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I think this class envy and jealousy of rich people is obsessive and ridiculous. A rich guy that runs my company I work for allows me to work there through people beneath him. If we take what money he has, he is going to find ways to re-earn it by cutting costs. This means cutting jobs.
You **** with the rich, and they **** with the economy. It is as simple as that. We are not a socialist crap-hole and we do not **** on the people who run this country economically.
I wouldn't say that I hate rich people, I just think they get more than they deserve. A lot of us work hard our whole lives and never get out of the rut, most of the time it is to make rich people money THAT is what I dislike.
"more than they deserve"??? Strange comment. How much do you believe "they deserve"?
Those with wealth are providing you with your employment. They often provide you with a good quality of life as they donate land for parks and playgrounds - schools - hospitals etc.
I define rich as anyone with income over the 85th percentile of all incomes. You can have your own definitions. I think that anyone receiving income less than this percentile should be exempt from any Federal Income tax and the remaining 15% should pick up the cost of the Federal Government. Corporations would be considered as individuals and taxed on any retained profit as dividends would be considered a business expense. I think this is legitimate because the upper 15% of the country receive a disproportionate share of the benefits of being under the protection of our law and should pay for the maintenance of the law and of the country.
I have had to cut my travel and vacation budget so why shouldn’t they. A proper society shares the profit and the pain.
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PS - Nobody ever gives anyone a job (unless it is his near-do-well son in law and he wants his daughter of dubious sense to be happy) unless they expect to make some profit off the job the employee is hired to do. The employer is hiring because he needs something done and has to pay an employee to do the work. Wal-mart hires greeters to attract customers and help these customers to buy stuff. Wal-mart makes money from the sales information provided by the greeters.
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Thanks for remindeing me Aaron........I think I'll suggest some layoffs today assuring the CEO I can carry the load and save us some money........ The Coolies in power production can suck on the unemployment teat for awhile............Their poor....Screw them!
I define rich as anyone with income over the 85th percentile of all incomes. You can have your own definitions. I think that anyone receiving income less than this percentile should be exempt from any Federal Income tax and the remaining 15% should pick up the cost of the Federal Government. Corporations would be considered as individuals and taxed on any retained profit as dividends would be considered a business expense. I think this is legitimate because the upper 15% of the country receive a disproportionate share of the benefits of being under the protection of our law and should pay for the maintenance of the law and of the country.
I have had to cut my travel and vacation budget so why shouldn’t they. A proper society shares the profit and the pain.
I'm not sure what your 85% actually means in dollars but I think
either my DH or I can quit our job so we won't be in the dreaded 15%. Instead of paying 50% of our income in taxes we will pay 0% and still be 5 figures ahead of where we are now. You are brilliant!!!
BTW...so far our higher income has meant that we are entitled to fewer benefits that our government offers....not sure where you got the idea that we get more. In fact, I expect we will get less and less as time goes on.
I know we earn well above average and I am not complaining...but I sure don't feel 'rich'. We are hardworking....same as those who like to complain about 'the rich' and how we somehow don't deserve it. We don't go on luxury vacations or even drive new cars. I shop with coupons and at clearance racks so we can save for retirement...I sure don't expect the government will bless us with SS benefits given that we have high income now. Our house is well below the average in our area and we are trying to be wise with what we have. We live on less than most folks we know who earn less and yet we have to constantly hear how they just can't get ahead and how us rich folks get all the breaks. Give me a break, please. Then I suggest you go to the library and read The Millionaire Next Door. It will offer a different perspective on 'rich folks'...not what you see on TV or hear from the mouth of some spoiled politician but most likely someone living down the street from you.
I wouldn't say that I hate rich people, I just think they get more than they deserve. A lot of us work hard our whole lives and never get out of the rut, most of the time it is to make rich people money THAT is what I dislike.
If you can't stand "working for the man," don't whine about it. Start your own business.
I'm not sure what your 85% actually means in dollars but I think
either my DH or I can quit our job so we won't be in the dreaded 15%. Instead of paying 50% of our income in taxes we will pay 0% and still be 5 figures ahead of where we are now. You are brilliant!!!
BTW...so far our higher income has meant that we are entitled to fewer benefits that our government offers....not sure where you got the idea that we get more. In fact, I expect we will get less and less as time goes on.
I know we earn well above average and I am not complaining...but I sure don't feel 'rich'. We are hardworking....same as those who like to complain about 'the rich' and how we somehow don't deserve it. We don't go on luxury vacations or even drive new cars. I shop with coupons and at clearance racks so we can save for retirement...I sure don't expect the government will bless us with SS benefits given that we have high income now. Our house is well below the average in our area and we are trying to be wise with what we have. We live on less than most folks we know who earn less and yet we have to constantly hear how they just can't get ahead and how us rich folks get all the breaks. Give me a break, please. Then I suggest you go to the library and read The Millionaire Next Door. It will offer a different perspective on 'rich folks'...not what you see on TV or hear from the mouth of some spoiled politician but most likely someone living down the street from you.
You said it, NCYank. Right there w/ you. I defined earlier in this thread that what politicians are referring to amounts to only a little bit above a combined income of $100,000 a year. Now, that is ridiculous!!!! And that 85% would include an even greater number of people right at the $100,000 mark. Anyone who thinks making $100,000 a year means "wealth" is out of his/her tree!!!! Yet, it appears there are people out there who actually think there is nothing wrong w/ heaping more taxes on people who are making $100,000 a year. In fact, we already are dealing w/ the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Does anyone realize what that means???? There is a calculator set up that allows you to figure out how many months of straight work you have to put in during the year to just PAY THE TAXES on your salary!
For my husband and me, that date is sometime in MAY!!! That means for about five months of the year, all the money we make has actually gone to TAXES!!!!! Think about it. If you are in the 28% income tax bracket (let's keep this simple) you work about 1/3 of the year just to pay your taxes! How does that make you feel when you look at it that way . . . that if the government were to take all your money at the first of the year to pay your taxes, you would just be working to pay off your taxes for four months!!!! Well, that is what you are doing!!!!
So please . . . stop and think about what is being advocated - and how taxes are already affecting your life. I guess everyone is so used to seeing a huge hunk coming out of their checks every week . . . they don't even stop to think how many hours a year one works to just PAY TAXES.
And just for the record, my car is 17 years old!!!!! We are still paying off student loans, not only from our kids' education . . . but from my husband's doctorate. Yet, we are considered "wealthy???"
Last edited by brokensky; 08-04-2008 at 09:34 AM..
Reason: typo
I don't see how anyone could hate rich people. Rich people provide more foreign aid than our federal government. They do a lot for our country and the world.
Joke I heard in church: An elderly woman was driving around a parking lot in her Mercedes, looking for a space to park. She found one and waited patiently for the person to vacate the space. Just as she was about to pull in, up zooms a young man in a tricked out pick up truck with bright colors, lights, booming sounds. He power slides the truck into the parking spot, jumps out, starts to walk away, turns and says to the woman, "that's how you do it when you're young and fast." The elderly woman rolls up her electric window, slowly backs up her Mercedes, then floors it and slams right into the back of the pick up truck. Then she slowly backs up, floors it and slams into it again. The young man, hopping up and down, watched the elderly woman roll down her electric window. She looked at him and said, "that's how you do it when you're old and rich."
It's all about perspective.
Hey I think that is in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" only she says "I'm older and have more insurance".
The rich pay what, 90% of the taxes? It's pretty bad when huge groups pay no income taxes at all and even get EIC money back .They have no stake in our federal government except to ask for more entitlements. And try to break the oil companies so we will be dependent on communist and terrorist oil.
That said, some of the rich people these days are vulgar - they need learn about quiet money from the old guard and first generation wealthy like Warren Buffet. It's ok to laugh at their tacky excesses. Some of them won't be rich for long!
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