The hottest Wealth Distribution Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Finance Topics

Building a Better World Without Jobs

Workforce Futurist by Andy Spence • 732 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
💼 Business Economic Change Technology impact Wealth Distribution
  1. The traditional job is changing, and many people are finding new ways to earn money outside of formal employment. Technology is making it easier to work in more flexible and decentralized ways.
  2. We're seeing a shift toward financial security rather than full employment. Concepts like Universal Basic Income are being considered to help people when jobs are less available.
  3. The future of work may involve more projects and contracts with multiple income streams. People will likely collaborate in smaller teams and use technology to support their work.

Tax Breaks for the Rich

Fake Noûs • 572 implied HN points • 25 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy Income Inequality Wealth Distribution Government spending Political theory
  1. The current tax system in the U.S. is very progressive, meaning the rich pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes, but some believe it's still not fair for the wealthy.
  2. There are different arguments about how taxes should be distributed, like paying based on ability, benefits received, or costs incurred, but many don't support the idea of higher tax rates for the rich.
  3. Some argue that high taxes on the rich hurt economic growth by discouraging investment and productivity, suggesting that everyone, including the middle class, should contribute to taxes more fairly.

Global 1% own 43% of financial assets, 5 richest billionaires doubled wealth while 5 billion workers got poorer

Geopolitical Economy Report • 1076 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Inequality Wealth Distribution Colonialism Economic System
  1. The top 1% own a significant portion of global wealth, while billions of workers have seen a decline in their financial well-being.
  2. The wealth of the five richest billionaires doubled since 2020, while a large percentage of humanity experienced a decrease in wealth according to Oxfam.
  3. Inequality is stark between the Global North and South, with the economic system perpetuating disparities, reminiscent of a new form of colonialism.
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Show Me The Money

Genuine Impact - Charting Finance, Investing & Tech • 412 implied HN points • 21 Jun 23
💰 Finance Wealth Distribution Market Analysis Investing Cryptocurrencies
  1. The total estimated money on earth is $633.88 trillion, including various forms like physical currency, digital money, stock market, real estate, and commodities.
  2. The wealth distribution is highly skewed, with 69% of the world's wealth being held by just seven countries, showing a significant wealth gap globally.
  3. Top 26 billionaires own more wealth than the poorest 3.8 billion people combined, highlighting the extreme wealth inequality in today's world.

Managing the coming lithium boom (and bust) in select African states

An Africanist Perspective • 395 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
🌍 World Politics Mining Wealth Distribution Global Affairs Green Energy Resource Management
  1. African lithium-rich countries should focus on localizing refining and ownership structures to eliminate informational gaps with multinational companies as demand for lithium rises.
  2. Countries managing natural resources can benefit from strategies like diversifying economies, producing inputs for the sector, and adding value before export.
  3. African countries facing the lithium boom need to carefully navigate ownership structures, maximize value addition locally, and manage geopolitical pressures to make the most of their green metal deposits.

There Are Three Ways to Get Rid of Inflation. One Is "Impossible" and One Will Destroy the Country.

Surviving Tomorrow • 314 implied HN points • 18 May 23
💰 Finance Inflation Taxation Wealth Distribution Monetary Policy Economic Theory
  1. Inflation impacts different groups differently: savers punished, poor robbed, debtors rewarded.
  2. Eradicating inflation can be done by destroying the working class, taxing the rich, or creating anti-inflation money.
  3. Anti-inflation money involves investing in new assets, taxing back excessive money, and destroying it for common well-being.

Should we tax realized gains?

The Pursuit of Happiness • 1 HN point • 03 Sep 24
💰 Finance Tax policy Economic Theory Investment Wealth Distribution
  1. The tax system should focus on consumption instead of income. Taxing what people spend rather than what they earn could simplify things.
  2. A consumption tax could be fairer and encourage saving. It would tax money used for living expenses while allowing people to keep their investments untouched.
  3. Real-world issues with a consumption tax should be dealt with through thought-out adjustments. Instead of going back to an income tax when problems arise, we should refine the consumption tax system.

Can a Hermit Crab Be Rich?

Creating Inequality • 39 implied HN points • 07 Oct 23
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Wealth Distribution Ecology
  1. Hermit crabs can be seen as 'rich' based on the size of the snail shells they possess, which determines their level of wealth.
  2. The distribution of wealth in hermit crabs closely resembles that of human societies, showing similarities in terms of inequality.
  3. Factors like individual differences and wealth transfer through vacancy chains may explain the similarity in wealth distributions between hermit crabs and humans.

A critical review of End Times by Peter Turchin

America in Crisis • 19 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Wealth Distribution
  1. Peter Turchin's book 'End Times' discusses the American Crisis, focusing on elite overproduction, popular immiseration, and counter elites challenging the existing order.
  2. Turchin's metaphor of the wealth pump explains how economic profits flow into the stock market, leaving little for real economy investment and leading to popular immiseration.
  3. Turchin's model suggests a resolution to the current crisis should happen soon, requiring actions against the ruling class's interests, with potential for a shift towards right-wing populism as a counter elite movement.

$10 Trillion Stolen Right Under Our Noses

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 34 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
💰 Finance Economy Government spending Inflation Wealth Distribution Financial impact
  1. Over $10 trillion was recklessly spent on Covid relief, making people significantly poorer.
  2. The government's panicked spending went unnoticed by many due to the distribution method of electronic funds and stimulus checks.
  3. Inflation devalued household savings, widening the wealth gap and creating social stratification.

Did the Fed engineer a soft landing?

Klement on Investing • 1 implied HN point • 18 Dec 24
💰 Finance Economics Investing Monetary Policy Inflation Wealth Distribution
  1. The Fed helped lower inflation significantly, reducing core inflation by about two percentage points. However, most of the drop in inflation came from factors outside the Fed's control, like global demand changes.
  2. High-income households have played a big role in keeping the US economy strong during tough times. Their spending helped prevent a recession, even as lower-income groups struggled more.
  3. While the Fed's actions can be seen as positive for the economy, they also disproportionately benefited the wealthy. This raises questions about how well the overall economy truly supports everyone.

Republicanism and the Eudaimonic Economy

Logos and Liberty • 0 implied HN points • 22 Oct 22
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Economy Government Education Wealth Distribution Political Philosophy
  1. We live in a post-industrial society with surplus wealth that needs to be distributed thoughtfully.
  2. Consumer economy in the US is unsustainable, and we should consider a shift towards a 'eudaimonic' economy focused on education and research.
  3. Universal access to postsecondary education can be a crucial step towards achieving a more balanced and sustainable economy.

Will We Become Hunter-Gatherers Again?

The Digital Anthropologist • 0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
🔬 Science Anthropology Technology Wealth Distribution Egalitarianism
  1. The concept of becoming hunter-gatherers again in the future is speculated due to integrating technology and redefining what it means to be a hunter-gatherer.
  2. As digital technologies evolve and become invisible, we might shift towards hunting for experiences and gathering knowledge and ideas.
  3. Hunter-gatherer societies are often more egalitarian, encouraging communal wealth distribution and democratic engagement, hinting at potential changes in societal structures.

Wealth distribution and feedback loops

Space chimp life • 0 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Wealth Distribution Economic Theory Tax policy Social justice Incentives
  1. Wealth distribution behaves like a feedback loop, where the rich can continue to get richer without sufficient checks. This happens when there's less competition or enforcement against hoarding wealth.
  2. Currently, wealth is distributed in an exponential way, meaning a few people have a lot while most have very little. This leads to an unstable system that might keep expanding the income gap.
  3. To fix the growing wealth gap, we need to introduce ways to balance the system, like better policies or incentives, to help distribute resources more fairly.

Broken Windows

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 15 Mar 11
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Economics Public Policy Political theory Disaster Response Wealth Distribution
  1. Destruction does not create wealth; it only redistributes what already exists. So, if something is destroyed, we don't end up with more overall value.
  2. While rebuilding after a disaster might temporarily boost certain economic indicators, it doesn't mean the total wealth has increased. It's just replacing what's lost, not adding more.
  3. Using GDP to measure economic growth after a disaster can be misleading because it doesn't account for the negative impacts of the destruction. It can give a false impression of prosperity.