not nationalistic and socialist.

TMObama'ism

[runlvlzero]

The Power Elite by C Wright Mills is the best written discussion I have seen addressing this issue. Extremely comprehensive, it could be updated to include some of the more contemporary international organizations/structures, but does a pretty damn good job for its time.

If you're concerned about a corrupted and manipulative system masquerading as equal opportunity capitalism, this would be the place to start.

I read it in my early teens.

[r00t]

http://i.imgur.com/W35zt9r.jpg

[runlvlzero]

They look nothing alike lol... thats a racist fucking shirt.

[JayN]

get your LEAN ON with mlk jr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFkv45tPxQk

[r00t]

http://i.imgur.com/AUEGfTf.gif

[Raavak]

http://www.gdriveurl.com/?idl=413814102546&out=1

[Tecmos Deception]

crank it up a few notches.

http://dumpr.coreshock.org/i/fd7fdfb6fd0b5af8650579ceda4501bc976f19c0

[Tecmos Deception]

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/790051/thumbs/o-MAYRA-ROSALES-FAT-facebook.jpg

Is she the 99% of America?

[Tecmos Deception]

by the way, when your parents die you're only going to get half after the government takes their half. ha ha

You guys apparently don't have attorneys.

[Orruar]

http://www.gdriveurl.com/?idl=413814102546&out=1

Lobster, porterhouse steak, and 5x 24 pack diet mountain dew. Only in America.

[Ahldagor]

Lobster, porterhouse steak, and 5x 24 pack diet mountain dew. Only in America.

but but it's diet

[Orruar]

but but it's diet

Ah, so they are only 300 lbs, not 400. Guess it's a good use of our tax money.

[Ahldagor]

Ah, so they are only 300 lbs, not 400. Guess it's a good use of our tax money.

yes, and it helps to stave of the diabetes, so we will not have to supplicate to their demands of insulin in the future.

[Azure]

Ovens cook away diabetus.

[Daldolma]

never been a better time to be rich, this is a golden era y'all

[Estolcles]

As a person who's had Type 1 Diabetes for 24 years, I wish someone would make the Type 2 Diabetics (or as I like to call them: The Fat Asses) put down their doughnuts and exercise. Lose 300 pounds or something. They're making commercials for glucometers (blood glucose {sugar} meters) now, for Christ's sake. Plus now it's making the geniuses working on developing shit for Diabetics to focus on the fatassess who can't put down their fucking doughnuts and can control their shit with diet and exercise, and away from ones who have it from a non-functioning Pancreas who need some fixes more.

Fucking fatasses. >8(

[Ahldagor]

As a person who's had Type 1 Diabetes for 24 years, I wish someone would make the Type 2 Diabetics (or as I like to call them: The Fat Asses) put down their doughnuts and exercise. Lose 300 pounds or something. They're making commercials for glucometers (blood glucose {sugar} meters) now, for Christ's sake. Plus now it's making the geniuses working on developing shit for Diabetics to focus on the fatassess who can't put down their fucking doughnuts and can control their shit with diet and exercise, and away from ones who have it from a non-functioning Pancreas who need some fixes more.

Fucking fatasses. >8(

type 1 a genetic thing?

also, paula deen y'all

[Hasbinbad]

the onset for the different diabetes are different for different people. both probably have a basis in genetics. type 1 is commonly associated with heredity tho, and shows up in kids a lot more than adults, whereas type 2 is commonly associated with diet, and shows up more in adults than kids, altho both of those relative statistics are moving towards the middle.

[Estolcles]

type 1 a genetic thing?

also, paula deen y'all

Possibly. It's still unclear what causes Type 1. Genetics, heredity, possible illness... no one knows for sure. 99% of the time it's noticed in children (thus it's name: Juvenile Diabetes).

[Estolcles]

the onset for the different diabetes are different for different people. both probably have a basis in genetics. type 1 is commonly associated with heredity tho, and shows up in kids a lot more than adults, whereas type 2 is commonly associated with diet, and shows up more in adults than kids, altho both of those relative statistics are moving towards the middle.

Type 2 is moving towards the middle due to overweight children. Type 1 is still mostly kids, though. The number of adults being diagnosed with Type 1 has climbed, yes, but is still a very low number in cases of new Type 1's.

[Classic]

There are many ways your pancreas can be damaged. I think a lot of it is environmental. Some of it genetic.

Also people are getting more genetically weaker. Not because of evolution or anything. But because pollutants and toxins and bad food fucks up the replication of our DNA which gets passed on to our copies and gets fucked even worse.

Our cultures and diets focused around dead food and sterile environments. Not saying we should all go out and eat living hamsters. But its a spiral towards technological dependency for biological functioning. I.e. insulin shots. Just another symptom of a bigger problem with the world. A long with cancer etc...

[Raavak]

Social Security paid $1.3B in potentially improper disability payments (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/14/social-security-paid-13-billion-in-potentially-improper-disability-payments/)

[Greegon]

The question is, WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO ABOUT IT???????????? HUH???? ANY THOUGHTS???? WHAT THE FUCK?????? DO WE JUST WATCH IT BURN???????? HUH????????? ANY ANSWERS??????? OR ARE YOU JUST HOLDING THE MIRRIOR AT AN ANGLE WE CAN ALL SEE????????


get baked, masturbate

[Orruar]

There are many ways your pancreas can be damaged. I think a lot of it is environmental. Some of it genetic.

Also people are getting more genetically weaker. Not because of evolution or anything. But because pollutants and toxins and bad food fucks up the replication of our DNA which gets passed on to our copies and gets fucked even worse.

Our cultures and diets focused around dead food and sterile environments. Not saying we should all go out and eat living hamsters. But its a spiral towards technological dependency for biological functioning. I.e. insulin shots. Just another symptom of a bigger problem with the world. A long with cancer etc...

I'm with ya. Let's eschew technology and modern food preparation and go back to the days where life expectancy was a ripe old 35 years. Shit, I'm practically a senior citizen now.

[Elements]

There are many ways your pancreas can be damaged. I think a lot of it is environmental. Some of it genetic.

Also people are getting more genetically weaker. Not because of evolution or anything. But because pollutants and toxins and bad food fucks up the replication of our DNA which gets passed on to our copies and gets fucked even worse.

Our cultures and diets focused around dead food and sterile environments. Not saying we should all go out and eat living hamsters. But its a spiral towards technological dependency for biological functioning. I.e. insulin shots. Just another symptom of a bigger problem with the world. A long with cancer etc...

Human beings in the developed world are getting genetically weaker but not so much for the reasons you listed. More so due to healthcare by which we coddle the weak and allow them to pass on survivally unfit genes to subsequent generations.

[Hasbinbad]

I'm with ya. Let's eschew technology and modern food preparation and go back to the days where life expectancy was a ripe old 35 years. Shit, I'm practically a senior citizen now.
That's a false dichotomy, Jelly.

There are plenty of distinct middle grounds between "overuse of antobacterial soap and antibiotic medicine" and "lets pick our butts and then prepare unrefrigerated chicken."

[Ahldagor]

so, basically, eat better and exercise in order to be potentially healthier. but we could lose train wrecks like honey boo boo, whatever that obese family's show was, to entertain us. damn this dilemma in the great u s of a.


http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/thefw.com/files/2012/09/nietzche-honey-mom.gif

[Raavak]

EBT card system breaks down, shows no limit. People on foodstamps raid Walmart.

http://youtu.be/kwU6XrkbhLg

[Hasbinbad]

yea those people are screwed

[DrKvothe]

The fitness (measured by the relative ability to produce offspring who in turn are capable of reproduction) of an individual human being in the US is largely independent of gene function, as long as certain minimal threshold activities are reach. You can run really fast? Good for you, but tubby McLardFat over there can probably match you on grandchildren (even if we won't live to actually meet them).

Imagine a world where Darwinian selection on us is strong. If you're not optimally athletic or clever, or you're the wrong size or shape or color, you die. Under these conditions, we would all end up pretty damn similar, since certain phenotypes (and the small number of corresponding genotypes) would be necessary for survival.

Genetic polymorphism is a predictable consequence of relaxing Darwinian selection. We're still left with a basic set of purifying selections: if your DNA polymerase has a destabilizing mutation, you're fucked at the cellular level. However, even these are significantly relaxed. I'll elaborate. Fitness benefits for the fastest runner is an example of Darwinian selection. Fitness penalties for those who can't walk but no noticeable fitness benefit beyond a minimum walking speed is an example of a purifying selection. We live in an age of wheelchairs.

It's important to note that this genetic polymorphism is ESSENTIAL to surviving future, unpredictable Darwinian selections. Maybe cyborgs will rise up and kill anyone not in a wheelchair. It's been empirically demonstrated that neutral drift (that is, genetic polymorphism that results from relaxed Darwinian selection) increases the frequency of adaptive mutations within a population compared to constant Darwinian selection.

[DrKvothe]

Good for you, but tubby McLardFat over there can probably match you on grandchildren (even if we won't live to actually meet them).


Supposed to say "...he won't live...". Why can't I edit my posts here?

[Elements]

The fitness (measured by the relative ability to produce offspring who in turn are capable of reproduction) of an individual human being in the US is largely independent of gene function, as long as certain minimal threshold activities are reach. You can run really fast? Good for you, but tubby McLardFat over there can probably match you on grandchildren (even if we won't live to actually meet them).

Imagine a world where Darwinian selection on us is strong. If you're not optimally athletic or clever, or you're the wrong size or shape or color, you die. Under these conditions, we would all end up pretty damn similar, since certain phenotypes (and the small number of corresponding genotypes) would be necessary for survival.

Genetic polymorphism is a predictable consequence of relaxing Darwinian selection. We're still left with a basic set of purifying selections: if your DNA polymerase has a destabilizing mutation, you're fucked at the cellular level. However, even these are significantly relaxed. I'll elaborate. Fitness benefits for the fastest runner is an example of Darwinian selection. Fitness penalties for those who can't walk but no noticeable fitness benefit beyond a minimum walking speed is an example of a purifying selection. We live in an age of wheelchairs.

It's important to note that this genetic polymorphism is ESSENTIAL to surviving future, unpredictable Darwinian selections. Maybe cyborgs will rise up and kill anyone not in a wheelchair. It's been empirically demonstrated that neutral drift (that is, genetic polymorphism that results from relaxed Darwinian selection) increases the frequency of adaptive mutations within a population compared to constant Darwinian selection.

In all likelihood some catastrophic disaster will probably result in a global food shortage in the not to distant future leaving many athletic/fit individuals with high metabolisms at a disadvantage, and the ones with an extra 300 pounds of energy reserves and the metabolic ability to make better use of their caloric intake at an advantage.

What's interesting is how some healthcare companies think. Assuming no reproductive intervention, a company that provides a treatment that allows an individual to reproduce (when they otherwise would have died, removing their genome from the subsequent generation) can look forward to more individuals that will need to use their product in the subsequent generation. This is why it is rare to see a for profit organization spending research dollars on cures rather than treatments. Treatments are long-term cash cows.

But how can public dollars/insurance afford to keep treating everyone generation after generation as we further pollute our gene pool?

[Ahldagor]

yellowstone gonna go boom

[DrKvothe]

In all likelihood some catastrophic disaster will probably result in a global food shortage in the not to distant future leaving many athletic/fit individuals with high metabolisms at a disadvantage, and the ones with an extra 300 pounds of energy reserves and the metabolic ability to make better use of their caloric intake at an advantage.

What's interesting is how some healthcare companies think. Assuming no reproductive intervention, a company that provides a treatment that allows an individual to reproduce (when they otherwise would have died, removing their genome from the subsequent generation) can look forward to more individuals that will need to use their product in the subsequent generation. This is why it is rare to see a for profit organization spending research dollars on cures rather than treatments. Treatments are long-term cash cows.

But how can public dollars/insurance afford to keep treating everyone generation after generation as we further pollute our gene pool?

An important point to make is that it's impossible to predict what sort of strong selective pressures we might face, and therefore every phenotype has some potential value. The most likely threat is probably an omni-drug resistant bacteria, and the only solution will be specific molecular phenotypes that provide immunity. It's impossible to predict the visible phenotype that corresponds to that molecular structure.

Your idea that drug companies are selectively breeding customers has little merit. First, any disease that predominantly kills people beyond the age of 40 has little effect on fitness, and that's pretty much every lethal disease that drug companies care about. Second, drug companies don't reap the benefits of a next generation of customers because patents don't last that long. Third, 'cures' to noncommunicable diseases can be extremely lucrative. All cancer 'treatments' ARE 'cures' that attempt to kill the cancer, ending the threat of the disease. It's just really, really difficult to do.

We're not 'polluting our gene pool'. We're diversifying it, and that is an essential strategy to avoid extinction. There's very strong evidence that the health problems in our country aren't genetic. For one, the same health problems begin to appear in areas of the world that are introduced to our processed food.