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GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Sascha Lefèvre23-Jan-16 23:28
professionalSascha Lefèvre23-Jan-16 23:28 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Daniel Pfeffer23-Jan-16 23:41
professionalDaniel Pfeffer23-Jan-16 23:41 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Sascha Lefèvre23-Jan-16 23:57
professionalSascha Lefèvre23-Jan-16 23:57 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
908236523-Jan-16 4:35
908236523-Jan-16 4:35 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Camilo Reyes23-Jan-16 6:04
professionalCamilo Reyes23-Jan-16 6:04 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
908236523-Jan-16 6:34
908236523-Jan-16 6:34 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Mycroft Holmes23-Jan-16 15:11
professionalMycroft Holmes23-Jan-16 15:11 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
908236524-Jan-16 1:46
908236524-Jan-16 1:46 
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
the bulk of the wealth exists as cash


I'm not that naive (I hope) and I did avoid using the term. In economics 'money' is a more fluid term.

I can't agree that real estate necessarily contributes to the economy especially if purchased outright. You either live in it in which case it is essentially economically inactive or rent it in which case it is a net drain. Although I'm not particularly in favour of inheritance taxes, it is the economic status of land ownership which they are meant to address.

Equally there is a danger that for-profit companies in de facto monopolies (MS, Google in Europe, etc.) become money sinks taking far more out of the economy than they put in. Add to that that the degree to which your trade becomes money itself is proportional to personal wealth so that money is siphoned off into an exclusive club trading it between themselves (much in the manner of a giant ultra high-stakes poker game).

I am not arguing for equal distribution of wealth per se. I'm certainly no socialist. But there is no question that the existence of the super rich, whose personal wealth is so extreme that by 2014 the richest 67 people in the world commanded assets equivalent to those of the poorest half of the world's entire population (then 3.4 billion people) is a real problem for the economies both of the nations they inhabit and the world in general.
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!

GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
C-P-User-323-Jan-16 16:00
C-P-User-323-Jan-16 16:00 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
CDP180223-Jan-16 23:39
CDP180223-Jan-16 23:39 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Jörgen Andersson23-Jan-16 5:39
professionalJörgen Andersson23-Jan-16 5:39 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Eddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 7:15
professionalEddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 7:15 
GeneralChange of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
raddevus23-Jan-16 9:35
mvaraddevus23-Jan-16 9:35 
GeneralRe: Change of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
Eddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 10:04
professionalEddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 10:04 
GeneralRe: Change of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
raddevus23-Jan-16 10:10
mvaraddevus23-Jan-16 10:10 
GeneralRe: Change of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
Eddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 11:10
professionalEddy Vluggen23-Jan-16 11:10 
GeneralRe: Change of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
raddevus23-Jan-16 11:50
mvaraddevus23-Jan-16 11:50 
GeneralRe: Change of Subject: Far More Relevant Pin
908236524-Jan-16 2:41
908236524-Jan-16 2:41 
GeneralRe: Save us Bill Gates! Pin
Steve Wellens24-Jan-16 5:05
Steve Wellens24-Jan-16 5:05 
GeneralRIP Bill Johnson Pin
Brisingr Aerowing22-Jan-16 17:31
professionalBrisingr Aerowing22-Jan-16 17:31 
GeneralRe: RIP Bill Johnson Pin
908236523-Jan-16 2:46
908236523-Jan-16 2:46 
GeneralRe: RIP Bill Johnson Pin
PIEBALDconsult23-Jan-16 9:16
mvePIEBALDconsult23-Jan-16 9:16 
General50k PinPopular
DataBytzAI22-Jan-16 9:42
professionalDataBytzAI22-Jan-16 9:42 
GeneralRe: 50k Pin
Jochen Arndt22-Jan-16 10:04
professionalJochen Arndt22-Jan-16 10:04 
GeneralRe: 50k Pin
DataBytzAI22-Jan-16 10:25
professionalDataBytzAI22-Jan-16 10:25 

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Straw Poll

Were you affected by the geomagnetic storms this past weekend?
Communication disruptions, electrified pipes, random unexplained blue-screens in Windows - the list of effects is terrifying.
  Results   487 votes