Word: riches
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...recession has demanded great self-control from many Americans. Even those who haven't lost everything are spending less. Middle-class consumers who used to splurge occasionally are trading Armani for the Gap, and cable subscriptions for library cards. That's understandable - fear begets caution - but will rich Americans, who are also cutting back, return to their extravagant ways...
There are at least two answers to this question. One is that Americans with money are the kids in the global candy store; they want everything, and they buy everything, laying waste to the environment and helping enact political policies that help the rich get even richer. In this model, rich Americans will never give up their God-given right to buy a hulking new six-burner range even if they never cook...
Another answer - one recently featured on TIME's cover - is that because this recession is so serious, everything after it could change. The rich might stop being so greedy, and some high-minded form of anticonsumerism might flourish. (See the best business deals...
...passed the $700 billion financial relief fund in October, originally pressured banks to use government money to make loans. But as the banks' conditions deteriorated and the economy worsened, those demands have faded. AIG, Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms have come under fire for paying out rich bonuses to executives despite receiving billions in government assistance. In response, lawmakers have tightened executive compensation rules for banks that have received TARP funds. While Goldman's profits are sure to raise eyebrows, it is not clear that it did anything wrong...
...purchase an objectively higher level of descendants than others. Selection of the most attractive traits presents a significant genetic advantage to the wealthy—more so than simply being able to afford a higher standard of medical treatment—and threatens to irrevocably exaggerate the divide between rich and poor...