Gary on PoliticsJOE
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Description
that all the best economists are paid £2 million a year to shut the f**k up and bet on it. What do you think is going to happen to the economy? Wealth of the rich is exploding at the same time that wealth of the middle class is collapsing and wealth of governments is collapsing. Do you not think these two things are f**king connected? We can fix this. You know, inequality doesn't just have to go up forever. You know, the last time inequality really significantly decreased in this country and across Europe was after the Second World War. That happened because people f**king fought and demanded it. If you do not fix inequality, your f**king kids' lives will be s**t and it can get much worse than this, right? average living standards are like in really unequal countries. Go to Mumbai, go to Sao Paulo, go to Johannesburg, you know. And if you think that can't happen in this country, you know, read Charles Dickens.
Gary opens with a provocative line about economists, claiming that the best minds in the field are paid around £2 million a year to stay quiet and place their bets on what happens next. He expands the critique to the broader economy, arguing that the wealth of the rich is skyrocketing while the middle class and government resources are shrinking, and he connects these trends as interrelated. He asserts that inequality does not have to rise indefinitely and reminds viewers that the last sizable drop in inequality occurred after World War II, attributing that shift to collective action and public pressure. Gary emphasizes that if inequality is not addressed, it will adversely affect the lives of future generations, including his own children, and he contrasts living standards in highly unequal societies with places like Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Johannesburg. He also invokes historical references like Dickens to underscore the potential consequences of inaction, suggesting that austerity and wealth concentration threaten social cohesion and opportunity for ordinary people. The overall takeaway is a call for systemic change to curb wealth concentration and to empower public demand for fairer economic policies.
Topics · Politics · Economics · Social issues · Public policy
Questions answered
- What is Gary arguing about the relationship between wealth, inequality, and government stability?
- Gary argues that the wealth of the rich is growing while the middle class and government resources are shrinking, and that these dynamics are connected and unsustainable without policy changes.