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A lot of folks slamming successful people do not realize what it takes to be in that boat. In my case, I easily work 16-18 hour days (I'm salary so no overtime for me). I spend roughly 2 weeks out of every month (many times more) traveling and living out of hotels and suitcases, away from my family.
Yes. Exactly. And I've posted that same sentiment time and time again, but the greedy takers blindly ignore it. Everyone needs to watch this...
On top of all of this, I get slammed because folks don't think I pay "my fair share" when in reality, I pay more in taxes than most of the people I know make in a year. I don't cheat on my taxes and I don't b*tch about them either. I rationalize my tax bill by constantly telling myself the more taxes I pay the more successful I am. Most people would have a stroke after looking at my tax bill.
...When I was poor I didn't pay ANY federal income taxes and, like so many others on this board, I was butthurt over those who had money and I also believed "they didn't EARN it" and "they don't pay their fair share" (ironic that I felt this way considering I paid ZERO) until I became one of those people and learned how hard it REALLY is to not only get where I am but stay here and hopefully go further.
A very large part of the reason a lot of people do not progress is because they are content with where they are and that is fine and dandy. But don't begrudge or punish those who've made the decision and the effort to strive for more. Then we have others who truly do not have the stomach to do what we have to do and sacrifice what we have to sacrifice to improve our lot in life. In my case, the sacrifice was well worth not being poor anymore but it sure as hell hasn't been easy, pain free or without a ton of risk.
A lot of these people sound like a young woman I know (and love by the way) who doesn't make a lot of money and feels those who do should pay more. One day we talked about this and I gave her this hypothetical scenario. She and I go to the store to buy milk. Milk is 3.50 per gallon. She makes minimum wage and I make 100k. Should she get to buy the milk for a dollar and I have to pay 5.00 for the milk just because I make more? I about lost it when she said "yes you should because you can afford it." It's the same damn gallon of milk!!!!! I get no more added value from the milk than she does so why should I have to pay more for the identical product. Her response was because I have a "moral obligation" to pay more in order for those less fortunate to pay less.
This is what is wrong with our tax code. Those who "have" pay more so those who "don't have" can pay less, nothing or even get back more than they actually contributed (EITC). Those of us who pay more into the system do not get any additional benefits than those who pay less or none at all. They use the exact same infrastructure that we do, they get the same protections from our military, police, fire, etc, they have access to the same public school system, public libraries, parks, etc. I wouldn't mind so much paying in more if my ROI were more but it's not. Even worse, I don't qualify for any federal, state, local handouts either.
Don't get me wrong, I have NO issue with my dollars going to provide a hand UP to help bring people out of poverty i.e. education, housing, food, daycare, medical, etc. as long as it's being used as a hand UP and not a hand OUT. And I have NO issue with my dollars going to take care of those who TRULY cannot take care of themselves i.e. the elderly, disabled, etc. But this garbage of folks being on disability or welfare for life when they are perfectly capable of earning their own keep is ridiculous and criminal. OK, rant over
This is what is wrong with our tax code. Those who "have" pay more so those who "don't have" can pay less, nothing or even get back more than they actually contributed (EITC). Those of us who pay more into the system do not get any additional benefits than those who pay less or none at all. They use the exact same infrastructure that we do, they get the same protections from our military, police, fire, etc, they have access to the same public school system, public libraries, parks, etc. I wouldn't mind so much paying in more if my ROI were more but it's not.
Exactly. That's what's immoral about our tax code. It charges VASTLY different amounts for the same access to benefits and services.
And in a civilized society, EVERYONE, regardless of their income level, has a moral obligation to contribute to the financial support of the truly incapacitated.
A very large part of the reason a lot of people do not progress is because they are content with where they are and that is fine and dandy. But don't begrudge or punish those who've made the decision and the effort to strive for more. Then we have others who truly do not have the stomach to do what we have to do and sacrifice what we have to sacrifice to improve our lot in life. In my case, the sacrifice was well worth not being poor anymore but it sure as hell hasn't been easy, pain free or without a ton of risk.
A lot of these people sound like a young woman I know (and love by the way) who doesn't make a lot of money and feels those who do should pay more. One day we talked about this and I gave her this hypothetical scenario. She and I go to the store to buy milk. Milk is 3.50 per gallon. She makes minimum wage and I make 100k. Should she get to buy the milk for a dollar and I have to pay 5.00 for the milk just because I make more? I about lost it when she said "yes you should because you can afford it." It's the same damn gallon of milk!!!!! I get no more added value from the milk than she does so why should I have to pay more for the identical product. Her response was because I have a "moral obligation" to pay more in order for those less fortunate to pay less.
This is what is wrong with our tax code. Those who "have" pay more so those who "don't have" can pay less, nothing or even get back more than they actually contributed (EITC). Those of us who pay more into the system do not get any additional benefits than those who pay less or none at all. They use the exact same infrastructure that we do, they get the same protections from our military, police, fire, etc, they have access to the same public school system, public libraries, parks, etc. I wouldn't mind so much paying in more if my ROI were more but it's not. Even worse, I don't qualify for any federal, state, local handouts either.
Don't get me wrong, I have NO issue with my dollars going to provide a hand UP to help bring people out of poverty i.e. education, housing, food, daycare, medical, etc. as long as it's being used as a hand UP and not a hand OUT. And I have NO issue with my dollars going to take care of those who TRULY cannot take care of themselves i.e. the elderly, disabled, etc. But this garbage of folks being on disability or welfare for life when they are perfectly capable of earning their own keep is ridiculous and criminal. OK, rant over
I had a room mate who was out partying while I was going to college and studying. When I graduated and got my first job naturally I made more money than her. She actually said that I should now pay more of the rent and bills since I made more money.
I had a room mate who was out partying while I was going to college and studying. When I graduated and got my first job naturally I made more money than her. She actually said that I should now pay more of the rent and bills since I made more money.
Incredibly irrational logic.
I have a neighbor who's renting out a home, and the tenants have stopped paying rent because as they put it to my neighbor: "You don't need the money."
Too many mentally addled people in our country. /SMH
Greywar, you are delusional. I can't speak for anyone else but that's not how it works in my world. First and foremost, I HAVE ETHICS so I would never schedule a business trip to meet anyone for a few minutes in order to enjoy a paid for vacay. Doing stuff like that will bring you bad juju and karma will strike at some point.
IF I were going on a business trip to a place that had an attraction that I'd like to see i.e. Memphis has Graceland, I'd have to actually have the TIME to visit said attraction which I don't, why? Because I'm too freaking busy trying to make money. If I'm not working, I'm not making money.
Secondly, the only expenses that are paid for are those related to actual BUSINESS being done. If I decide to stay an extra day, my rental car, my hotel, my meals, admission to said attraction would come out of MY pocket and I'd have to use a vacation day on top of that.
A lot of folks slamming successful people do not realize what it takes to be in that boat. In my case, I easily work 16-18 hour days (I'm salary so no overtime for me). I spend roughly 2 weeks out of every month (many times more) traveling and living out of hotels and suitcases, away from my family.
My field is extremely competitive so it's a constant and stressful battle making sure I'm up on the latest technology, best practices and regulatory requirements to stay competitive and relevant while at the same time juggling THOUSANDS of customers to ensure that I am consistently meeting or exceeding their expectations of me and my services in order to retain their business. I could go on and on as this is just the tip of the iceberg but I won't.
On top of all of this, I get slammed because folks don't think I pay "my fair share" when in reality, I pay more in taxes than most of the people I know make in a year. I don't cheat on my taxes and I don't b*tch about them either. I rationalize my tax bill by constantly telling myself the more taxes I pay the more successful I am. Most people would have a stroke after looking at my tax bill. I don't have a fancy, expensive CPA to do my taxes. Me and TurboTax are buds and I know every single "loophole" out there and, if applicable, I use them just like everybody else does. I didn't make the rules or the tax code, but I do take LEGAL advantage where I can and I STILL pay an insane amount in taxes every year.
When I was poor I didn't pay ANY federal income taxes and, like so many others on this board, I was butthurt over those who had money and I also believed "they didn't EARN it" and "they don't pay their fair share" (ironic that I felt this way considering I paid ZERO) until I became one of those people and learned how hard it REALLY is to not only get where I am but stay here and hopefully go further.
I was also poor too only I didn't buy into they should pay more politics. After I graduated from college with a decent paying job I married a man, also educated with a good job. We got slammed with the marriage penalty (6 months into being married) we didn't even know existed until we did our taxes. Two people who worked hard, got educated only to have to pay a higher percentage.
Originally Posted by petch751
I had a room mate who was out partying while I was going to college and studying. When I graduated and got my first job naturally I made more money than her. She actually said that I should now pay more of the rent and bills since I made more money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by InformedConsent
Incredibly irrational logic.
I have a neighbor who's renting out a home, and the tenants have stopped paying rent because as they put it to my neighbor: "You don't need the money."
Too many mentally addled people in our country. /SMH
Well that's the irrational logic of Democrats and Liberals. The logic we are living now in todays world.
Uhmmm...lets discuss my reality. Im in the 28% tax bracket. (89-186K). so no, doubling my income would not triple my tax rate.
And really? you're going to go on with this nonsense where your argument is "nothing stops you from sending a check".....pathetic.
Well yes... you rant constantly that you are ok with raising taxes and paying more. You even started a post awhile back that you wouldn't have a problem paying "a little more" yet I'll bet you still haven't sent that extra check in. Oh that's righ it's ok for SOMEONE else to pay more Democrats and Liberals.. all talk no action
I had a room mate who was out partying while I was going to college and studying. When I graduated and got my first job naturally I made more money than her. She actually said that I should now pay more of the rent and bills since I made more money.
Oh the many, many similar stories I could share. Like one of the BIGGEST sacrifices I made to pull myself out of poverty is my family. Most of my family is still uneducated and poor. They have the ability to do better but choose not to. When I started doing halfway decently, they all felt like I should start paying their bills for them even though I was still struggling to pay my own.
I'd loan a bit here and there when I had it but learned quickly that was a bad idea. They would squander what I loaned them, never paid me back and expected me to give even more. I had a few nephews that had some serious health issues and needed help so I helped. Neither asked for the help by the way. This time it wasn't a loan (again, I learned that's not a good idea the hard way), I just gave them what they needed. What did I get in return? One didn't think it was right for me to pay his rent directly instead of just giving him the cash. He was renting from another nephew (his brother) who couldn't afford to not get the rent money.
The one I gave the rent money to complained to his mother that I helped his brother but I never stepped up to help him. HELLO, did I not just give him money that he needed for his mortgage payment that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise? You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. On top of this, they let everybody know (against my explicit request) that my pocketbook was open so everybody and his brother came out of the woodwork with a sob story. I stopped helping at that point.
After a while, they started calling me names i.e. "Miss High and Mighty" or "Little Miss Rich B*tch". I've always been humble, remember where I came from and never threw my success in their faces and I'm certainly still not "rich" although I'm working on that. Eventually, they stopped calling, visiting or have anything to do with me. I asked my dad a few years back why they were being so hateful and he said it's because "I don't share".
Well yes... you rant constantly that you are ok with raising taxes and paying more. You even started a post awhile back that you wouldn't have a problem paying "a little more" yet I'll bet you still haven't sent that extra check in. Oh that's righ it's ok for SOMEONE else to pay more Democrats and Liberals.. all talk no action
Ah Petch, its a pathetic argument. Apparently you want others to pay your share. Im not surprised.
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Democrats and Liberals.. all talk no action 
