Thomas Sowell and why rich people are cool.

[billc]

THis article talks about how rich people became rich, by making peoples lives better, and more affordable.

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2011/01/25/new_heroes_vs_old/page/1

What is ironic is that kerosene lamps were a luxury of the rich in the 19th century, before John D. Rockefeller came along. At the high price of kerosene at that time, an ordinary working man could not afford to stay up at night, burning this expensive fuel for hours at a time.

 

[elder999]

What is ironic is that kerosene lamps were a luxury of the rich in the 19th century, before John D. Rockefeller came along. At the high price of kerosene at that time, an ordinary working man could not afford to stay up at night, burning this expensive fuel for hours at a time.

Hmmm....I'm thinking B.S. here......"kerosene lamps" may have been a luxury of the rich, but oil lamps, lit with olive oil, sesame oil, beeswax, and whale oil (the reason I know a bit about this) were fairly common.

Oh, and yeah: some rich people are very cool. :ultracool

 

[billc]

Wow, the internet is a great thing. I give you whale oil vs. kerosene prices. Tadah...

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/3338

Turning attention to the price data, we may note first how expensive whale oil was in comparison with the crude oil that replaced it. Even at its lowest historical prices, in the 1820s, the least expensive type of oil (whale oil) was priced at more than $200 (2003$) a barrel (42 gallons). At its highest price level (1855) Sperm Whale oil sold at more than $35 (2003$) a gallon, namely almost $1500 (2003$) a barrel (!). This tells us something about how difficult it may be to substitute fossil fuels with "biofuels" (bio-ethanol, bio-diesel, or other). Without the support of fertilizers, irrigation, transportation, and agricultural machinery, which all depend on fossil fuels, biofuels would probably cost as much today as whale oil did in the 19th Century. It also shows what an incredible bonanza crude oil has been. When kerosene became first available in the 1860s, a barrel of crude oil sold for some $90 a barrel in to-day's money (data from www.wtrg.com). In the 1870-80s it had already fallen to values in the order of $20 (2003$) a barrel, comparable with modern prices. If hydrogen were to substitute gasoline today at the same price differential, it would have to cost no more than a few cents for the equivalent of a gallon. Needless to say, we aren't getting there any time soon.

 

[elder999]

Wow, the internet is a great thing. I give you whale oil vs. kerosene prices. Tadah... .

All of which kind of makes my point-the oil amp was never a "luxury for the rich," and lamps had been around for a while. In urban areas, gas lighting began at the end of the 18th century.

It was more of a comment on Mr. Sowell's hyperbole than content....

And, of course, there were always friggin' candles, for chrissakes.

 

[Blade96]

THis article talks about how rich people became rich, by making peoples lives better, and more affordable.

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2011/01/25/new_heroes_vs_old/page/1

What is ironic is that kerosene lamps were a luxury of the rich in the 19th century, before John D. Rockefeller came along. At the high price of kerosene at that time, an ordinary working man could not afford to stay up at night, burning this expensive fuel for hours at a time.

I agree...some rich people are cool. and have done a lot to help the world.

Bill Gates gave lots of moneys away to charities and such because in his words, Yeah i did a lot for computers and technology which helps people....but starving people cant eat computers.

 

[Tez3]

Is the article meant for children? Not being funny but it's written in the style that primary school books are.

 

[WC_lun]

Rich people are people, some are cool and some aren't. You have rich people who have contributed to society in positive ways and you also have rich people who get that way by exploiting others. There is nothing positive or negative about being rich. It is what a person does with that wealth that counts.

 

[elder999]

The Following 4,294,967,295 Users Say Thank You to billcihak For This Useful Post:

Why am I seeing this?

 

[Tez3]

Why am I seeing this?

Not just you, that's pretty spooky!

 

[elder999]

Not just you, that's pretty spooky!

Half the planet's worth of spooky....:lfao: