[quote=EconProf][quote=livinincali][quote=CA renter]
While jealousy and the desire to attain a dominant position and to remain on top are perfectly natural human emotions (and probably necessary for survival, especially in more primitive times), the extent of this empathy/lack of empathy for others is likely at the root of our political/sociological differences.
And I believe that it takes a certain intellectual perspective to be able to truly appreciate another person’s lot in life — especially if it’s very different from one’s own — and to have empathy for them…leading to a true desire to see them attain a higher socio-economic/power status that might feel more “threatening” to those already at the top.[/quote]
I don’t know that it’s a lack of empathy. It’s the fact that many people don’t behave as rational economic actors. If you give someone living paycheck to paycheck a $10/hr an hour raise are they going to use that addition money to save and behave rationally or are they going to blow it on junk from China.
No matter what people make there’s always going to be someone on the bottom and if your at the bottom you’re likely to be subject to some scarcity of some resource. The poorest of poor in this country live better than billions of other people on this planet.
I’ve come to realize I can’t put myself in some dumb persons shoes. I just can’t understand the decisions that they make or the things that they deem are important. I also can’t dictate how they should do things either. That’s where the Ivory tower types get it wrong. They can’t force people to behave in a logical economic manner.
I know the flaws with supply side economics but if you want everybody to have a higher standard of living you need to produce more quality goods and services.[/quote]
I think you nailed it Livinincali. A big difference between the poor and the middle class is their time horizon, their planning, and their ability to defer gratification. This is either taught by the parents or not, and it has a lifelong impact.
What is important that we inherit from our parents is not so much money but values which determine our lifetime spending, education, and work ethic.[/quote]
Every bit as important as those things are genetic traits, SES, etc. The many factors that determine whether or not one will be “successful” are far more complex than just what one learns from his/her parents. I would say these other things are overwhelmingly more influential than what parents teach their children, and even a parent’s willingness/ability to teach his/her children about economics and finance is determined by so many other factors over which we have little to no control.
