Oxfam: the 62 richest people own as much as the poorer half of the world population (dollars, politicians)
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The only decisions many of those have made is winning the sperm lottery. Sam Walton built a business but his descendants didn't do anything but inherit money.
Most are not capitals of industry or entrepreneurs. If you add together nonfinance executives, “financial professions”, real estate, and lawyers, you’ve got more than 70 percent of the total; plus some of the other categories are probably essentially business executives too. Basically, the top 0.1 percent is the corporate suits, with a few token sports and film stars thrown in.
In other words everyone needs to start back at zero when they're born. Never mind that you stand on the shoulders off all those before you just the same as they do. That's the liberal mentality, equality for all humans (except you because you're more equal than everyone else).
Let us know when you give up all your worldly goods, what little education you do have and all of the family values you were taught. We'll all be waiting patiently...
So I guess I do have the right to complain since so many of them use tax loopholes and evade their taxes that it causes me (someone who is considered upper middle class) to pay a higher effective tax rate than many of them? Their refusal to pay their share of taxes has to be made up by people like me and we can't afford to pay much more. We have enough money to be stable and do all the things most people think of with the American dream (summer vacations, cover our child's college expenses, have a nice home, newer vehicles, etc.). Yet I look at my effective tax rate and I look at Mitt Romney's and I can't help but scratch my head and wonder how on earth his is so much lower than mine. Then it occurs to me... he no longer works for his money and therefore he is entitled to numerous tax breaks and loopholes that aren't granted to me.
I'm not entirely sure how that's fair in the least.
Nobody is holding me down. I'm quite happy in life, but I'd also like to see a stable government that is fiscally responsible and as long as we allow the ultra rich to make the rules that will NEVER happen.
I'm sure the Clintons share the same tax rate as Romney, lets not try and pretend that folks in both political parties do these things.
I'm sure the Clintons share the same tax rate as Romney, lets not try and pretend that folks in both political parties do these things.
i am sure they would if they could but most of their income is speaking engagements which is ordinary income. Warren Buffet on the other hand does take full advantage of all deductions even though he is upset he supposedly pays a lower rate than his secretary.
Things have gotten out of hand. I am not against a small gain from investment, but things have gone way too far.
It would be possible to cap such gains, stop excessive speculation etc. if it happened on a global basis via one of those global trade or UN organizations.
Indeed, that is why I am saying there should be clear global laws without exception. Make companies pay full taxes locally wherever they earn money. No loopholes, no nationalist egoism, etc. So immoral acts would turn into crimes, which could be punished.
One World Order. That decides how much someone "deserves" to have. Like the UN. Immoral acts are now criminal.
I simply have a very different mindset. That whole "earn as much as you possible can" approach is so not me.
I don't mind modestly rich people, i.e. normal millionaires who really work for it. They are not the problem. I am against the filthy rich and even more against the system which allows them to become that rich in the first place.
Yes, we do give aid to poor countries, but at the same time we hurt them even more. There are studies that say that we actually extract more money from Africa than we pay her. We pretend to help and be generous, while in reality we benefit more than we help.
The EU for instance has various policies in place that really hurt Africa, for instance in terms of agriculture.
I speak mostly about Africa because that is certainly the most problematic continent.
That's fine. But to make the statement that your mindset now needs to be a dictated way of life is absurd.
So I guess I do have the right to complain since so many of them use tax loopholes and evade their taxes that it causes me (someone who is considered upper middle class) to pay a higher effective tax rate than many of them? Their refusal to pay their share of taxes has to be made up by people like me and we can't afford to pay much more. We have enough money to be stable and do all the things most people think of with the American dream (summer vacations, cover our child's college expenses, have a nice home, newer vehicles, etc.). Yet I look at my effective tax rate and I look at Mitt Romney's and I can't help but scratch my head and wonder how on earth his is so much lower than mine. Then it occurs to me... he no longer works for his money and therefore he is entitled to numerous tax breaks and loopholes that aren't granted to me.
I'm not entirely sure how that's fair in the least.
Nobody is holding me down. I'm quite happy in life, but I'd also like to see a stable government that is fiscally responsible and as long as we allow the ultra rich to make the rules that will NEVER happen.
Investments can be risky. Investment is good for the economy. In order to stimulate investment the tax rate on capital gains is lower. Plus charity is also deductible so they lowered thier rate through large deductions.
In the end they paid a lot of taxes. Why is the fairness determined by the rate they paid instead of the total taxes. They do not get 100s of times more services than me yet they pay 100s maybe thousands of times more than I did. How unfair.
It is an interesting dynamic. Poor people who buy luxury name brands and brag about them to people who can better afford them but choose not to buy them. What do they mean to accomplish? They are not impressing the wealthier person by showing off their lack of self control and reckless spending.
Yup. I work with a gal that is barely scraping by on 2 incomes. They go out to eat almost every night, she gets the newest iPhone as soon as it comes out, and just bought a brand new luxury SUV with all the bells and whistles. They live in a house with every upgrade they could get, after doing the same with their previous house then selling it after 2 years because she wanted a different school district for her kids (they took a beating on the house). Her biggest stress is that they have no retirement plan, but have three (you read that right) unopened TVs that her husband bought on impulse.
I live in a 50 year old fixer upper, own a 2 year old non-iPhone (that works as well if not better than the iPhone), drive a 10 year old car that's been paid off for 3 years, go out to eat once a week, and stay at home for most of our vacation days.
She constantly talks about how she wishes she'd done things like we have (paid off their car, bought a smaller less expensive house, not taken big vacations) but she then in the same breath talks about how they can't wait to buy a new car as soon as this one is paid off and is talking about moving again.
So I guess I do have the right to complain since so many of them use tax loopholes and evade their taxes that it causes me (someone who is considered upper middle class) to pay a higher effective tax rate than many of them? Their refusal to pay their share of taxes has to be made up by people like me and we can't afford to pay much more. We have enough money to be stable and do all the things most people think of with the American dream (summer vacations, cover our child's college expenses, have a nice home, newer vehicles, etc.). Yet I look at my effective tax rate and I look at Mitt Romney's and I can't help but scratch my head and wonder how on earth his is so much lower than mine. Then it occurs to me... he no longer works for his money and therefore he is entitled to numerous tax breaks and loopholes that aren't granted to me.
I'm not entirely sure how that's fair in the least.
Nobody is holding me down. I'm quite happy in life, but I'd also like to see a stable government that is fiscally responsible and as long as we allow the ultra rich to make the rules that will NEVER happen.
A complete LIE.
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