[skhunted]

Exactly. Rich people tend to horde their wealth and seek more. When they have an opportunity to extract wealth from others they do so. The increase in economic growth from this extraction is minimal in comparison to the amount extracted.

[randomdata]

The only way to “extract wealth from others” is to put them to work.

[skhunted]

This is not correct. Look up rent seeking. If a company has regulatory capture it can seek the maximum profit and remain static (until it loses its capture). Generally it attains its maximum by exercising its pricing power. Exercising pricing power does not lead to more employees by the company.

[randomdata]

Profit is the accumulation of promises other people have made to you that they will work for you in the future.

That is, after all, why people seek profit. They like the security in knowing that others will do work for them in the future. When you feel hungry, you want to know that someone will work to give you food. When you feel cold, you want to know that someone will work to provide you shelter. When you feel bored, you want to know that someone will work to entertain you. So on and so forth.

Unless people can offer work that you want to have done in the future, you cannot profit. Rent seeking doesn't change anything. You still need valid promises of future work in order to profit.

[skhunted]

Your knowledge of economics appears to be lacking. Your original statement that the only way to extract wealth from someone is by putting them to work is factually wrong for the reasons I stated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking

[randomdata]

> Your knowledge of economics appears to be lacking.

Well, duh. If it weren't lacking, what reason would there be for me to talk about it? There would be nothing left to learn. That would be a useless waste of time.

> Your original statement that the only way to extract wealth from someone is by putting them to work is factually wrong for the reasons I stated.

Go on. You stated that rent seeking accumulates profit, but as profit is merely the promise of future work, no wealth is actually extracted. Only a potential promise of future wealth is gained. Not until the profit is spent – as in people are put to work – can wealth be extracted out of those promises.

[skhunted]

If it weren't lacking, what reason would there be for me to talk about it?

In case you don’t know this there are people knowledgeable about a topic who also talk about that topic.

[yowzadave]

Poor people spend a larger share of their income (and therefore put it to productive use stimulating the economy, hiring people, etc). Rich people tend to hoard their pile, and spend a smaller portion of it.

[leereeves]

> The only way to “extract wealth from others” is to put them to work.

I guess you're thinking of people who have no assets. In that case, you're right, when people have no other wealth their labor is all that's left to extract. (And all they have left to trade for their daily expenses.)

What happens to people with no other wealth in an AI economy where labor has little value? That's a scary thought.

[randomdata]

> I guess you're thinking of people who have no assets.

Even of those who do. Wealth cannot be extracted from existing wealth.

> What happens to people with no other wealth in an AI economy where labor has little value? That's a scary thought.

Will people with AI be happy to metaphorically scurry off into the forest and life alone with nothing other than their AI? So long as there is value in human-to-human social interaction, there will be value in labour. The labour may not resemble anything we can imagine today, but it will be there in some form.

And even if we assume that those with AI do go off and live life alone in the forest, those who don't have AI will still need other people in their lives, so labour will continue to hold value within that subset of the population.

Alternatively, those with AI may freely share it with all, creating a post-scarcity society. That's probably not so scary. Hell, entire societies have upended everything in hopes of being able to transition into a post-scarcity world. It is generally considered a welcome future, not something to fear.

[drewmcarthur]

exactly, the only reason to hire someone is because you’re making money off their work.

[nextworddev]

Well at big companies, managers sometimes hire just for the sake of padding their orgs

[amayne]

Original author here:

Yes. Rich people tend to re-invest their money and not throw it into a Scrooge McDuck vault to swim in. The re-investing is what helps create economic growth.