lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Algorithm's help us quantify things, creating form out of chaos, but when the algorithm itself is broken - the things it was meant to help get worse. How is it that the richest country in the world, has millions of people living in third world conditions? In every State in the union, teachers are expending their own resources in the classroom in a desperate bid to give their charges what was promised...............a world class education. We aren't talking about lazy, entitled folk, we're talking about hard working people trying to raise a family........................and losing that battle.

The top 1% of earners and top 500 corporations, have made more money in the last 10 years, than they made in the 20 years prior to the crash of 2008. This isn't rhetoric or speculation, it's easily verifiable fact, I dare you to look it up. Where did we get the concept that helping the wealthy to make more money, would somehow solve the poverty problem? There is no dearth of jobs, there is a major dearth of jobs that pay enough to provide every American their shot at prosperity. 88% of people living in abject poverty are working, many working 2 and sometimes 3 jobs. So, what is wrong with the algorithm that says X - Y = Z, where X is 40 hours paid employment a week, Y is monthly expenses and Z is disposable income? Nothing is wrong with that algorithm, the problem is that Y is always far larger than X, giving a negative number for Z.

Here's the problem; When the vast majority of people cannot afford the majority of Americas output, the economic engine grinds to a halt. We have property owners enjoying renting one room apartments for $2500 a month. That's good income yes? If there are 10,000 such apartments for rent, but only 5000 people able to afford them, then 5000 units remain empty, causing the owners to descend into economic distress and default. How is it beneficial for a society to price housing out of the reach of most of it's citizens? Add up astronomical housing prices, outrageous healthcare costs, and the massive tax load ( yes, fees and such are indeed taxes ), coupled with wages below established poverty levels, will eventually spell complete disaster for the society that uses such an algorithm.

Let's be clear, rich people can only buy so many cars, phones, computers and the myriad other things America produces - so what happens when global markets are closed to those things and the vast majority of Americans can't afford to buy them? Sure, they can buy on credit, but for how long? Eventually, this algorithm will fail. Do you think the wealthy will bear the brunt of the economic damage? Not if history is any guide, because they never have - not ever. Even recent history saw the average taxpayer footing the bill for propping up the auto industry and Wall Street................and watched the folks who caused the collapse pay themselves record bonuses. What bonus did the working poor get?

You see, money begats money, meaning - the more you have, the more you'll get. No politician leaves office poor, even those who showed up poor. No lobbying firm ever has to lay off workers. No political party's apparatus ever shuts down for lack of funds. No elected official ever doesn't get paid during a Government shutdown. The Congressional cafeteria, gym, bar, club ever has to close due to a budget deficit. Do you begin to see the problem with America's algorithms? When times get tough, the people we expect to bear that burden..................are those for whom times were already tough to begin with. That is an unsustainable calculation.

Bad Bob Loc: Virginia