Re: Question re: inequality

"Mason A. Clark" <masoncERASETHIS@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message ...
> Question: Is there or is there not a tendency, in a completely
> free economy, for inequality to continually increase?
>
> That is, for the rich to become richer and more numerous and
> the poorer to become poorer and more numerous?
>
> Given no organized, governmental or societal, actions to
> impede the trend?

I've read that inequality increased in the late 1800s. The robber barons
hired lots of people to produce capital goods (steel, railroads) but those
people couldn't buy much with their money. Then, in the early 1900s, the era
of consumer goods began (eg those railroads were now delivering beef from
Chicago to the east coast), so the standard of living of working people
improved.
Some have suggested that recent years have seen inequality increase, due to
the higher wages earned by advanced eduation (which generally can only be
bought if your parents had advanced education, etc).

The only bright side to this: you can't take it with you. I suspect that
rich people give away most of their wealth before they die (charities,
endowments).
Whether giving a billion $ to NPR is a benefit to the lower-classes is of
course debatable.

Dan in Philly


.

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