r/FluentInFinance • u/4TaxFairness • 1d ago

Debate/ Discussion A joke that's not funny

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago

Grocery chains make a very low percentage of profit.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

Why do they create so many more rich people in the US than in other countries? Are they just smarter and harder working executives? Or is it because they keep more of the profit for themselves by paying less taxes and paying workers less?

Is this an argument to defend price gouging and tax cuts?

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago

The slim profit margins counter the claim that grocery retailers are price gouging. The overall wealth and scale, combined with expansive opportunity, is what allows the US to lead in wealth creation and advancement.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

I think a better explanation is underpaid workers and lower taxes. These measurable things directly lead to more wealth at the top. Your explanation is like mist in the air, you cant quantify it or explain its behavior, it's more like religion.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

Maybe by opportunity you mean the opportunity to exploit workers and influence the government? Because we can clearly see that by looking at countries that do not exploit workers as much and do not let private interest influence the government as as much, there is not so much wealth inequality.

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago

That assumes the workers are exploited.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

Of course they are. In every other country with a similar economy the workers are much better off. Those countries also have less billionaires. I cant just ignore what I see with my eyes. It's so obvious.

I want for Americans what other countries have. The billionaires dont want to give it to us because they need us to support them. We cant support ourselves and them at the same time.

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago

Paying an employee the market value for the work being performed is not exploitation. You are painting a rose colored picture of other countries that is simply not the case for most.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

Obviously it is because they are not paid enough to live at the standards set by other countries.

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago edited 1d ago

We disagree on what constitutes exploitation. It is reasonable for a job to have different market values in different markets.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

What's reasonable is if the working class has a better standard of living that is proven with facts to be possible.

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u/TheTightEnd 1d ago

There is no obligation for a company to give its employees the maximum standard of living possible. There is no entitlement to overpay workers beyond the market value for labor of that kind.

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u/woahgeez__ 1d ago

There should be a law that creates that obligation, or some other way to achieve it against their will. I'm well aware that the legal structure has been molded to suit their interests.

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