What if all the vast wealth suddenly got distributed evenly among everyone?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Would it work for everyone? Not at all. Would it work for some? Absolutely, I personally love doing yard work and landscaping type work but it won’t pay me enough to survive. Much like I’m sure some other people enjoy the not so glamour jobs.
If I didn’t have to worry about money again, I’d take on a crappier paying job.
Hell if I didn’t have to worry about money, I’d dig through peoples trash.

Lot's of people wouldn't work. So we'll need robots, automation and AI to be ready to step in. Thankfully, we're getting close.

Lots of people would still work. But we'd all be in the position of gentleman scientists or gentleman farmers and whatnot from yesteryear. We'd pursue hobbies and interests. And we might even produce fine art, theories, writings, discoveries, and more.

The important difference would be that we'd do that work because we want to, not because we have to.

That's a wonderful future to contemplate.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

That, and if everyone was flush with newfound cash they want to spend, inflation would be off the charts, making money go even quicker. Also (this is not directed at you), in this exercise, is this a one-time thing or does everyone make the same income going forward? Janitors would make the same amount as neurosurgeons? Who would want to spend that many years busting their ass in school if there wasn't a pot of gold at the end?

I've always liked the biblical notion of the Jubilee. There are different versions and interpretations of what this was and how it worked, but I seem to recall that the general idea involved periodic forgiveness of debt and some redistribution of wealth - with the former being the main feature.

 

[CLUB215]

The standard conservative response is that in just a few years all the very same people would be back on top.

If we did nothing other than redistribute wealth, without changing the rules and practices of wealth accumulation and consolidation, then, yeah, we would probably be back to high levels of inequality in 50 years, if not a good bit faster.

Nevertheless, I say give it a try and see what happens.

I disagree. The US government used to give out farm land for free. Can you imagine that today?

 

[Colonoscopy]

The problem with that assumption is that should have theoretically held true in the past when our economic mobility was much much higher.

Right now our economic mobility is the lowest it's been in close to 100 years if not more.

You're the one launching off a an overstated assumption. There is reems of research supporting the heritability of intelligence. I'm saying it played a key role in the development of our defacto classes in American society and makes it that much harder to get out. (Say you're a really smart kid in a blue collar neighborhood, school, and family)

I'm saying intelligence -- well, the value of in the modern industrial world -- acted as a sorting mechanism in our population and helped to cause this inequality you speak of

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

You're the one launching off a an overstated assumption. There is reems of research supporting the heritability of intelligence. I'm saying it played a key role in the development of our defacto classes in American society and makes it that much harder to get out. (Say you're a really smart kid in a blue collar neighborhood, school, and family)

I'm saying intelligence -- well, the value of in the modern industrial world -- acted as a sorting mechanism in our population and helped to cause this inequality you speak of

Intelligence is a bell curve, wealth distribution doesn't look anything like that.

 

[seminole97]

How
They have as much money as you now.

And they won’t want more?
Dubious proposition.

 

[desihawk]

Imagine if all the vast wealth accumulated by the top fraction of society suddenly got distributed evenly among everyone.

What would honestly happen? Sure, there'd be fewer billionaires and more comfortable folks, but how would it all function? Who'd be left to do the not-so-glamorous gigs? Who'd pick up our trash if no one needed to do it for a paycheck? Shows like The Orville toss around the idea of a money-less society where everyone's working for the greater good. But seriously, how does that even function?

Spreading the wealth might give everyone a fair shot at a better life, but would it really work without incentive? How long could it last? Who will do the grunt work? What about entrepreneurs and innovators? Would they still bother if there's no jackpot waiting at the end? Maybe we'd figure it out, get all altruistic and stuff, but it would completely upend society as we know it.

What say you men and women of GIAOT?

Is the redistribution a one time deal or will it happen every year to ensure sustained fairness?

 

[NoleATL]

Imagine if all the vast wealth accumulated by the top fraction of society suddenly got distributed evenly among everyone.

What would honestly happen? Sure, there'd be fewer billionaires and more comfortable folks, but how would it all function? Who'd be left to do the not-so-glamorous gigs? Who'd pick up our trash if no one needed to do it for a paycheck? Shows like The Orville toss around the idea of a money-less society where everyone's working for the greater good. But seriously, how does that even function?

Spreading the wealth might give everyone a fair shot at a better life, but would it really work without incentive? How long could it last? Who will do the grunt work? What about entrepreneurs and innovators? Would they still bother if there's no jackpot waiting at the end? Maybe we'd figure it out, get all altruistic and stuff, but it would completely upend society as we know it.

What say you men and women of GIAOT?

Chaos. That wouldn't work. That said, I do believe too much wealth has been put in the hands of too few. Finance, banking etc laws have been changed to put us in this situation.

 

[ZachJump]

And they won’t want more?
Dubious proposition.

I think most women would pay someone from HROT to go away

 

[Ghee Buttersnaps]

What if? That's the goal of you dirty marxists everywhere! Do you really think anyone is going work their ass off for their just rewards while jo dishwasher who sits on HROT night and same receives the same?

Asking a question makes me a marxist? Jeebus, how do you generate enough energy between your ears to control a keyboard.

Seriously, this is GIAOT talking about you: