I knew you would like it.

And for balance, you should read the reviews of Piketty from learned scholars who have alternative (not opposite) views. The material and the data in Pikettey’s most recent book are both incredibly complex and there are multiple hypothesis on the best path(s) forward.

A foundational book on how the version of capitalism created coincident with the founding of America is “The Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith. It is a classic in the field of political science and economics and should be on everyone’s reading list…at least as a balancing viewpoint.

If you’d like to see a humorous but scary analysis of many of the same ideas about memes I presented…see the blog of Scott Adams, the author of the Dilbert comic strip.

He has fairly recently predicted that Donald Trump will win the Presidency..not because he wants that to happen (and neither do I) but because Trump is adept as manipulating people’s feeling and fears with simplistic solutions to complex problems. The “solutions” Trump pretends to forward are based on emotional narratives, not evidence or analysis.

The link below is to just one of Scott’s posts…there are many others on the same subject…he makes excellent points and while I hope the outcome he predicts does not happen, he is right on the money in terms of describing how politicians and others manipulate public opinion with utter nonsense based on emotional narratives and memes…yet people remain largely unaware of the manipulations.

You might enjoy the material: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/134003720926/trump-trouble-report

Thomas Piketty’s Wikipedia page: “Capital in the Twenty-First Century, published in 2013, focuses on wealth and income inequality in Europe and the US since the 18th century. The book’s central thesis is that inequality is not an accident but rather a feature of capitalism that can be reversed only through state intervention.[34] The book thus argues that unless capitalism is reformed, the very democratic order will be threatened.[34] The book reached number one on The New York Times bestselling hardcover nonfiction list dated 18 May 2014.[35] Piketty offered a “possible remedy: a global tax on wealth.”[36]”

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll put it on my summer reading list. Let’s just leave it here.

If you had just typed the first two paragraphs above two days ago and then STFU, you would have made a favorable impression and an actual contribution to the conversation.

There is nuance above and beyond compound interest in the literature of economics as it relates to inherited wealth and the movement of wealth from generation to generation. The rate of return from interest versus the rate of return from actual economic activity has been studied and debated for at least two centuries. Thomas Piketty is a current economist who has also studied and popularized income inequality and its effects on society.

The tax structure in the US has been tilted to make moving wealth between generations wealth much more difficult…and some have tried legal financial engineering such as various forms of trusts, weird variations of family offices, offshore accounts and other maneuvers to mitigate against extortionate tax schemes. Some resorted to illegality and have been caught doing so. Sometimes they get pardoned by politicians, then donate large sums of money to that politician and his wife afterward (see Marc Rich.)

Politicians of any stripe are the LAST people to trust with money from any source, whether it be donations for campaigns or the handling of public money from taxes after being elected to office. The history of corruption, deceit, greed and favored dispensation among members of the US Congress alone is shocking.

Why should that group of people be trusted with administering non-public wealth earned by private citizens?

They cannot even keep their own operation honest.

You admitted that my source about compound interest in an elementary school arithmetic textbook, not Karl Marx.

Really, that’s how you win arguments in 2016? Compound interest is Marxist? Joe McCarthy lives.

I think you are a little short of the ten thousand words I asked for, but you certainly did a great job completely avoiding the subject of my post and the discussion that followed it which was.., um, lemme think… what was the subject again… hmmm… oh, I remember. Compound interest.

You are so full of yourself.

Amen to the wardrobe!!! She’s so exciting on screen. You know you’ll always get an excellent performance but so many times a brilliant one. She won me over completely when I saw her in Elizabeth. Dear God she was divine.

ETA: Didn’t you love her in The Gift? I’m from the South and so often films are ruined for me because of the horrible southern ‘accents’ from actors. Hers was perfection.
I wonder if the same thing happens to you when you hear the fabulous British accent slaughtered on screen.

bully for you

I meant Tom “tiny gun” cruise

Me too, Pixie! I love her. She is intelligent and cool, and literally has the best wardrobe on the planet.