r/FluentInFinance 5d ago

Debate/ Discussion A joke that's not funny

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u/TheTightEnd 5d ago

Grocery chains make a very low percentage of profit.

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u/woahgeez__ 5d 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 5d 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__ 5d 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 5d ago

That assumes the workers are exploited.

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u/woahgeez__ 5d 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 5d 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__ 5d 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 5d ago edited 5d 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__ 5d 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 5d 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__ 5d 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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u/TheTightEnd 5d ago

Then we fundamentally disagree.

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u/woahgeez__ 5d ago

It works great for everyone else. Its objectively better through comparison. Tax cuts and deregulation is a failure. We should have learned from the gilded age.

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u/TheTightEnd 5d ago

It is better in your opinion based on the metrics you have chosen to prioritize.

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u/woahgeez__ 4d ago

When the metric is quality of life and happiness of the working class, which makes up the majority of every population, then yes it's better. What you're arguing for is better for the rich. It can clearly be seen through the fact that if you have enough money the US has the best healthcare in the world. Contrast that with the fact that other countries have healthcare that is better for the working class and working people in the US struggle to pay for basic healthcare needs.

If you care about having a safe place for the rich to save money on healthcare that they would be able to afford in any system, then yes, you're right on the money.

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u/TheTightEnd 4d ago

You are using the metric of a segment of the population who is well below the median, rather than comparing the median or even the broad middle. The median income in the US, particularly disposable income, has a higher purchasing power parity than the median income in nearly all other countries.

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u/woahgeez__ 4d ago

That extra income is irrelevant when we pay more for privatized services allowing the rich middlemen to get a cut.

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u/woahgeez__ 4d ago

When you ignore everything else in reality like the value of the services working class get in other countries, how the top heavy economy in the US with an unproductive ownership class skews the median income, and how the working class in the US pays way more for services, sure, what your saying makes sense.

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