The US goes the route of everyone carving off as much as they can and fuck the other suckers who starve to death. Some less savory countries care off large slices of the pie and give to people for services rendered under the table. Europe in general takes the position that while good ideas and hard work should entitle you to larger slices of the pie, you don't get to grab so much of it that there's nothing left for anyone else.
The latter position is the best one. That way, we tend to get a larger pie next year so long as the fucking bakeries (ie. banks) don't run off with the whole pie first.
That's an insanely complex issue here in Brazil. Like everywhere else, bankers are making mad money.and that sucks, because when you consider the opportunity cost, you need a REALLY great idea to beat the earnings from the interest rates.
But what also happens here, is that in some areas, the unemployment compensation is so high - taking into account the local living costs - that some people are just satisfied with that, and actively refuse to work. Of course, that same amount of money can barely pay for food in the urban areas, so just lowering it won't work.
My point is... just making sure that the pie is justly divided between everyone is no small feat. Specially when you need to share justly among ants and elephants - just dividing evenly won't work.
