Tsunami of wealth didn't trickle down...it surged upward...yep news to me!!!

[piezoe]

Thousands of other parameters impact this and thus make his thesis as dismal as his field.

Discussion with supporting data of myriad other factors, though certainly far less than "thousands," are the subject of Piketty's and his student's Study and Book. Piketty is by no means the only economist interested in wealth disparity. He's brought the subject up to date in a thorough, well supported, if not faultless, compendium.

In the main my observations are as yours. I have commented many times here, and posted extensively, regarding the "misdirection, bureaucratization and destruction of our K-BS educational systems," to borrow your words. I am old enough to have experienced first-hand the transition from pre- to post- Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society". I understand what unintentional ill the changes wrought. I have said many times that transformation and deterioration of our public education system underlies virtually every ill we face today. If we fix it now, it will be twenty-five to thirty years before we reap the benefits, if we don't fix it, thirty years from now we may not exist as the nation we knew. Time is of the essence.

 

[toc]

if medical providers are allowed to continue using regulatory capture to maintain their Cartel, then Single Payer would not save nearly what it could.

Two facts:

a) #1 cause of family bankruptcies in US is related to unexpected or prolonging medical expenses.

b) In Western Europe, Australia, Canada the average annual cost of free healthcare per person is $4-5K to the government. In the US, it is touching $10K per person. Would take $5K model anytime, even if means 10-20% reduction is overall quality. Who cares if the syringes for injections are made in China or size of average patient room is somewhat smaller.

In no way, healthcare in W. Europe or Canada is "by far" inferior to the US. It may be a step or two behind but not lagging by a mile or so.

 

[gkishot]

Is that so....well thanks for letting us know....like we didn't know this occurrence happening for last how many decades???? Come on wake the Fu$k up we know this is reality, that the wealthy will continue to become even more wealthier while all those hundreds of millions of others are going absolutely no where in terms of prosperity....the rich get richer widening the gap continuously...this has been known...it's not going to change...it will never change....that's a fact...anyone talking about closing that gap is lying. The gap will never close. The "market system" was built to leave people hopelessly behind, that's the truth.....



He points to the Forbes 400, which lists the wealthiest Americans. "Between the first computation in 1982 and today, the wealth of the 400 increased 29-fold — from $93 billion to $2.7 trillion — while many millions of hardworking citizens remained stuck on an economic treadmill. During this period, the tsunami of wealth didn't trickle down. It surged upward."


America's capitalist economy requires its winners not ignore the system's faults, says Buffett.

The market system has "left many people hopelessly behind, particularly as it has become ever more specialized. These devastating side effects can be ameliorated: a rich family takes care of all its children, not just those with talents valued by the marketplace," writes Buffett.



https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/warren-buffett-on-the-failure-of-trickle-down-economics.html

People can't be equally rich, only equally poor.

 

[piezoe]

Two facts:

a) #1 cause of family bankruptcies in US is related to unexpected or prolonging medical expenses.

b) In Western Europe, Australia, Canada the average annual cost of free healthcare per person is $4-5K to the government. In the US, it is touching $10K per person. Would take $5K model anytime, even if means 10-20% reduction is overall quality. Who cares if the syringes for injections are made in China or size of average patient room is somewhat smaller.

In no way, healthcare in W. Europe or Canada is "by far" inferior to the US. It may be a step or two behind but not lagging by a mile or so.

Actually the detailed studies of overall health care quality show the U.S. lagging all the other industrialized nations, despite the U.S. ~100% higher cost than the next most costly care (Switzerland) . People don't recognize that despite higher cost in the U.S. the same problems crop up in the U.S. as in other countries. There is plenty of anecdotal stories to support that the care in the U.S. is great. But sadly, what is true in general in the U.S. paints a rather mediocre picture, and at extreme cost.