Rich @ MindSay

Anonymous said...

Having more rich people = having fewer poor people. There can never be zero poor people unless you can guarantee they don't do the self destructive things that causes poverty. There is no such thing as economic rights. You have the right to work, the right not to work, or the right to hire others to work for you. No one is forcing you to do anything. For the most part, people that live in poverty year after year choose to do so, by not increasing the value of their labor in the labor market or not starting a business that offers a useful service or product that people are willing to pay for. You do nothing, you get nothing. You fail to serve society, it fails to reward you. You do not have a right to NOT live in poverty, only a free choice not to.

August 24, 2008 4:52 PM

Andrew Austin said...

"There can never be zero poor people unless you can guarantee they don't do the self destructive things that causes poverty."

Of course we can eliminate poverty without blaming the poor for things they have no control over. You just need to make sure that everybody gets what s/he needs.

There were no poor people for most of human history because societies made sure everybody got what they needed. They made damn sure some didn't profit at the expense of everybody else.

"There is no such thing as economic rights."

Sure there is. Everybody has a right to a share of the social surplus sufficient to meet her/his needs for survival and leisure - just as each person has the responsibility to contribute to community productive if s/he is able-bodied. This is the original state of the human social system and the only basic arrangement in which everybody can be equally free.

If a group of people within a community create a situation where some are deprived of their share to and responsibility for the social surplus, then economic rights are being violated and the people are not equally free.

"No one is forcing you to do anything."

First off, force isn't inherently wrong. It depends on the circumstances. Nobody is a priori opposed to forcing people to do things.

If you attempt to harm others by depriving them of their share of the social surplus, then, in a just society, the community should use force to stop you. If it is a just society, we call this use of force "justice."

If, on the other hand, some individual or individuals use the force of the law - which is, of course, always backed up by physical force - and the force of structural arrangements (structural coercion) to monopolize the means of production and control those who are subjected to this monopolization, then the force being exercised represents injustice and is illegitimate. A different kind of force should be utilized to overthrow these illegitimate relations. We call that force "revolution."

Under capitalism, most people are forced to work for those who monopolize the means of production and the law perpetuates this status quo. Capitalism therefore represents an unjust form of social organization in which force is often illegitimately exercised by the authorities.

"For the most part, people that live in poverty year after year choose to do so, by not increasing the value of their labor in the labor market or not starting a business that offers a useful service or product that people are willing to pay for."

This is not how class systems work. Class systems work by depriving the majority of access to the means of production thereby forcing them to work for those who control these arrangements. This is why class systems are exploitative.

The poor are created by systems that permit the appropriation of the social surplus (and even sometimes to a degree the necessary labor product) by those who do little or no work, thereby impoverishing those who do work (slaves, peasants, workers).

Some systems have periodic fluctuations in the need for labor, which increases the size and depth of the poverty class. Generally, those who exploit the producer do not suffer during lean times. Exploiters have a share of the surplus that belongs to the community that they live off of while others suffer the downturn.

Some systems, like capitalism, can never put all labor into production at any given time and thus maintain not only working poor but a reserve army of labor. Without social provision, these persons suffer extreme deprivation.

"You do nothing, you get nothing."

Again, this is not the way class systems. Under slavery the slave master get almost everything, while the slave get almost nothing even though it's the slaves who do almost everything while the slave masters do almost nothing. The same pattern holds under capitalism, just replace the slave master and his whipping bosses with the capitalist and his managers.

"You fail to serve society, it fails to reward you."

Under capitalism, you are rewarded for serving yourself. That's the whole point. Capitalists have no interest in serving society. Their interest is in maximizing profit through the rational exploitation of labor power and intensification of control over those who own labor power. Capitalists are generously rewarded for only serving themselves.

"You do not have a right to NOT live in poverty, only a free choice not to."

Poverty means that a society is unjust. An unjust society is one in which one group is permitted to violate the rights of one or more other groups. A just society would be one in which there was no poverty. Everybody has a right to a share of community production sufficient to meet her/his needs for survival and leisure just as each person has the responsibility to contribute to community productive if s/he is able-bodied.

August 24, 2008 5:42 PM

One of these people is the richest person in America.  The others, are probably collecting shopping carts for Walgreens or CVS or Sprouts.

Rich Romans when they lived in the city usually lived in a "Domus" which was a house that typically had 2 floors.
1 Atrium
2 Peristylium
3 Vestibulum
4 Fauces
5 Impluvium
6 Ala
7 Triclinium
8 Tablinum
9 Exhedra/Oecus
10 Taberna
11 Cubiculum
12 Andron
13 Posticum
14 Bathroom
15 Cucina (kitchen)

1.When you enter one the first room you enter is the "Atrium" which was a big room which usually had guests in it.
2. A peristylum is a larger inner court of a roman house.
3. & 4. These are types of corridors.
5. In the roof of a Domus was a small hole which had a basin underneath it to collect rainwater, this is called the Impluvium.
6. The alae were small rooms around the Atrium.
7. The Triclinium is the Roman equivalent to a dining room.
8. The Tablinum is a large reception area usually not seperated from the other rooms with very many walls, sometime was seperated with curtains.
9. The Exhedra or the Oecus was a large dining room.
10. The Taberna was a small room which could be used as a shop.
11. The cubiculum is a bedroom.
12. The andron was a passageway from the atrium to the peristylium.
13. The Posticum is any entrance usually for the slaves to enter. It was sometimes used by visitors or the owner of the house if they wanted to get in or out confidentially.
14. "self explanatory"
15. Cucina is the kitchen.

1. Atrium.
2. Garden.
3. Bedroom.

Random Fact: there were around 120 bars/pubs in Pompeii which would sell wine, figs, dates and nuts in strange little holes in the counter.

Many rich romans had a "Villa" or a "country house" to go on holiday to. but the majority of them who had a country house owned a little Celtic styled house like the one in the picture below.

Only about 1 percent of Romans were rich enough to own a country house.
Many villas had bathing suites, underfloor heating and mosaics of mythological scenes. In the below picture is a mosaic found in a dining room floor of a villa.

There were usually 3 bathing rooms in a Villa, A "caldarium" which was a very hot room, A "tepidarium" which was a warm room and a "frigidarium" which was of course a cold room.

With a flair for versatility and a skill of diversity, Elisa Fiorillo, currently known as E. J. Dease, is a singer who can perform with anyone. At sixteen, she won the National Junior Star Search competition. She has performed with legendary talents such as Prince, Belinda Carlisle, David Cassidy and Savage Garden. Now, E.J. Dease is breaking out with her style of country music, releasing her first single “I know” nationwide on OneWest Music.

In 2002, Chuck Murphy, CEO of OneWest Music, began working with E.J. Dease to create a new sound for E. J. that would be a blend of both pop and traditional country. Co-writing and producing her debut country CD was no small feat given the history of producers she had worked with in the past. Murphy enlisted Jeff Silverman as a co-producer on half of this 13-song CD which ensured a unique and dynamic country music sound that is sure to impress even the youngest of country fans.

With vocals which resonate like Martina McBride and Reba McIntyre “Light That Shines” the new release by E.J. Dease will connects with a larger teenage audience, which has been long desired by Music Row in Nashville.

"I Know" opens up the CD up-tempo note setting the bar for energy and emotion. The song is about a person who is wising they could get the love back in a tired relationship and it lets the listener experience that the vocals are the emphasis of E J Dease. The track is co-written by Chuck Murphy, Jeff Silverman and Debra Lyn.

"Lost and Found" was co-written by Chuck Murphy and E.J. Dease. A hidden giant, this track is about a woman that has been hearing the same thing from the same guy too long. The track has all the elements: harmonic vocals, slide guitar, delicate fiddle background and driving instrumentation to make “Lost and Found” the centerpiece of the CD.

"Light That Shines." This track is the most "country sounding" and up-beat track on the CD. This track, which is about having a higher power to help you find your way through the darker times in life is the uplifting namesake of the CD and is powerful enough for radio airplay. This song was co-written by Chuck Murphy and David Gonzalez

“Forgive Me” is a beautiful, heartfelt country ballad that talks about the love found and then lost. E.J. Dease sings this song with strength and love that we can all understand, relate to and connect. Her graceful vocals and lush harmonies ease the pain when she talks about what love failed to bring. This track is written by Chuck Murphy

“How Many Times” cleverly delves into descriptions of the intangibility of love. Dease sings, “It’s like the rain that falls at night. You know it’s there, just out of sight. The wind will blow it through the trees. You know it’s wet, you know it’s real”. The lines explore love’s elusiveness, while contending that love is indeed a definite, and sometimes, the only way to find it again is to leave behind a relationship that offers everything but. This track is written by Chuck Murphy

            Jesus said that it was really hard to enter the kingdom of God—especially for us rich people.  He said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

 

            “‘How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!'  The disciples were amazed at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’”

 

            A camel through the eye of a needle.  Um, shall we say, impossible?  Yes.  That was His point.  However, He reassured His stunned disciples by adding, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

 

            So…what does that mean for us rich folk?  Because, you know, don’t you, that almost all of us Americans are rich, comparatively speaking, by the standards in the world and in the light of history.  We really do live better than kings did in the past. 

 

            Where does that leave us? 

 

            Jesus answer was that nothing was impossible for God—even bringing a rich person into His kingdom.  If you’re an American Christian, and if you’re in His kingdom—and that may be a point of discussion—then God has done the impossible.  He has done something akin to squeezing a camel through a needle’s eye.  We should be extraordinarily thankful.

 

            So it seems that in order to enter His kingdom, we will need to get squeezed. 

 

            But getting squeezed is a good thing.  Jesus said, “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

 

            Did you notice the “few” part? 

 

            I want to encourage you to get squeezed.  Deny yourself.  Don’t love the things of the world. 

 

            Enter the kingdom of God, shun the kingdom of man.

 

            And please pray that I will do the same.