pstarr wrote:How can a people be expected to into the middle class when the facilities that make that life possible NEVER EXISTED. .
pstarr wrote:[ and the poor can only blame themselves for their poverty:
The economy is expanded not by credit but by investment with credit being just the first step in the cycle. Sound investment combines capital with labor , resources and management to produce a useful product that is sold for a profit after all the bills are paid including the initial credit. It is when the money is borrowed and misused and not paid back that causes trouble.ralfy wrote:From what I know, middle class conveniences are essentially purchased through increased credit and jobs in the service industry that offer higher wages.
Would not these expanded consumers be middle class?Progress is introduced in poor countries that have a lot of natural resources to exploit given the public view of fostering democracy, economic freedom, etc. The main purpose, though, is to secure access to resources and at the same time to expand the market of consumers.
Of course, all of these factors assume more than enough oil and material resources needed not only to ensure economic growth but to solve environmental problems as well.
There was a dramatic increase in the rate of construction after ice engines became available but the infrastructure of the country had been building steadily from the time of the revolution. The Erie canal and the transcontinental railroad for examples.Keith_McClary wrote:I think most US infrastructure was built near the time of peak US oil production.
vtsnowedin wrote:There was a dramatic increase in the rate of construction after ice engines became available but the infrastructure of the country had been building steadily from the time of the revolution. The Erie canal and the transcontinental railroad for examples.Keith_McClary wrote:I think most US infrastructure was built near the time of peak US oil production.
vtsnowedin wrote:The economy is expanded not by credit but by investment with credit being just the first step in the cycle. Sound investment combines capital with labor , resources and management to produce a useful product that is sold for a profit after all the bills are paid including the initial credit. It is when the money is borrowed and misused and not paid back that causes trouble.
Would not these expanded consumers be middle class?
Every class is dependent on cheap oil. The classes existed before oil and will survive its demise. The total numbers in all classes will be reduced back down to the planets carrying capacity but the proportion of the population in each class remains to be seen. You certainly will not end up with one billion rich people with no middle class or poor.
Yeah, but I think most (in terms of $ investment) of what is in use today was built recently. Granted, a lot of it might be replacement upgrades for older infrastructure on the same locations/routes.vtsnowedin wrote:There was a dramatic increase in the rate of construction after ice engines became available but the infrastructure of the country had been building steadily from the time of the revolution. The Erie canal and the transcontinental railroad for examples.Keith_McClary wrote:I think most US infrastructure was built near the time of peak US oil production.
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