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applegrove

(118,008 posts)
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 10:04 PM Apr 2013

"How Inequality Corrupts Society"

How Inequality Corrupts Society

By Salvatore Babones, Inequality.org / at TruthOut

http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/46660

"SNIP...........................................

For $100,000 a year, few of us would be willing to take decisions that we know will bring horrible deaths to other people. For $1,000,000 a year, you’ll find volunteers. For $10,000,000 a year, almost any high-achieving corporate executive can find ways to rationalize the evil that his or her company commits, convincing himself or herself that the blame really lies with someone else. For $100,000,000 a year, you can easily find people who will knowingly kill hundreds or thousands of people just to keep their own profits flowing.

Inequality corrupts. It corrupts society at all levels. At the top, otherwise normal people will do morally despicable things if the payoff is high enough. A million dollars a year compensates for a lot of cognitive dissonance.

At the bottom, inequality also forces people to make choices they would never otherwise make. When people have stable, well-paying jobs with full health insurance, sick pay, and vacation time they are very unlikely to steal from other people.

.............................................SNIP"
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"How Inequality Corrupts Society" (Original Post) applegrove Apr 2013 OP
Interesting. I've never really thought of it that way, but it definitely makes sense. winter is coming Apr 2013 #1
Yup. I never saw it that way either. But it is so true. Not everyone who is a multi millionaire applegrove Apr 2013 #2

winter is coming

(11,785 posts)
1. Interesting. I've never really thought of it that way, but it definitely makes sense.
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 10:09 PM
Apr 2013

I'd say that's a strong argument for limiting executive pay to a lower multiple of average employee salary.

applegrove

(118,008 posts)
2. Yup. I never saw it that way either. But it is so true. Not everyone who is a multi millionaire
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 10:19 PM
Apr 2013

is a monster but you'll find it more often the more of them there are. So more will die.

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