On Sun, 22 Jul 2001 06:44:47 -0500, you wrote:
This is all really besides the point: until MNT et al comes to pass,
the basic resources necessary for a comfortable life will be
scarce--by necessity (and even then I would imagine that all sorts of
laws meant to prop-up present wealth will fight against it).
The reason for this is that the worth of the green money held in the
bank (and the various equivalents thereof (real estate etc)) have
worth only to the degree to which they are desired by other human
beings. If I have much money in the bank, but there is lessening
desire for it by others, then my money is worth less. In order for
the value of my money to increase, I must increase the demand for it.
One way to do that is to ensure that the cost of things that
constitute a "comfortable life" remain as costly as possible.
An example is housing. Given the relative level of sophistication of
manufacturing methods, I would wager that comfortable homes could be
cheaply manufactured in Mexico and shipped here. Never mind the
current model/style of moble home: simply consider the possiblities
in the realm of very cheap modular housing.
But prevailing laws prevent that. Look as an example at the many
laws against the placement and moving of mobile homes. I doubt you
are even aware of the scope and magnitude of these laws. And never
mind zoning and housing associations...
These laws act to prop up the values of current ocuppied and future
homes--at the expense of those without a home. So now the 60% or so
of people own homes in the USA can prop-up their own wealth... at the
expense of others. Many of these "others" can be seen sleeping under
bridges.
The recent removal of barriers to immigration into the USA help to
prop up property values and therefore preserve the wealth of those
that are land owners, and conversely, help to empty the pockets of
those that are not landowners. Those green pieces of paper fly out of
the pockets of the landless and into the pockets of the landed. With
more people coming into the country, more green pieces of paper are
flying.
Medical care is another of the pillars of a "comfortable life". I
note that the physician lobby acted a few years ago to limit the
supply of doctors. The accompanying propaganda was laughable...
I could go on and on. But the main idea is that the resources held by
anyone are valued by the scarcity of those resources. That should be
obvious! Therefore in order for the vast of majority of wealth to
exist, there MUST be scarcity of resources. Of course there are
exceptions due to the unstoppable advance science and manufacturing
methods: cheap computers,etc...
Ehrenbach is completely right (in her recent book _Nickled and Dimed_
which detailed her sojourns as a low paid worker) when she said that
we all exploit these low paid workers. In fact, our own wealth and
status depends upon their presence. If they were not poor and working
to obtain the resources we possess, much of our wealth would be
worthless.... just pieces of green paper.
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