Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My parents came here with nothing, NOTHING, and they worked as janitors, hotel maid, gardener, until they saved up enough to start a small business that has grown into several businesses and all 7 of their US born children have advanced degrees and great careers.
We are just one family out of millions that have come to this country and have realized the American Dream.
And no bellyaching or whining by anyone else is going to change my mind simply because of what I have witnessed with my own two eyes.
Nowadays it seems that too many people feel entitled and feel like others owe them something.
Well, Ive got news for those people:
... oh good another "my parents worked their way up from nothing and I've made all my own success blah blah blah story"...
The article is evidence that the "American Dream" is just that... a dream. Wealth and power is becoming more and more concentrated. I disagree with your empty page... I believe all people should be entitled to clean air, clean water, access to good healthcare, a good education.
Too much of the money goes to too few... and they know how to keep it that way.
The problem, however, is that housing is so limited, that people on the lower end of the spectrum are competing with people across the spectrum and are being priced out.
Yes, this is also what I have been saying forever. When you don't build enough housing, the lower earners are priced out. Heck, it's even hitting the upper middle class at this point.
My parents came here with nothing, NOTHING, and they worked as janitors, hotel maid, gardener, until they saved up enough to start a small business that has grown into several businesses and all 7 of their US born children have advanced degrees and great careers.
We are just one family out of millions that have come to this country and have realized the American Dream.
And no bellyaching or whining by anyone else is going to change my mind simply because of what I have witnessed with my own two eyes.
Nowadays it seems that too many people feel entitled and feel like others owe them something.
Well, Ive got news for those people:
I'm with you on the entitlement thing in many respects. But at some point, the cost of living here, housing specifically, just breaks people. We simply don't build enough housing, which is pricing out an ever greater percentage of people.
Honestly, I dont get the point of these top 1% vs. everyone else articles/ reports.
Do they want us to literally write checks to people with lower incomes as a way to make them feel better about making less than $3 million?
C'mon guys. This is the United States. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to and work hard to achieve. Anyone can do it. Millions who started out with nothing have done it.
I think there's room to have this discussion in a way that isn't framed from an entitlement/jealousy/whining perspective. For instance, I personally don't really want/need anything more in my current life, and I'm content to live where I am for a while (living frugally as possible).
That said, this isn't more about me on a personal level, but more a discussion of the societal implications when you have this much imbalance in the world. I personally don't want to live in a world where we take the current trends of wealth concentration and continue those for decades to come (and frankly, I don't see how that happens without some sort of uprising...).
Even today I have a lot of issues with the imbalances we see - even though I'm personally comfortable in my life, I don't like the fact that so many people have to sacrifice so much just to make basic ends meet (I feel very lucky to be where I am - but I don't want to feel lucky - I want things to be more balanced for evereyone!)
Are these people just not working hard enough? What do you say to people that work hard to get where they are in life (probably as hard as you have and I have, and perhaps even more so in some cases) but they just happen to work in low-paying fields that are very much required for basic society to function (e.g. teachers)? Do they just not live in a Bay Area future in 20-40 years when things could (theoretically) be even more stratified?
This is a legitimate problem that isn't just about people needing to "pick the right professions" and needing to "work harder" - there are systemic issues here that probably should be addressed.
You do see the issues of immense wealth concentration at the top, correct? I'm not saying we should "take" the money away from those at the top - but I do think we can do more, as a society, to change the institutional frameworks to better balance things going forward. How? I'm not sure - but then again, I don't work in this area professionally. Would love to hear more thoughts from others.
And yes - "build more housing" is a great start - but I do think we need to do more/something else. After all, income inequality isn't just about housing - the housing situation amplifies it here in the Bay Area (and in CA in general), but this is a national problem and exists in places where housing is dirt cheap (Detroit, for example).
... oh good another "my parents worked their way up from nothing and I've made all my own success blah blah blah story"...
Unfortunately nowadays, the many people with voices like mine are being drowned out by the pathetic scowls of lazy, good for nothing lay abouts who want things handed to them and they villify rich people because they have money.
Y A W N S. Talk to the hand.
Quote:
The article is evidence that the "American Dream" is just that... a dream. Wealth and power is becoming more and more concentrated. I disagree with your empty page... I believe all people should be entitled to clean air, clean water, access to good healthcare, a good education.
1. My air is fine.
2. So is our drinking water.
3. How is the top 1% personally responsible for the lack of access to good healthcare?
4. Cry me a river about schools. I attended the Oakland public schools from K-12 during it's worst period and plenty of my classmates turned out great. Your education is ultimately in your hands.
Quote:
Too much of the money goes to too few... and they know how to keep it that way.
Bullsh*t
No one is stopping anyone from going to community college, take advantage of financial aid, grants, programs, scholarships etc, and getting a degree OR you could learn skills OR you could start a business and work for yourself, even there, plenty of resources like the SBA to help.
So spare me this woe-is-me bullcrap, get up, be a man, hustle and go after your dreams.
You live in the United States goddamit, the world is your oyster.
The report is definitely a bit of a propaganda piece. Why the arbitrary differentiation of the top 1%. Why not 10% or 15%?
Its bizarre. The top 10% are also doing splendidly well.
I do think the american dream is alive. For me it is. This country has given me more than my wildest dreams. And I am not even from here.
Dream fulfillment and realization is part luck and part grit and determination. I can't think that everyone dispossessed is somehow lazy. The truth is in between.
Unfortunately nowadays, the many people with voices like mine are being drowned out by the pathetic scowls of lazy, good for nothing lay abouts who want things handed to them and they villify rich people because they have money.
Y A W N S. Talk to the hand.
1. My air is fine.
2. So is our drinking water.
3. How is the top 1% personally responsible for the lack of access to good healthcare?
4. Cry me a river about schools. I attended the Oakland public schools from K-12 during it's worst period and plenty of my classmates turned out great. Your education is ultimately in your hands.
Bullsh*t
No one is stopping anyone from going to community college, take advantage of financial aid, grants, programs, scholarships etc, and getting a degree OR you could learn skills OR you could start a business and work for yourself, even there, plenty of resources like the SBA to help.
So spare me this woe-is-me bullcrap, get up, be a man, hustle and go after your dreams.
You live in the United States goddamit, the world is your oyster.
Are you Asian? I hear this a lot from Asians (I'm Asian too) and I have the same rags-to-riches story you likely had. There are legitimately some lazy, entitled, sit-on-their-asses type of people in this world but there are also a lot who didn't have some of the privileges we take for granted. For example, growing up in a culture where education is valued and there is trust in the system to reward you if you work hard. Just saying some people have been so beat down by history that their generations upon generations don't think they'll get anywhere in life, no matter what they do. So they pass it down and these invisible barriers are hard to measure. (And for the record, I believe these people exist in all colors)
Do I think the 1% needs to write a paycheck to these people? Nah, but I think everyone here is just saying we need to build more freakin housing. I think at this point, everyone in the 99% is screaming for more housing. Even if you're making 1/2 a mill, you don't want to pay a mill for a shack. Even if you can afford it.
Unfortunately nowadays, the many people with voices like mine are being drowned out by the pathetic scowls of lazy, good for nothing lay abouts who want things handed to them and they villify rich people because they have money.
I understand that this is how people like you think about the world. There's no changing that. This isn't a personal issue for me I'm not trying to take away your money and give it to poor people. But there is a huge imbalance in this country that is getting worse not better. Sooner or later there will be change.
I also understand that this is the bay area forum but this is not just about the bay area. Although the issue is more extreme in California.
Take a look at this again... I totally agree with HockeyMac
Quote:
Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
I think there's room to have this discussion in a way that isn't framed from an entitlement/jealousy/whining perspective....
I personally don't want to live in a world where we take the current trends of wealth concentration and continue those for decades to come (and frankly, I don't see how that happens without some sort of uprising...)...
This is a legitimate problem that isn't just about people needing to "pick the right professions" and needing to "work harder" - there are systemic issues here that probably should be addressed.
You do see the issues of immense wealth concentration at the top, correct? I'm not saying we should "take" the money away from those at the top - but I do think we can do more, as a society, to change the institutional frameworks to better balance things going forward.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Y A W N S. Talk to the hand.
Lol. Talk to the hand. What are you a 12 year old girl?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
1. My air is fine.
2. So is our drinking water.
3. How is the top 1% personally responsible for the lack of access to good healthcare?
4. Cry me a river about schools. I attended the Oakland public schools from K-12 during it's worst period and plenty of my classmates turned out great. Your education is ultimately in your hands..
Right so everything is fine in that department then...
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
No one is stopping anyone from going to community college, take advantage of financial aid, grants, programs, scholarships etc, and getting a degree OR you could learn skills OR you could start a business and work for yourself, even there, plenty of resources like the SBA to help.
Exactly what discussion are you having here?? The thread is about an article showing that the middle class is not achieving much increased income while the wealthiest individuals see MASSIVE gains. Where do you think a community college education is going to get you or learning a trade skill if not the middle class -- which is floundering??
Never in my lifetime did I think earning a Masters Degree would be a ticket to middle to lower-middle class in America, and that's the reality of the situation I'm in right now. My partner and I are highly educated and live a semi-comfortable life, but as of now, homeownership is completely off the table for the foreseeable future- that is unless we want to live way out in the far flung hinterlands of the Bay Area and double our already draining commute times. I don't think it's a matter of either of us "working harder" or getting more education either. I have a terminal degree, and a PhD in my field would be a huge waste of time and money. We are both super fortunate to be healthy and not have children; otherwise, we would have left the area several years ago. The middle class is pretty much screwed these days, unless you're a top tier earner in the tech or medical industry. Good for those folks who have a marketable skill set that enables them to command such lofty salaries, but it's pretty insulting to me, and especially those working multiple jobs for far lower than I'm earning that there's equal access to the same opportunities and lifestyle in America these days. This just isn't sustainable.
But the tech bro closet republicans told us it would trickle down!
Well I'm not sure what republicans you are speaking of and/or what their exact role(s) is/are, but let me say that I've got a good friend who owns a number of apartment buildings along the peninsula and he says that every time he's got an apartment/studio available for rent, the very first day he advertises the vacancy online he gets at least 50 responses. Out of those 50 responses roughly half fill out applications. He is completely floored when he reviews their financial information because 1) 99% of those who fill out the application make $100K + annually by working at various companies in the general area such as Oracle, EA, Genentech, etc. and 2) they are not Americans and are on H1-B visas. He's been in this business for years and basically has seen these people earn big money for years and then return back to their own country with huge lump sums. So with incomes such as this and the situation with the H1-B visa holders earning $100K + annually and spending the vast majority of this money outside the US, how does that benefit the American economy? This money that is being earned is not being spent in the US.
Interesting as well is a lot of these high tech companies who pay big money to H1-B holders like this are in the predominantly Democrat controlled region. My friend who owns these apartment buildings is also a hard core Democrat but he has no problem raking in loads of rent money by turning down those who were born and raised in the area but don't make as much as those who make more and on H1-B visas.
So where does this "republican" thing come in?
Last edited by FC76-81; 02-23-2016 at 03:19 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
