This guys got it about right....

[Obvious Li]

Economic equality will never be possible because some people are too stupid to get ahead in the modern world, said Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, in a speech that is igniting a wave of criticism.



Nick Clegg, Britain's deputy prime minister, accused Mr. Johnson of "unpleasant elitism."



In the speech honouring the work of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Johnson said natural differences between humans will always mean some will succeed and others fail.



"Whatever you may think of the value of IQ tests, it is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130. The harder you shake the pack, the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.



"And for one reason or another — boardroom greed or, as I am assured, the natural and god-given talent of boardroom inhabitants — the income gap between the top cornflakes and the bottom cornflakes is getting wider than ever. I stress: I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed, some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity."

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesMayor Of London Boris Johnson poses during a press call after opening trading at the London Stock Exchange on February 12, 2013 in London, England



Mr. Johnson said more should be done to help talented poor people advance, including state-funded places at private schools.



He warned against persecuting the rich, saying wealth and success should be celebrated. He said the top 0.1% of earners in Britain — 29,000 people — contributed 14% of the government's total revenues from income tax.

"That is an awful lot of schools and roads and hospitals that are being paid for by the super-rich. So why, I asked innocently, are they so despicable in the eyes of all decent British people?



"People aren't remotely interested in how much tax these characters pay. That does nothing to palliate their primary offence, which is to be so stonkingly and in their view emetically rich."



But Mr. Johnson also said the successful owed a duty to those less well off.



"I hope that this time the Gordon Gekkos of London are conspicuous not just for their greed ... as for what they give and do for the rest of the population," he said, referencing Michael Douglas's character in the movie Wall Street.



In a furious response, Mr. Clegg said, "Much as he is a funny and engaging guy, I have to say these comments reveal a fairly unpleasant, careless elitism that somehow suggests that we should give up on a whole swath of our fellow citizens."



The Liberal Democratic politician told a London radio station by using the term "species" Mr. Johnson was likening people to dogs.



Mr. Clegg, whose party governs in coalition with Mr. Cameron's Conservatives, added, "The danger is if you start taking such a deterministic view of people and start saying because they've got a number attached to them, in this case an IQ number, somehow they're not really going to rise to top of the cornflake packet — that is complete anathema to everything I've always stood for in politics. You've got to try and do more to instil greater opportunity in society."



David Lammy, a possible contender for the mayor's job in 2016, described Mr. Johnson's remarks as insulting to people on low wages.



"I don't think that's just careless. I think it's an insult," he told the BBC.



"It's an insult to cleaners in London, to people who are home carers in London, people who are [on] minimum wage, giving them the suggestion that they are sort of bottom of the cornflake packet. That's not the sort of society that I thought we wanted to live in.



"It's extraordinary for a mayor, who should be for all of London, to think it's all right to glorify greed – a greed that has brought a banking collapse and caused misery and hardship to many Londoners, particularly to young people who can't get on the housing ladder."



Read Boris Johnson's full speech here :D

[Anonymous]

Economic equality will never be possible because some people are too stupid to get ahead in the modern world, said Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, in a speech that is igniting a wave of criticism.



Nick Clegg, Britain's deputy prime minister, accused Mr. Johnson of "unpleasant elitism."



In the speech honouring the work of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Johnson said natural differences between humans will always mean some will succeed and others fail.



"Whatever you may think of the value of IQ tests, it is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130. The harder you shake the pack, the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.



"And for one reason or another — boardroom greed or, as I am assured, the natural and god-given talent of boardroom inhabitants — the income gap between the top cornflakes and the bottom cornflakes is getting wider than ever. I stress: I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed, some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity."

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesMayor Of London Boris Johnson poses during a press call after opening trading at the London Stock Exchange on February 12, 2013 in London, England



Mr. Johnson said more should be done to help talented poor people advance, including state-funded places at private schools.



He warned against persecuting the rich, saying wealth and success should be celebrated. He said the top 0.1% of earners in Britain — 29,000 people — contributed 14% of the government's total revenues from income tax.

"That is an awful lot of schools and roads and hospitals that are being paid for by the super-rich. So why, I asked innocently, are they so despicable in the eyes of all decent British people?



"People aren't remotely interested in how much tax these characters pay. That does nothing to palliate their primary offence, which is to be so stonkingly and in their view emetically rich."



But Mr. Johnson also said the successful owed a duty to those less well off.



"I hope that this time the Gordon Gekkos of London are conspicuous not just for their greed ... as for what they give and do for the rest of the population," he said, referencing Michael Douglas's character in the movie Wall Street.



In a furious response, Mr. Clegg said, "Much as he is a funny and engaging guy, I have to say these comments reveal a fairly unpleasant, careless elitism that somehow suggests that we should give up on a whole swath of our fellow citizens."



The Liberal Democratic politician told a London radio station by using the term "species" Mr. Johnson was likening people to dogs.



Mr. Clegg, whose party governs in coalition with Mr. Cameron's Conservatives, added, "The danger is if you start taking such a deterministic view of people and start saying because they've got a number attached to them, in this case an IQ number, somehow they're not really going to rise to top of the cornflake packet — that is complete anathema to everything I've always stood for in politics. You've got to try and do more to instil greater opportunity in society."



David Lammy, a possible contender for the mayor's job in 2016, described Mr. Johnson's remarks as insulting to people on low wages.



"I don't think that's just careless. I think it's an insult," he told the BBC.



"It's an insult to cleaners in London, to people who are home carers in London, people who are [on] minimum wage, giving them the suggestion that they are sort of bottom of the cornflake packet. That's not the sort of society that I thought we wanted to live in.



"It's extraordinary for a mayor, who should be for all of London, to think it's all right to glorify greed – a greed that has brought a banking collapse and caused misery and hardship to many Londoners, particularly to young people who can't get on the housing ladder."



Read Boris Johnson's full speech here :D

There will always be people that slip through the cracks I accept that, but why is the mayor of a city saying it?

[Obvious Li]

Economic equality will never be possible because some people are too stupid to get ahead in the modern world, said Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, in a speech that is igniting a wave of criticism.



Nick Clegg, Britain's deputy prime minister, accused Mr. Johnson of "unpleasant elitism."



In the speech honouring the work of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Johnson said natural differences between humans will always mean some will succeed and others fail.



"Whatever you may think of the value of IQ tests, it is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130. The harder you shake the pack, the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.



"And for one reason or another — boardroom greed or, as I am assured, the natural and god-given talent of boardroom inhabitants — the income gap between the top cornflakes and the bottom cornflakes is getting wider than ever. I stress: I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed, some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity."

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesMayor Of London Boris Johnson poses during a press call after opening trading at the London Stock Exchange on February 12, 2013 in London, England



Mr. Johnson said more should be done to help talented poor people advance, including state-funded places at private schools.



He warned against persecuting the rich, saying wealth and success should be celebrated. He said the top 0.1% of earners in Britain — 29,000 people — contributed 14% of the government's total revenues from income tax.

"That is an awful lot of schools and roads and hospitals that are being paid for by the super-rich. So why, I asked innocently, are they so despicable in the eyes of all decent British people?



"People aren't remotely interested in how much tax these characters pay. That does nothing to palliate their primary offence, which is to be so stonkingly and in their view emetically rich."



But Mr. Johnson also said the successful owed a duty to those less well off.



"I hope that this time the Gordon Gekkos of London are conspicuous not just for their greed ... as for what they give and do for the rest of the population," he said, referencing Michael Douglas's character in the movie Wall Street.



In a furious response, Mr. Clegg said, "Much as he is a funny and engaging guy, I have to say these comments reveal a fairly unpleasant, careless elitism that somehow suggests that we should give up on a whole swath of our fellow citizens."



The Liberal Democratic politician told a London radio station by using the term "species" Mr. Johnson was likening people to dogs.



Mr. Clegg, whose party governs in coalition with Mr. Cameron's Conservatives, added, "The danger is if you start taking such a deterministic view of people and start saying because they've got a number attached to them, in this case an IQ number, somehow they're not really going to rise to top of the cornflake packet — that is complete anathema to everything I've always stood for in politics. You've got to try and do more to instil greater opportunity in society."



David Lammy, a possible contender for the mayor's job in 2016, described Mr. Johnson's remarks as insulting to people on low wages.



"I don't think that's just careless. I think it's an insult," he told the BBC.



"It's an insult to cleaners in London, to people who are home carers in London, people who are [on] minimum wage, giving them the suggestion that they are sort of bottom of the cornflake packet. That's not the sort of society that I thought we wanted to live in.



"It's extraordinary for a mayor, who should be for all of London, to think it's all right to glorify greed – a greed that has brought a banking collapse and caused misery and hardship to many Londoners, particularly to young people who can't get on the housing ladder."



Read Boris Johnson's full speech here :D

There will always be people that slip through the cracks I accept that, but why is the mayor of a city saying it?

he is just tired of lefty assholes always complaining about successful people.....whining that they don't have as much........he is saying it is not the fault of the rich......some people are just too stupid to be successful....



that is the difference between the left and the right...the lefties want to tear everyone down to the lowest common denominator while the right wants to lift everyone up to the highest common denominator............diametrically opposed doctrines

[Anonymous]

he is just tired of lefty assholes always complaining about successful people.....whining that they don't have as much........he is saying it is not the fault of the rich......some people are just too stupid to be successful....



that is the difference between the left and the right...the lefties want to tear everyone down to the lowest common denominator while the right wants to lift everyone up to the highest common denominator............diametrically opposed doctrines

Yes, Boris Johnson is indeed correct. Very difficult for stupid, lazy people to be successful unless they are celebutards. We want people to be and do their very best, while the opposition wants the best to do worse.



I always thought BJ was a hard lefty, so it is surprising to hear him be so honest about what ails society.

[Renee]

Economic equality will never be possible because some people are too stupid to get ahead in the modern world, said Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, in a speech that is igniting a wave of criticism.



Nick Clegg, Britain's deputy prime minister, accused Mr. Johnson of "unpleasant elitism."



In the speech honouring the work of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Johnson said natural differences between humans will always mean some will succeed and others fail.



"Whatever you may think of the value of IQ tests, it is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130. The harder you shake the pack, the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.



"And for one reason or another — boardroom greed or, as I am assured, the natural and god-given talent of boardroom inhabitants — the income gap between the top cornflakes and the bottom cornflakes is getting wider than ever. I stress: I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed, some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity."

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesMayor Of London Boris Johnson poses during a press call after opening trading at the London Stock Exchange on February 12, 2013 in London, England



Mr. Johnson said more should be done to help talented poor people advance, including state-funded places at private schools.



He warned against persecuting the rich, saying wealth and success should be celebrated. He said the top 0.1% of earners in Britain — 29,000 people — contributed 14% of the government's total revenues from income tax.

"That is an awful lot of schools and roads and hospitals that are being paid for by the super-rich. So why, I asked innocently, are they so despicable in the eyes of all decent British people?



"People aren't remotely interested in how much tax these characters pay. That does nothing to palliate their primary offence, which is to be so stonkingly and in their view emetically rich."



But Mr. Johnson also said the successful owed a duty to those less well off.



"I hope that this time the Gordon Gekkos of London are conspicuous not just for their greed ... as for what they give and do for the rest of the population," he said, referencing Michael Douglas's character in the movie Wall Street.



In a furious response, Mr. Clegg said, "Much as he is a funny and engaging guy, I have to say these comments reveal a fairly unpleasant, careless elitism that somehow suggests that we should give up on a whole swath of our fellow citizens."



The Liberal Democratic politician told a London radio station by using the term "species" Mr. Johnson was likening people to dogs.



Mr. Clegg, whose party governs in coalition with Mr. Cameron's Conservatives, added, "The danger is if you start taking such a deterministic view of people and start saying because they've got a number attached to them, in this case an IQ number, somehow they're not really going to rise to top of the cornflake packet — that is complete anathema to everything I've always stood for in politics. You've got to try and do more to instil greater opportunity in society."



David Lammy, a possible contender for the mayor's job in 2016, described Mr. Johnson's remarks as insulting to people on low wages.



"I don't think that's just careless. I think it's an insult," he told the BBC.



"It's an insult to cleaners in London, to people who are home carers in London, people who are [on] minimum wage, giving them the suggestion that they are sort of bottom of the cornflake packet. That's not the sort of society that I thought we wanted to live in.



"It's extraordinary for a mayor, who should be for all of London, to think it's all right to glorify greed – a greed that has brought a banking collapse and caused misery and hardship to many Londoners, particularly to young people who can't get on the housing ladder."



Read Boris Johnson's full speech here :D

There will always be people that slip through the cracks I accept that, but why is the mayor of a city saying it?

he is just tired of lefty assholes always complaining about successful people.....whining that they don't have as much........he is saying it is not the fault of the rich......some people are just too stupid to be successful....



that is the difference between the left and the right...the lefties want to tear everyone down to the lowest common denominator while the right wants to lift everyone up to the highest common denominator............diametrically opposed doctrines

Its way overdue that the ignorant concept of the "level playing field" and "the rich are the enemy" was exposed for the ridiculously idiotic idea that it is. The people who understand that this kind of bankrupt, idyllic, utopian, pabulum is an anathema to everything that resembles common economic sense need to wake up and get vocal. For too long the leftard political elites have been controlling the dialogue surrounding this issue and an end need to come to their way of thinking before it is too late to undo the damage.

[Anonymous]

Its way overdue that the ignorant concept of the "level playing field" and "the rich are the enemy" was exposed for the ridiculously idiotic idea that it is. The people who understand that this kind of bankrupt, idyllic, utopian, pabulum is an anathema to everything that resembles common economic sense need to wake up and get vocal. For too long the leftard political elites have been controlling the dialogue surrounding this issue and an end need to come to their way of thinking before it is too late to undo the damage.

Renee, they(leftist ideologues) don't believe in it themselves. As soon as the left comes to power they show their hypocritical true colours. They give sweetheart subsidy/tax preferences to industries/companies they personally favour. They cut services when they don't have the money. They raise taxes like user fees/payroll taxes. They get tough with unreasonable demands from militant public sector unions. They are forced to offer tax incentives to big bad corporations rather than watch them leave for greener pastures. They are forced to accept growing C02 emissions and when they don't it becomes a disaster like in the province of Ontario where high energy costs have hurt working families and driven away industry. Like you said, the rhetoric of the left is just empty platitudes and nothing more.

[Anonymous]

Isn't it refreshing when a politician actually thells the truth? Good going Boris Johnson.