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Why can't the other 95% earn, save, and invest whatever their capabilities/motivation allow?
Ah such a misdirection. Because the vast majority of their income is used to survive. And when they DO invest/save their rates of return are vastly lower then the ultra wealthy. You post like it is some level playing field. It hasn't been one. Thats one of the reasons people do get upset.
I can't in earnest support wealth distribution. When we immigrated here I was 16 and we had nothing. My mom (26 year teacher) was cleaning houses. My dad worked in a store for 15 hours a day. I washed dishes / worked as a busboy.
Today I make a healthy 6 figures but have accrued some student debt to finance my master's degree. Nobody distributed jack **** to me. My mother learned English as fast as she could to assimilate and is now a teacher here. My father is a successful salesman. Neither of them are very wealthy or earning a ton of money but they do ok. It is my job to help them out now that I'm successful but they sacrificed a ton for me. After years of hard work why in the hell would I go out of my way to support people who won't support themselves? Elderly need help, so do disabled folks, and I support taking measures taking money out of my pocket to help them out. The rest need to get their ass to work.
I can't in earnest support wealth distribution. When we immigrated here I was 16 and we had nothing. My mom (26 year teacher) was cleaning houses. My dad worked in a store for 15 hours a day. I washed dishes / worked as a busboy.
Today I make a healthy 6 figures but have accrued some student debt to finance my master's degree. Nobody distributed jack **** to me. My mother learned English as fast as she could to assimilate and is now a teacher here. My father is a successful salesman. Neither of them are very wealthy or earning a ton of money but they do ok. It is my job to help them out now that I'm successful but they sacrificed a ton for me. After years of hard work why in the hell would I go out of my way to support people who won't support themselves? Elderly need help, so do disabled folks, the rest need to get their ass to work.
My 2 cents.
As usual this issue is warped to suite the individual bias' of Cons and Libs and their particular political agendas. "Take from the rich who can afford it and give it to the poor through handouts..."
The Government's job is to promote the well being of the average American, if the average American's real income has declined for the last 40 years, while the 1%'s share of GDP is 40 or 50% of the US wealth (i.e. similar what it was in the great depression) then the Government is not doing their job
This can mean promoting retention of good jobs in the USA (i.e. no unbalanced free-trade bills), Protecting US Employers with tariffs or trade restrictions, and demanding equal footing with foreign corporations - i.e. the whole EU, Japan and China all incentivize their national businesses while the US only selectively practices this policy - meanwhile giant US corporations like Disney replace staff with overseas workers - we need to disincentivize this process.
BTW I agree with you, but the focus in on the wrong thing - My .02 cents
Ah such a misdirection. Because the vast majority of their income is used to survive. And when they DO invest/save their rates of return are vastly lower then the ultra wealthy. You post like it is some level playing field. It hasn't been one. Thats one of the reasons people do get upset.
Oh horsecrap! Do you seriously think lots of people don't have disposable income that they spend on crap that they don't need? How many people do you see walking around the latest iPhone or $100+ sneakers?
The issue is that most people aren't having trouble surviving, they are having trouble managing and saving their money because we live in a consumer driven, instant gratification culture.
The issue isn't really an issue of someone having more. But does it not bother you that 1% can own that much wealth?
Not really. Some people choose to acquire an education and/or highly compensated credentials, work, sacrifice, take risks, and build wealth. Others choose instant gratification and to live paycheck to paycheck. It's no one's business which anyone chooses.
As I understand it, Donald Trump started his business career with a $40M inheritance. This would have been in the 1950's? As I understand it, $40M invested in the leading financial instruments of the day, even with the Recession factored in would be worth $4B today.
But that isn't the route Trump went. He decided to be a more active businessman, and his various ventures and deals have led to four bankruptcies over the decades. Hundreds of his employee's have lost their jobs. Good jobs. Dozens of creditors have been left numerous times holding the bag for hundreds of millions of dollars of his debt. Interestingly, Trump is worth about $4B today. Had he just stuck the $40M in the bank he would have done just as well as he has done, and hundreds of people would be the better .
So I thought one of the big arguments against the 1%ers was that they just hoard their wealth and DON'T invest it back in the public sector.
So now you are saying Trump should have done exactly that because he took some risks that didn't pan out? Make up your minds!
Ah such a misdirection. Because the vast majority of their income is used to survive. And when they DO invest/save their rates of return are vastly lower then the ultra wealthy. You post like it is some level playing field. It hasn't been one. Thats one of the reasons people do get upset.
$3 billion in Christmas shopping..just cyber Monday alone.
The "vast majority" spend their money rather than invest it.
Your typical Walmart shoppers are not 6 figure income folks.
Go on over to the economics forum and read a few posts there.
They treat IRA/401K accounts as slush funds against which to borrow or cash out.
Saving and investing goes against the American mantra of "spend, spend, spend".
Oh horsecrap! Do you seriously think lots of people don't have disposable income that they spend on crap that they don't need? How many people do you see walking around the latest iPhone or $100+ sneakers?
The issue is that most people aren't having trouble surviving, they are having trouble managing and saving their money because we live in a consumer driven, instant gratification culture.
I see lots of people with the latest iphones, and sneakers. They all worked with me at Intel. Poor folks? Not so much. I'm sure there are some, and you will trot them out and then act like they represent all of them. Congratulations.
$100 sneakers though? I dont know ANYONE with them except maybe my wife and her toe shoes....do those count? And my shoes as well, but thats because I believe that good shoes are worth the money. But of course if I was poor you would hold that up as a poor use of money
But....theres a hint of truth too, managing and saving money is something we do not teach people well enough at all. I suspect we could agree on teaching more of this in high school for example.
The best misdirection, like lies, contain a hint of truth. And you are right, the culture is a issue. But its a distraction.
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