Income Inequality

[apeman]

GCF still thinks the pie is of a fixed size, those this argument isn't gonna persuade him.

Ah, the good old days, when GCF argued that wealth is a fixed, zero-sum game, and cannot be created nor destroyed.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Inflation is not a factor in real income. To get real income, you factor inflation out of it. When an economist says real incomes are stagnant or falling, he is saying that adjusted for inflation, we are STILL losing earning power over time.

We can't have a rational discussion about this if you don't understand what these terms mean.

We have exactly the same definition. Don't muddy the water.

Then you go on to accuse me of making a causal connection between real income and income inequality, when I have done precisely the opposite: there exists no causal connection between the two!

Agreed.

Wealth inequality is not in of itself a bad thing at all.

Wtf?

There does, however, seem to exist a correlation between wealth inequality and societal advancement and quality of life. The more advanced our societies become, the more wealth inequality we experience. I would rather live in an advanced society where some CEO is making ten thousand percent more than me than live in Liberia. Had you thought about this much? Really?

you just described Liberia, you fucking waste.

So, as long as your cage is subjectively pretty enough, you're fine with a daily ass-raping, and "just getting by" in the Richest Country On Earth?
Man, you love you some authoritarianism.

[SilverEagle]

Inflation is not a factor in real income. To get real income, you factor inflation out of it. When an economist says real incomes are stagnant or falling, he is saying that adjusted for inflation, we are STILL losing earning power over time.

We can't have a rational discussion about this if you don't understand what these terms mean.

Then you go on to accuse me of making a causal connection between real income and income inequality, when I have done precisely the opposite: there exists no causal connection between the two! Wealth inequality is not in of itself a bad thing at all.

StA I like you and all but for fuck sake are you serious? Inflation is absolutely a factor with real income. You mean to tell me that you buy the governments bullshit inflation numbers? If you use the same measurement the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT used in the 1980's to measure inflation the fucking American median income should be close to $150,000 per year. Which by the way is correct. The CPI measurement they use today is complete fucking bullshit.

[SuburbanFarmer]

GCF still thinks the pie is of a fixed size, those this argument isn't gonna persuade him.

Ah, the good old days, when GCF argued that wealth is a fixed, zero-sum game, and cannot be created nor destroyed.

Successful Troll is successful.

Overall human wealth cannot be created or destroyed. You can make the pie bigger by colonizing another planet, but that's about it.
Somehow, I found myself buried under a 30-foot pile of straw last time that made this into a giant game of Kick The Commie. But I'm still standing. Yuck it up, chuckleheads.

[apeman]

I believe the CPI excludes the stuff we actually have to buy, like education, health care, and places to live.

[PartyOf5]

Your enlightened racial theories do not explain why CEOs suddenly make way more than the average worker, why productivity has fallen sharply, or why nobody can make an actual "career" with a single employer anymore.

A number of pages back you were using productivity increases to explain why people's wages should be rising to match it. Now you're saying productivity has fallen sharply. Given your (latest) pivot, do you still believe workers should be making more than they do now given a drop in productivity?

[Speaker to Animals]

Inflation is not a factor in real income. To get real income, you factor inflation out of it. When an economist says real incomes are stagnant or falling, he is saying that adjusted for inflation, we are STILL losing earning power over time.

We can't have a rational discussion about this if you don't understand what these terms mean.

Then you go on to accuse me of making a causal connection between real income and income inequality, when I have done precisely the opposite: there exists no causal connection between the two! Wealth inequality is not in of itself a bad thing at all.

StA I like you and all but for fuck sake are you serious? Inflation is absolutely a factor with real income. You mean to tell me that you buy the governments bullshit inflation numbers? If you use the same measurement the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT used in the 1980's to measure inflation the fucking American median income should be close to $150,000 per year. Which by the way is correct. The CPI measurement they use today is complete fucking bullshit.

No.

I am saying that, by definition, real income is income when you factor out inflation. If inflation is up or down means nothing to the result. You literally factored the effect of inflation out of the fucking thing.

Holy shit, am I the only one who took macro in college?

What is 'Real Income'
Real income refers to the income of an individual or group after taking into consideration the effects of inflation on purchasing power. For example, if you receive a 2% salary increase over the previous year and inflation for the year is 1%, then your real income only increases by 1%. Conversely, if you receive a 2% raise in salary and inflation is at 3%, then your real income shrinks by 1%.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/realincome.asp


When we are discussing real incomes, we don't need to consider inflation. It's already baked into the cake, dude.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Your enlightened racial theories do not explain why CEOs suddenly make way more than the average worker, why productivity has fallen sharply, or why nobody can make an actual "career" with a single employer anymore.

A number of pages back you were using productivity increases to explain why people's wages should be rising to match it. Now you're saying productivity has fallen sharply. Given your (latest) pivot, do you still believe workers should be making more than they do now given a drop in productivity?

I misspoke. Productivity gains have been skyrocketing for the last 50 years, and stopped dead in the last 2-3. (See apeman chart)

[SuburbanFarmer]

Inflation is not a factor in real income. To get real income, you factor inflation out of it. When an economist says real incomes are stagnant or falling, he is saying that adjusted for inflation, we are STILL losing earning power over time.

We can't have a rational discussion about this if you don't understand what these terms mean.

Then you go on to accuse me of making a causal connection between real income and income inequality, when I have done precisely the opposite: there exists no causal connection between the two! Wealth inequality is not in of itself a bad thing at all.

StA I like you and all but for fuck sake are you serious? Inflation is absolutely a factor with real income. You mean to tell me that you buy the governments bullshit inflation numbers? If you use the same measurement the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT used in the 1980's to measure inflation the fucking American median income should be close to $150,000 per year. Which by the way is correct. The CPI measurement they use today is complete fucking bullshit.

No.

I am saying that, by definition, real income is income when you factor out inflation. If inflation is up or down means nothing to the result. You literally factored the effect of inflation out of the fucking thing.

Holy shit, am I the only one who took macro in college?

What is 'Real Income'
Real income refers to the income of an individual or group after taking into consideration the effects of inflation on purchasing power. For example, if you receive a 2% salary increase over the previous year and inflation for the year is 1%, then your real income only increases by 1%. Conversely, if you receive a 2% raise in salary and inflation is at 3%, then your real income shrinks by 1%.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/realincome.asp


When we are discussing real incomes, we don't need to consider inflation. It's already baked into the cake, dude.

You're saying the same thing, but for whatever reason, referred to "factoring out" inflation. That's causing a lot of confusion.

[Speaker to Animals]

OMFG

What do you think real income means?

Real income is literally income adjusted for inflation. So to try to correlate real income to changes in inflation is ludicrous. It's literally factored out by design.