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Heartstrings

(7,349 posts)
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 11:00 AM Apr 2019

Priorities vs Notre Dame

"If two men in a world of more than 7 billion people can provide €300million to restore Notre Dame, within six hours, then there is enough money in the world to feed every mouth, shelter every family and educate every child. The failure to do so is a matter of will, and a matter of system.

The failure to do so comes from our failure to recognise the mundane emergencies that claims lives all around us every single day. Works of art and architectural history and beauty rely on the ingenuity of people, and it is people who must be protected above all else.

France currently counts 140,000 homeless people — 30,000 of which are children. A 2018 report by the Secours Catholique revealed that in total there are around 8.8 million people living below the poverty line in France in 2017. This means they are living on an income of less than €1,026 a month, and many of them live on considerably less. One in every eight French people live in poverty. Despite all of this, France remains the sixth richest country in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The next time someone tries to pretend like you need to choose between homelessness or immigration, nurses' pay or a tax cut, a children's hospital or a motorway, remember this moment. The money is there at a click of a finger. It just isn't in our hands."

https://www.joe.ie/life-style/notre-dame-feature-665670?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=onsite_share

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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LakeArenal

(28,726 posts)
2. Koch Bothers (my spelling) could have cured cancer and built schools
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 11:21 AM
Apr 2019

But they thirst for power and control.

Moostache

(9,895 posts)
3. Do not forget that at our core, we are primates...animals.
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 11:23 AM
Apr 2019

Look no further than Jigokudani Monkey Park and the behaviors observed there.

If a monkey is not born of the right lineage (matriline) they can be excluded from warming themselves in the hot springs these macaques are famous for being seen in. Ample resources does not translate into ample opportunity throughout the animal kingdom, this being only one such example.

Human society is clearly not developed around egalitarian principles either. Massive amounts of wealth are given to athletes and entertainers because the ruling class sees real benefit from allowing it. The presence of these "stars" distracts the populace from the reality they inhabit - a rigged game and a system of wealth extraction that perpetuates the class divide and ensures a small minority will forever hold a massive majority of the power and wealth in the world.

Notre Dame is no different in that regard than Miley Cyrus or the idiot Kardashian clan...shiny objects meant to distract and distort the reality of life on Earth...the haves will ALWAYS fuck over the have nots, period, full stop.

dogman

(6,073 posts)
4. What is the value of a building compared to a bus load of Yemeni children.
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 12:37 PM
Apr 2019

Strange what defines our values.

Joe Nation

(961 posts)
5. I get the historical value of this structure or any piece of history for that matter
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 12:51 PM
Apr 2019

I just wonder if this fire isn't emblematic of the turmoil in the Catholic Church itself. I'm not trying to diminish the depth of the loss that the French have just went through, they clearly deserve our support and sympathy, but when you look at all of the sex abuse scandals that have come out year-after-year at the hands of priests, nuns, and the cover ups by the heads of the Catholic Church, you have to wonder if this fire isn't one of their "signs" from God or something. Maybe God is telling them something.

ThoughtCriminal

(14,010 posts)
6. The resources exist to do both
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 08:37 PM
Apr 2019

Preserve our history and art and eliminate poverty. But when a so much of the world's wealth is tied up with so, few, the choice is largely theirs. And likewise the resources that all of our governments control, pretty much the same people and families decide where those priorities go as well.

Nor do I feel guilt-free. Despite my comparatively limited means, I probably spend far more resources on my own comfort and entertainment than I contribute to helping those who have less.



uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
8. Technically the ultra rich are less generous than the avg wage human. The ultra rich don't interact
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 08:44 PM
Apr 2019

... with avg wage humans so there's not relating to them.

This is a technical fact, human behavior science

https://www.sciencealert.com/lower-status-people-more-likely-to-share-wealth-than-higher-status-people

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
9. If our taxation program was like the one in France, I would mind Billionaires less.
Wed Apr 17, 2019, 09:01 PM
Apr 2019

Their high end products are taxed at a much higher rate, their incomes as well. And when they die the inheritance taxes are higher.

And while poverty in France is parallel with ours, it is also different. Even the poorest citizens get Healthcare and some assistance.

Hopefully one of our European members will weigh in because my experience is limited to less than 2 months in the country cumulative. But the homeless I have seen are most often obviously chemical dependent persons, like here probably suffering from mental health issues.

And since 2015 lots of immigrants huddling on the streets. Like here, people in the country unauthorized do not qualify for government assistance.

Unlike some on DU, I don’t hold Europe up as some perfect model to be exactly imitated. But if nothing but their tax policy and safety net could be brought here life would be better for many.

I get your point and don’t disagree. But it’s complicated. I can’t see any mechanism for a wealth tax that would work or be supported.



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