Do you think the USA is becoming a Communist Country?

[falcon9]

That may be true if you do research. I simply watch Michael Moore movies. Therefore, 1% owns 90%.

Ah, I'd momentarily forgotten that humorous 'facts' beat researched, (and less funny?), ones hands-down.  Plus, I didn't make the obvious joke about wealthy commies - must be an off afternoon for me.

[Abrupt]

Who owns what percentage of the total wealth is insignificant considering the total wealth is not zero sum.  If there was a fixed amount of wealth it would matter, but since there isn't there is little point (not I said little, not none at all) in trying to squeeze any extra miles out of it as a subject of 'fairness'.

[constance312003]

All I know is that now days a person who works hard and builds his own business is now a horrible man for not giving it away.  No one takes in consideration the fact that the businessman hires people and gives the people  products.  It is silly to think a person is suppose to work hard and develop something and make no more for it much less be rewarded for making all the decisions and hard aches that go along with the business

[Falconer02]

All I know is that now days a person who works hard and builds his own business is now a horrible man for not giving it away.

Example?

  No one takes in consideration the fact that the businessman hires people and gives the people  products.  It is silly to think a person is suppose to work hard and develop something and make no more for it much less be rewarded for making all the decisions and hard aches that go along with the business

People only seem to have quarrels with this when those businessmen and women take those jobs and give them to other countries because it's cheaper and when they sport the quantity > quality mindset. That, or they build up a lot of economic weight for other people and if/when a slump comes along, they pull the rug from under everyone to make sure they alone aren't damaged by it-- the "Screw you! Got mine!" attitude. Business is business though.

[falcon9]

Who owns what percentage of the total wealth is insignificant considering the total wealth is not zero sum.  If there was a fixed amount of wealth it would matter, but since there isn't there is little point (not I said little, not none at all) in trying to squeeze any extra miles out of it as a subject of 'fairness'.

Maybe some people are conflating "wealth" with "money"?  They aren't the same thing but, are often used interchangeably.  Money is a medium of exchange; something that gets exchanged for a product, material/land or service. Products, materials, land or services can form the basis of wealth.  When the difference gets blurred between wealth & money, some people may actually be talking about a limited amount of money, (sans the deflating process of printing more), as opposed to the theoretical unlimited potential of creating wealth.  

Dividing all the world's cash up among all the world's population would be nearly a zero-sum game, (by some estimates, we'd each get about $300 US that way). I'm not sure if it is entirely possible to divide the current wealth available worldwide, (since "wealth" can be both created and destroyed).  Essentially, not everybody can be "rich" _or_ "wealthy", even if everything were socialistically-divided evenly.  We'd all be equally "poor" and just that much further behind the curve of creating more wealth, (which, at some point, gets exchanged for money).

[sigmapi1501]

I feel that if Obama is reelected by the time he gets finished, this country will definitely be socalistic. Maybe not communistic, but definitly socalistic.

How so?

[Garydh]

Not communistic but more socialists, and each law that passes seems to take some of our Freedoms away. Slowy but surely. Seems the Politicians are the only ones exempting themselves from many of the very laws they pass. But I saw some hope the other day. Now Politicians can't use insider information to make themselves rich. Good, but I have a feeling they can still get around it? Think about it. If you knew lets say a developer was going to develope in a certain area, and you knew a way to buy land in around or on the area cheaply, and then the devloper comes in to buy it for his project, well you can sell to him, still cheaply, but make a profit, or arrange some type of kickback, or become partnership in the project.

Or, lets say a certain company is going to split there stock, go bankrupt or a start up and you have the inside info, you could invest knowing which way it will go, you can even make money when the stock goes down or tanks. Now that is unreal. But it is what they have been doing and then some. Regular people would be hung from the rafters for inside trading.