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You forgot to add the rest -- A senior in college with little to no life experience . . . but (thinks he/she) knows Everything! Just Ask!
there is no need to be condescending, since a senior in college with little to no life experience is just as entitled to their opinion as anyone else on this forum, whether one agrees or not.
the pro government nanny posts overlook a simple fact on where the real danger to our citizens actually lies:
Politicians like to play a class-warfare game of demonizing rich people. Walter Williams explains, though, that rich people can only do bad things to us if they are conspiring with politicians. The moral of the story, of course, is that government is a threat to our freedom and liberty:
Bill Gates is the world’s richest person, but what kind of power does he have over you? Can he force your kid to go to a school you do not want him to attend? Can he deny you the right to braid hair in your home for a living? It turns out that a local politician, who might deny us the right to earn a living and dictates which school our kid attends, has far greater power over our lives than any rich person. Rich people can gain power over us, but to do so, they must get permission from our elected representatives at the federal, state or local levels. For example, I might wish to purchase sugar from a Caribbean producer, but America’s sugar lobby pays congressmen hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to impose sugar import tariffs and quotas, forcing me and every other American to purchase their more expensive sugar. Politicians love pitting us against the rich. All by themselves, the rich have absolutely no power over us. To rip us off, they need the might of Congress to rig the economic game. It’s a slick political sleight-of-hand where politicians and their allies amongst the intellectuals, talking heads and the news media get us caught up in the politics of envy as part of their agenda for greater control over our lives. …
Tyrants denounce free markets and voluntary exchange. They are the chief supporters of reduced private property rights, reduced rights to profits, and they are anti-competition and pro-monopoly. They are pro-control and coercion, by the state. (daniel mitchell)
WHO FORCED THE BAILOUTS ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC? NOT THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT THE GOVERNMENT.
Capitalism is the best system this world has ever seen. You're comment about capitalism being designed to filter the wealth to the top (implying the "rich get richer") is just simply not true. Nearly 80% of millionaires in this country are self-made (from Thomas J. Stanleys book "the millionaire next door"). That means just over 20% inherited their money...thats all! The great thing about our system is that anybody can become rich, you just have to know how to invest (or start your own business) and how to live within your means. According to this book the average millionaire drives a 6 yr old car and buys USED. Also, over 80% of people that drive luxury vehicles....aren't millionaires. It really makes you stop and think when you see that mercedes, or range rover driving down the street.
I'm currently a senior in college, and my friend works at a car wash when he goes home for the summers. He told me once that the older guys that drive Hondas sometimes give him a $20+ tip just for the car wash, and he said the people that came in with ferraris and porsches never tipped. He tried telling me it's because the people driving the rich cars are stingy. I had to quickly reply and tell him...no it's because those people driving the Hondas actually have money, own their cars (i.e. don't have a car payment), own their houses outright, etc. and they are in a position to help out other people rather than worry about their next multi-thousand dollar house payment or $1,000 car payment.
Having said all that...if you are living on min. wage, and don't have a high school diploma then you have made life really hard for yourself. No matter how you look at it, there aren't enough jobs out there. No matter how easy a class is (even if most people get A's)...there is still somebody that fails. To make sure that person isn't you, however, you just can't accept no for an answer and have to accept nothing less than success. I view life as a game, the government sets the rules, and you must find a way to win the game within those rules (i.e. doing things the right way, don't cheat, don't cheat the IRS etc.). I plan on finding a way to blow out the competition, but I just have a competitive spirit. Complaining gets you nowhere in life, and at the end of the day you have to make a better life for yourself. You can't expect handouts. Living frugal and within your means is the best way to get ahead in life, but most people that make a lot of money fail to see that (this is why we have former pro players that are bankrupt, former CEO's losing their houses, etc).
HAHAHA... So young and naive. Enjoy college. The real world is going to suck
Capitalism is the best system this world has ever seen. You're comment about capitalism being designed to filter the wealth to the top (implying the "rich get richer") is just simply not true. Nearly 80% of millionaires in this country are self-made (from Thomas J. Stanleys book "the millionaire next door"). That means just over 20% inherited their money...thats all! The great thing about our system is that anybody can become rich, you just have to know how to invest (or start your own business) and how to live within your means. According to this book the average millionaire drives a 6 yr old car and buys USED. Also, over 80% of people that drive luxury vehicles....aren't millionaires. It really makes you stop and think when you see that mercedes, or range rover driving down the street.
I'm currently a senior in college, and my friend works at a car wash when he goes home for the summers. He told me once that the older guys that drive Hondas sometimes give him a $20+ tip just for the car wash, and he said the people that came in with ferraris and porsches never tipped. He tried telling me it's because the people driving the rich cars are stingy. I had to quickly reply and tell him...no it's because those people driving the Hondas actually have money, own their cars (i.e. don't have a car payment), own their houses outright, etc. and they are in a position to help out other people rather than worry about their next multi-thousand dollar house payment or $1,000 car payment.
Having said all that...if you are living on min. wage, and don't have a high school diploma then you have made life really hard for yourself. No matter how you look at it, there aren't enough jobs out there. No matter how easy a class is (even if most people get A's)...there is still somebody that fails. To make sure that person isn't you, however, you just can't accept no for an answer and have to accept nothing less than success. I view life as a game, the government sets the rules, and you must find a way to win the game within those rules (i.e. doing things the right way, don't cheat, don't cheat the IRS etc.). I plan on finding a way to blow out the competition, but I just have a competitive spirit. Complaining gets you nowhere in life, and at the end of the day you have to make a better life for yourself. You can't expect handouts. Living frugal and within your means is the best way to get ahead in life, but most people that make a lot of money fail to see that (this is why we have former pro players that are bankrupt, former CEO's losing their houses, etc).
In Thomas Stanley's new book he does a great job in the first chapter talking about people who are rich and those that look rich.
What we have had in the past 10-20 years is too many people using debt to live beyond their means to look rich.
Most of the people complaining about wages often I find are those that haven't kept their skills up to date and haven't keep evolving and growing in their work.
Americans have difficulty seeing themselves are they really are. We are not an introspective nation. The problem stated in the article runs contrary to how America sees itself and how Americans see their obligations to one another. I think it will be several years before the plight of America's poor takes center stage - maybe because a good portion of that number thinks they're still in the middle class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by From the article
Without an immediate all-of-government commitment to creating upwards of 30 million new jobs (not the 9 million that the administration has identified), without stimulus efforts that specifically target the entire struggling middle class, and without very specific initiatives aimed at breaking the back of general wage stagnation, there is not even a medium-term prospect of anything approaching real full employment and healthy economic growth that benefits all Americans.
To do ^ this would require our nation to free up some cash, re-prioritize its spending and to accept a lower international profile. We have limited funds and our government has chosen to spend them on the economy and the military.
Maintaining troop levels and bases across the globe, executing two wars and granting a third leg to corporations gets expensive.
But at the same time I understand that no diplomatic/international agenda favoring our economic interest can be achieved without a strong economic or military presence (Funny how it always takes money to make money).
There just needs to be a more balanced approach in this country to achieving objectives that involved everyone. <--- punchline.
the pro government nanny posts overlook a simple fact on where the real danger to our citizens actually lies:
Havent seen very many pro government nanny posts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
Politicians like to play a class-warfare game of demonizing rich people. Walter Williams explains, though, that rich people can only do bad things to us if they are conspiring with politicians.
Politicians do not need to do anything. The Gini index will do that all by itself. If anything, politicians further brain wash the slave class in to believing if they pay for enough training out of their own pocket, sit down and shut up, that they, one day, will also be bell curve outliers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
The moral of the story, of course, is that government is a threat to our freedom and liberty:
No, the oligarchic plutocracy, government for the rich, by the rich, is a threat to our freedom and liberty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
Can he force your kid to go to a school you do not want him to attend?
Yes. Bill Gates and his ilk have successfully petitioned school rezonings so that poor or minority children are grouped together, and removed from more affluent districts. I have experienced this first hand...it even made the news.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
Can he deny you the right to braid hair in your home for a living?
Well, yeah. Since Bill Gates and his ilk likely own your home, either through directly owning the bank, owning the property you rent, or owning huge interests in the bank, they can surely influence whether you even have a place to braid hair. Thats before coming to a realize that 99% of home based businesses dont make enough money to be considered more then a hobby for tax purposes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
It turns out that a local politician, who might deny us the right to earn a living and dictates which school our kid attends, has far greater power over our lives than any rich person.
You are denied the right to earn a living by the capital class. The government does not restrict any person in this country from seeking employment (outside of illegal immigrants). What prevents people from getting employment are ridiculous requirements and hoop jumping by the capital class, not to mention the wholesale exportation of jobs by the capital class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
Rich people can gain power over us, but to do so, they must get permission from our elected representatives at the federal, state or local levels.
Wrong. The basic principles of capitalism allow them to gain control over us. This permission you speak of is because of laws made BY the government restraining capitalism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridasandy
WHO FORCED THE BAILOUTS ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC? NOT THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT THE GOVERNMENT.
All together now.....who is the government controlled by? If you guessed oligarchic plutocracy, you are correct. Unfortunatley, in capitalism, the rich are the only ones powerful enough to successfully campaign in a farce of an election. The rich are the only ones able to buy their own way.
Im afraid the "strong" in capitalism, would not be the "strong" should capital ownership and property law be removed.
Ain't that the truth! Without the advantages of accumulated capital, they wouldn't have a clue how to survive. They are completely habituated to hiring the lowest bidder to do all of the dirty hands work for them.
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