World Wealth

[Doughknob]

What is a "section?"

 

[bmg88201]

A section of land contains 640 acres. But I rice farmer friend of mine says a section amounts to roughly 1 mile square of land.

 

[3930dave]

I've heard the term out West, but had to look it up.

Same # as bmg...

1 section = 640.002 567 34 acre

Online Conversion - Area Conversion

Rgds, D.

 

[dodge man]

Roughly Illinois and all states to the west were all surveyed and divided into sections of ground, 1 mile to a side, or 80 chains on a side. Some of Indiana and Ohio were also split up into sections also but the system was less defined.

The original surveying was a huge undertaking, for example the part of Illinois I live in was surveyed about 1817.

 

[Snobdds]

I haven't read the report yet, but here's the original source:http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfa...cal-capture-economic-inequality-200114-en.pdf.

Steve

Steve...

Are you still alive?

 

[CADplans]

Yeah but do those 85 people hop on their tractor and enjoy life?

I could always do with a wee bit more $'s, as long as it doesn't interfere with my blessed lifestyle.

I would not doubt that any of us reading this forum has more wealth than the combined wealth of the poorest 100 million people in the United Sates,,

The reason for that is the ENORMOUS debt that the majority of the poor have accumulated.
We accumulate tractors,, (LOTS of tractors) the poor accumulate debt.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Didn't want to start another Wealth thread, so dropped into this oldey....

The Great Inheritors: How Three Families Shielded Their Fortunes From Taxes for Generations

Rgds, D.

Man...that article sure warms one's heart at this Christmas time...

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Steve...

Are you still alive?

He hasn't been around for quite a while.

 

[Snobdds]

He hasn't been around for quite a while.

Which is too bad...I need a good session on "bad econ takes" to refresh the soul.

 

[MossRoad]

Roughly Illinois and all states to the west were all surveyed and divided into sections of ground, 1 mile to a side, or 80 chains on a side. Some of Indiana and Ohio were also split up into sections also but the system was less defined.

The original surveying was a huge undertaking, for example the part of Illinois I live in was surveyed about 1817.

Yes, much of the flat part of Indiana is divided this way.

You take 1 square mile and that's 640 acres.
Cut it into four 1/2 mile squares of 160 acres each.
Then run a line down the middle of each 1/2 mile square to get eight 80 acre rectangles.
8 x 80 = 640 acres.

Then take an 80 acre parcel and cut out 20 acres for your kid.
Sell the other 60 acres to a developer and retire to Florida.
The developer keeps 20 acres for himself and sub-divides the other 40 acres into 120 1/4 acre lots, leaving 10 acres for roads and a drainage pond.
The lots on the drainage pond are 'waterfront' and sell for 2X the cost of the other lots.
The developer builds a McMansion on his 20 acres.
The people that by the 1/4 acre lots see your kid's open 20 acres and decide to ride their dirt bikes there. The kid chases them off repeatedly, and is henceforth known as 'crazy old man Jenkins' (even though that's not his name).