From: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 01:52:23 +0800
To: declan@well.com>
Subject: Re: Marc Andreessen on encryption and CDA
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19970701084404.006d101c@best.com>
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970701133757.035d5510@panix.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 08:49 AM 7/1/97 -0700, geeman@best.com wrote:
>I suppose that's why US displays the greatest income disparity between rich
>and poor of
>any of the industrialized nations?   

We don't know if this is true because no statistical series captures all 
"wealth."  The underground economy here is supposedly 15% but higher in much 
of Europe.  Also no country includes public benefits in income calculations 
although they are income and the higher US medical costs substantially 
increase the total income of those receiving Medicaid.  Those comparisons are 
suspect because too much income is excluded from the calcs.

>Why some 10 or 20 billionaires
>collectively own more
>wealth than some 20% of the world's population? Or were you being sarcastic?

They don't.  They own more "securities."  If you total the discounted 
(present) value of the future income stream of 20% of the earth's population 
(adjusting for the probable massive income increases of the next 20 years of 
extreme boom times), and you count the value of personal property it comes to 
more than the current wealth of the top billionaires who after all are 
apparently worth less than a $trillion or two collectively.

But I don't know what this all has to do with encryption policy, however.

DCF 
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