Is The Word "Rich" a Pejorative?

[bubblyandblue]

"The poster will likely lambast the individual who purchases a home in disrepair who puts $75,000 into it to bring it up to code and remodels, then puts it back on the market. Thus saving the surrounding neighborhood.
Notice that no mention is made of govt sucking trillions out of the economy."
That is not speculation - it is hiring labor and using capital to produce wealth.
Conflation of money and wealth may be where you do not get the idea - possibly. If 401k's were invested in wealth producing activities instead of getting suckered into the fraudulently rated securitizations that inflated the commercial and residential markets, got suckered into the fantastic new products the financial TBTFs toxified our markets with then our problems would be minimal. Good investements do help liquidity and the broader real market. Where speculative incomes and incentives are the norm and suck wealth out of the country then you are speculating.
Credit is seen as necessary; but what of credit derivatives, the financial sector’s arcane “small print”? How intrinsic are financial gambles on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs, “weapons of mass financial destruction” in Warren Buffett’s terminology) – not retail banking or even business banking and insurance, but financial bets on the economy’s zigzagging measures. "Casino Capitalism"

The great sore spot in our modern commercial life is found on the speculative side. Under present laws, which foster and encourage speculation, business life is largely a gamble, and to “get something for nothing” is too often considered the keynote to “success”. The great fortunes of today are nearly all speculative fortunes; and the ambitious young man just starting out in life thinks far less of producing or rendering service than he does of “putting it over” on the other fellow. This may seem a broad statement to some: but thirty years of business life in the heart of American commercial activity convinces me that it is absolutely true.
If, however, the speculative incentive in modern commercial life were eliminated, and no man could become rich or successful unless he gave “value received” and rendered service for service, then indeed a profound change would have been brought in our whole commercial system, and it would be a change which no honest man would regret.- John Moody, Wall Street Publisher, and President of Moody’s Investors’ Service. Dated 1924

[djAdvocate]

Aug 11, 2011 23:54:07 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

I maintain that the word "rich" used in a political context is a pejorative. it is rarely used accurately, and virtually always intended as an insult.

agree. you can add "wealthy" to it. i think "poor" is generally seen as a compliment, as well. people who are rich and know it, like myself and WCPS, are generally regarded as pompous asses. ;D

[verrip1]

Amazing. We've got folks who think that success is bad, and argue that successful people are sucking the economy dry. IOW, capital is owned by the masses, and only evil doers find ways to take it from 'The People' for their own, nefarious purposes; none of which support 'The People'.

Does this type of thinking remind you of an economic structure? What is the name of that economic structure?

[bubblyandblue]

Verrip1, do a better job of your description and maybe we can answer your question. - Or just state your case and answer your own question - backing it up of course.

[djAdvocate]

Aug 13, 2011 12:54:57 GMT -5 verrip1 said:

Amazing. We've got folks who think that success is bad, and argue that successful people are sucking the economy dry.

what folks do that?

[Tennesseer]

'Folks' is code for liberals, progressives, socialists, non-whites, gays, non-Christians, fascists, atheists ...I guess??

[mmhmm]

I don't find the word "rich" a pejorative. I believe a pejorative can be better defined by the context in which it is used and the manner in which it is applied. If I meet someone at a restaurant and somehow discover this person is inordinately wealthy, I can say: "Eew, you're rich!", turn up my nose and stomp away. My other choice might be to offer to pick up the napkin that has fallen from the diner's lap and open a conversation about stocks, bonds, and financial decision-making, sayin: "Since you're quite "rich", I'd hope we'd could discuss some matters that impact both of us, but in different ways." There's a different connotation placed on the word "rich" in each scenario.

[djAdvocate]

mm- i think that a person not using it negatively would avoid using that term. agree or disagree?

[mmhmm]

Not necessarily, dj, in my experience. They're not using it in a negative manner, in most cases, though. It's usually said with a smile. I have, however, seen it otherwise ... as in: "What do you know about hard times? You're rich!"

[djAdvocate]

Aug 13, 2011 15:11:45 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Not necessarily, dj, in my experience. They're not using it in a negative manner, in most cases, though. It's usually said with a smile. I have, however, seen it otherwise ... as in: "What do you know about hard times? You're rich!"

i am still feeling some sting there. maybe i am just hypersensitive?

[mmhmm]

There's definitely a sting in the comment I used as an example, dj. I have, however, heard the word "rich" used in a complementary manner, such as: "In these difficult times, many of the rich are those who were aware enough to provide for hard times ahead of their arrival." There's nothing pejorative in that remark, IMO.

[djAdvocate]

Aug 13, 2011 15:27:14 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

There's definitely a sting in the comment I used as an example, dj. I have, however, heard the word "rich" used in a complementary manner, such as: "In these difficult times, many of the rich are those who were aware enough to provide for hard times ahead of their arrival." There's nothing pejorative in that remark, IMO.

true- but the question was not whether it could be used as OTHER than a pejorative. the question is whether it is used as a pejorative in a political setting.

i dunno. i think this, and a lot of other terms like it, are pretty much never used in a political setting except as a pejorative. ie- when someone calls Obama a socialist, it is not intended as a compliment.

[mmhmm]

Yeah, dj. You and I are approaching it from a slightly different angle, but arriving at the same conclusion in the long run. For me, the title of the thread: "Is the Word "Rich" a Pejorative?" would receive my answer of "No." However, if the title had been worded to include political connotations, it would have probably received the answer: "Yes, a good deal of the time."

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...I think I'd agree that, more often than not, references to the rich in poli-sci discussions are with derogatory intent...

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Aug 13, 2011 16:03:52 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Yeah, dj. You and I are approaching it from a slightly different angle, but arriving at the same conclusion in the long run. For me, the title of the thread: "Is the Word "Rich" a Pejorative?" would receive my answer of "No." However, if the title had been worded to include political connotations, it would have probably received the answer: "Yes, a good deal of the time."

Do you actually read my posts? I did say in the OP that in a political context it's a perjorative.