[geeks] Well, crap ...

[Phil Stracchino]

Sheldon T. Hall wrote:
> Quoth Lionel Peterson ...
>>> From: "Kevin R. Marshall" <kevin at mpcf.com>
>>> If everyone made large amounts of money, it would have no 
>>> value.  So much for Utopia...
>> I said COULD, not would - I want everyone to have the ability 
>> to make a lot 
>> of money, but I agree, if everyone did, it would be 
>> worthless... (I thought of that after I hit send)
> 
> Actually, compared to 40 or 50 years ago, everyone _does_ make a lot of
> money.  At least they earn and posess a lot of units of currency, albeit
> currency that is worth about 10% of what it was worth back then.  That's in
> the USA; it's worse in some other places.

Really, the problem is in large part the establishment of an economy
based on the idea that you aren't well off unless someone else nearby
(but not TOO near, don't want Those People lowering the property value)
is worse off than you.  The idea of *everyone* having Enough Stuff is
anathema to the status-conscious.  Without a class of people to point to
and say, "See, we're better than Those People", they don't feel secure.
 Which is silly in many ways ...  if I buy a Ferrari F40 tomorrow, and
the next day you go out and buy a Bugatti Veyron, does my Ferrari
suddenly lose 50mph off its top speed?  Does an 8000ft^2 McMansion
suddenly become smaller because someone else builds another 8000ft^2
McMansion down the road?


-- 
 It's not the years, it's the mileage.
 Phil Stracchino              phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net
 Renaissance Man, Unix generalist, Perl hacker, Free Stater
 Landline: 603-429-0220                Mobile: 603-320-5438