IMO, the difference between the rich and the poor is,

[CK_John]

The rich understand the concept of percentage and think in terms of percentage. The poor think in terms of numbers such as dollars and cent.

[Cassandra]

1. As in, the rich want 100% of the money

and the poor know they barely have two nickels to rub together.

[CK_John]

2. No, as in the market is down 1% to some and 176.04 to others. n/t

[Earth_First]

4. Or as in the cost of grocery items are up 4.1% n/t

[Vilis Veritas]

6. Exactly! And the Rich guy just got a little bit richer...

A+

While the poor guy can't pay the $79.87 electric bill.

[Cassandra]

24. What percentage of the market...

is an illusion of wealth and what represents real wealth creation?

[Vanje]

3. Okay. So I'm concentrating on percentages.....

.....concentrating real real hard....
Am I rich yet?

[Earth_First]

5. What percentage of your brain did you use to attain your goal? n/t

[CK_John]

9. Depends on what % of your time is being used. n/t

[noamnety]

7. "The rich understand ..."

yeah, those poor people, they are just too stupid to understand certain concepts. :eyes:

[CK_John]

13. It's not about understanding the concept but thinking in terms of it. n/t

[blondeatlast]

34. What is the difference? A percentage is part of a whole--so are dollars and cents.

This is the stupidest thing I think I've ever read on DU and that is REALLY saying something!

There's NO difference. Maybe you should be more explanatory than to toss off poorly thought out one-liners. Or are you, too, a bad comedian?

[noamnety]

37. Then maybe it would be better to post:

"The rich think in terms of percentage. The poor think in terms of numbers such as dollars and cent."

instead of

"The rich understand the concept of percentage and think in terms of percentage. The poor think in terms of numbers such as dollars and cent."

The second one implies only the rich "understand the concept" and can be taken as condescending toward the poor. The MAIN difference, after all, is not that one group understands a concept and the other doesn't - it's not about intelligence or comprehension. Standpoint theory could be used to argue in fact that the poor have a better understanding of the system than the rich do.

"some standpoints, particularly those of marginalized and oppressed groups — and this is the crux of standpoint theory — have more of a chance of being objective, of seeing the reality of the situation, for two main reasons:

a) The major reason relies on Hegel's description of the master-slave relations: the slave is dependent on the master, it is in his or her interests to understand the master.

b) Oppressed groups have less interest than dominant groups in protecting the status quo."
http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/some_theories.html#standpoint

[kirby]

8. Thats the difference between educated and uneducated

people financially. Just like people who think because they can deduct something on their taxes, that its free.

[peacetalksforall]

10. I will follow your concept to learn, but I can't resist this in the meantime -

The rich think in terms of hanging on to the money.
The poor have no choice but to spend it on basics.

[blondeatlast]

17. Ding! Exactly. nt

[madokie]

11. One of the best things to happen to me, money wise, was when I started looking at the big picture

for more years than I would like to admit I lived from day to day, paycheck to paycheck, no matter how much I was making. Then I got married and boy was I in for a susprise because with a family I couldn't live that way anymore and brother let me say 16 years later I sure am glad I finally started paying attention to the percentages er the big picture, rather than how much my paycheck was going to be this week.
I think you are on to something with that statement

[Angela Shelley]

12. The difference between rich and poor is $1

Because if you have $1 which belongs to you, meaning that you have no debt and you have everything you need, you are truly rich.

[CK_John]

15. What if you had a Euro and I had a dollar, who would be ahead. n/t

[Angela Shelley]

19. There is no competition, rich is rich!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

18. So How Are You Enjoying Being Rich? It's The Life, Right?

[Angela Shelley]

23. Were you asking me?

Sorry, I don´t have that $1 which belongs to me.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

35. Yes You Do. If You Want To Move The Goalposts As To What Was Meant By Rich In This Thread,

and offer the 'someone's alwaysssssss gotta chime in with it' relative perceptual definition of what 'rich' is, by claiming that even a dollar above debt is rich, then you are going to have to open yourself to the SAME concept of moving goalposts based on someone's else perception.

And having that said, if you are going to take the definition of 'rich' to such degrees as you did, then all I can say is right back at ya. You're sitting at a fucking computer. You have a computer. You're fucking rich. Period. Bye now! :hi:

[Angela Shelley]

54. Thank you for your positive comments,

but you aren´t the know-it-all which you think you are ... I don´t own a computer and I wasn´t even sitting down.

I´m a night owl and I hang on a branch of a tree with my toes, and I participate in the DU forum by "giving my hoots" to the universe, and the universe types messages for me.

Hoot, Hoot, Hoot.

[AngryAmish]

47. I have been rich and I have been poor

Rich is much nicer. The food is better. I can go to the ballgame when I want to go. Fancy bed linens and towels are nice too. Le Crueset cookware is something I really like and could not afford when poor.

Rich is better than poor.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

49. Ummmmm, Okey Dokey.

[Jed Dilligan]

14. The rich buy their money at a discount nt

[pnwmom]

16. By your reasoning, every high school math teacher should be rich.

:shrug:

[CK_John]

20. If you think of the % of effort vs the % of reward, you don,t teach. n/t

[blondeatlast]

21. I sincerely hope that you don't either. nt

[EOTE]

25. Unless you actually want to help people rather than leaching off them...

I think you're assuming that everyone who wants to be financially secure also has no morals.

[CK_John]

31. I'm not assuming anything, just an observation over a lifetime that

those who are very well off think in terms of %, about everything. (including sex and time).

[EOTE]

42. Yes, you did.

You said that if people looked at the percentage of effort vs. the percentage of reward, they wouldn't teach. That's bullshit. The great bulk of teachers know that they could make more money by pursuing a different field. They teach because they know it helps others lives to be better. It's a selfless act becoming a teacher. Not something they do to maximize their income.

[pnwmom]

52. Your problem is that the only reward you acknowledge is MONETARY.

The teachers are intelligent enough to understand the differences in percentage and dollars.

But they are humane enough to value something other than money.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. IMO, the difference between smart people and stupid people is,

stupid people think rich people are smarter than poor people.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. Well Now, Holligan. We Found Something On Which To Agree

Happens more than not. But, when we disagree, it's a knock-down-drag-out!
The Professor

[Sugar Smack]

33. *eeeeeeeee*

Professor- :hi: So great & simple a thought. Occam's razor done to a tee.

[Bluerthanblue]

30. -

:hi:

[DBoon]

26. The rich suffer ennui

The poor suffer desperation

and the middle class suffers from angst

- Andrei Codrescu

[Sugar Smack]

28. Ooooh!

:loveya:

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Unbrilliant

Cents are a percentage of dollars. Duh!

You have made a distinction without a difference.
The Professor

[warren pease]

32. The rich tend to be perfect for either roasting or barbecuing, while the poor...

...are usually too damn stringy from hard work and undernourishment and have to be tenderized before cooking.

The rich, though, are awfully good roasted on a spit over a bed of coals with an apple in their mouth. Rich women do tend to be a little tough, given various surgical procedures and/or neuroses that keep them scrawny.

But rich men, particularly the 5'9" / 220 lbs. body type, bloated with smug self-satisfaction and a boundless sense of entitlement, are just great eatin'. Roast or barbecue with a little butter and garlic glaze, serve with roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, some greens and you've got yourself a meal for the ages.

They're great as leftovers, too. In fact, one rich guy will feed a family of four for a week, given a little kitchen creativity. Soups, casseroles, the infamous "rich guy surprise"... let your imagination run wild.


Other than that, the rich and poor are born equal. And that's when the resemblance ends as one heads to preppy day care for aspiring masters of the universe while the other heads for the tenements and the streets and a premature bullet.


wp

[blondeatlast]

36. Please--explain what the difference between dollars and cents and percentage is.

I'll pop the popcorn and I'd like a Diet Coke please!

[CK_John]

38. What % of your total wealth is the computer you are using? n/t

[blondeatlast]

39. About $2000 of it. Your point is?

[ProfessorGAC]

40. Less Than 0.2%

Next Question. I'll give you time to catch up.
The Professor

[blondeatlast]

45. Salt, butter, or both, Professor?

This will take a while, so refreshments may be welcome. :popcorn:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

41. It really depends upon your definition of "rich" and "poor"

If, by definition, a rich person is one who is content and grateful for what they have, they don't worry about percentages, dollars, or cents.

A poor person, by my definition, is one who is never content with what they have, but who always wants more. Ironically, many people who have lots of money and things are, indeed, poverty stricken.

[Gormy Cuss]

43. IMHO, the difference between the rich and the poor is,

The rich can think in terms of percentages because many dollars mean little in terms of their overall wealth or the lifestyle afforded by that wealth.

The poor think in terms of numbers because every cent counts.

[Hutzpa]

44. Since you guys are

in the habit of ripping the poor of whatever little they have

I suppose the next best thing is to

taking away their little riches (computer) they have acquired.

So, when would the rich stop robbing from the poor?

When would they stop ripping them off...when?

This is why the poor will forever loath the rich

because of folks like yourself that are extremely arrogant and selfish,

yes, I have a computer, yes I have an investment,

but that should not stop me from helping the little guy.

Its a known fact that those that dislike the poor where once poor themselves.

Hence the added zeal to make sure the rest/poor don't catch up.




Its the feeling of inclusion

[baldguy]

46. The rich make the rules.

[hfojvt]

48. translation: 100% of the rich deserve to be rich because of their superior brains

and 100% of the poor deserve to be poor for being such fumbducks.

[DaveJ]

50. They both about the same

As opposed to the rest of us conformists, the rich and the poor both do things their own non-conventional way.

[LanternWaste]

51. The Beautiful and the Damned

I think the bast summation of the difference between rich and poor in our culture were best summed up by Fitzgerald in his novel, 'The Beautiful and the Damned'. It's a good read for anyone...

Anyway, I think a lot of poor people think of both the reality and the abstract of percentages, at least myself and my friends and my family do. Maybe we're not a lot in the grand scheme of the poor, but I imagine that we're amongst a substantial percentage (oops... sorry).

[mondo joe]

53. I think I understand your point - but the problem is you have to reach a critical mass of $

in order for percentages to be more useful than absolute dollars.

And the poorest people are far from that critical mass.