can’t vouch for the accuracy of the source, but it is a completely theoretical discussion anyway, and seems ballpark.
in any case, the Soviet Union proved pure communism doesn’t work. If a better work ethic, more schooling, more entrepreneurship (risk taking) doesn’t pay off, I might decide to skip the 15 years of extra school and push a broom rather than read brain and spine MRI scans If both paid the same.
the Chinese have managed an effective mix of communism and capitalism. I don’t like China, and I don’t want us to BE like China (maybe @K’tesh can jump in, except I can never get the right punctuation to get his name to work). Their system seems to work well for them, not sure if they are really happy about it or just not allowed to complain.
anyway, here is an internet report on what would happen if we divided the wealth equally. Again, may not be accurate, but it is thought provoking.
your “average American” may like the first part, what happens if we just divided the wealth equally among AMERICANS? But the same people would HATE the second part, what happens if we equally divided the wealth among the people of the WOLRD.
What would happen if wealth was evenly distributed?
American households held over $98 trillion of wealth in 2018. If that amount were divided evenly across the U.S. population of 329 million, it would result in over $343,000 for each person. For a family of three, that’s over a million dollars in assets.
How much money would everyone have if it was divided equally?
According to research by Credit Suisse in 2016, the world’s total wealth is $256 trillion. If every person in the world were given an equal share, you’d have $34,133
from May 26, 2021
https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-would-happen-if-wealth-was-evenly-distributed/