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^ Excellent response to an acrimonious, deceptively-phrased post.
But trying to use rationality and reasonableness with people who believe property is the root of all evil is probably ultimately a lost cause.
Thanks. And the part I also left out...when you permit the government to overrule property rights in one situation, it becomes a battle over who can wield that power and use it to their benefit.
That's why there are a number of thinkers who warn of the masses learning that they can just vote themselves free stuff. Things just start to fall apart because the incentives shift. You should be rewarded for being productive, but it becomes a situation where you're rewarded for being unproductive, and PUNISHED for being productive.
Not people like Paris Hilton or Sean Lennon. That is who I was talking about, the American Aristocracy, not people who actually earn their money
Paris Hilton actually has multiple product lines, generating millions of dollars of revenue and employing thousands of people, and pays taxes on the sale of those products.
That's the estate of your average successful businessperson in NY or CA.
You'll be wanting to get out a bit more, for the purpose of expanding your intellectual horizons.
The overwhelming majority of people in New York and California have nothing close to that kinda estate wealth! So obviously, neither does most of the country.
I get it that the recent proliferation of billionaires has changed the mindset of many if not most people as to what rich or wealthy is, but some of you are getting carried away.
5 million dollars is life altering money for damn near every American with the exception of maybe 3-5% of the population. That's life altering for you AND for me. I certainly wouldn't need to work another day in my life. At 51, I'd be rich. Period, point blank.
No, not mind numbingly rich, but rich just the same. There's nothing that I want to do that I couldn't do. And as long as I don't do something stupid, like buy a Bugatti, that's enough to ensure that my son would inherit a tremendous amount of wealth too. And that's AFTER spending the next 25-30 years living the good life.
Now could that amount of money be easily squandered if not managed carefully? Yes. Of course. But with proper management, that's enough to live extremely well and leave adequate wealth behind for your progeny.
You really are going there, ok, being that I understand how this works having done it is 2016, I will remind you that all those properties can and often are liquidated for the cash value, the value is what matters. You have a different definition of rich than the vast majority of Americans.
I am sorry for your loss.
I don't think my definition is that different. I just understand how quickly the value of those assets can add up.
Neither me nor anyone in my family is rich, by any stretch of the imagination. And any inheritance I receive will likely not be in excess of $5.5 million. But, I also know that there are people who are much better at managing their finances and financial health than I. I would say I am in the minority in that area. Just take a look around at some of the threads posted here - there are many people who anticipate being millionaires (at the least) when they retire within 15-20 years. Or they plan to retire early. Many have 401ks and retirement accounts that they are diligent about contributing to.
Then there is all that other stuff. I see the value of property increasing almost everywhere.
I guess I can just see that the *very rich* are a very small minority. This break is not impacting just them - it is impacting a lot more than the top 1%.
You support this kind of retributive redistribution, this use of government coercion in service of some nebulous social engineering goal, and you see it as righteous and just that the government gets to create these laws, use force to enforce them, and reap the financial rewards from them? You think concentrating such power in this institution is the way we ought to go?
You have a lot more faith in and reverence for the government than I.
No reverence, just realism. The only way to prevent oppression is to prevent the concentration of wealth and power into the hands of the few.
Paris Hilton actually has multiple product lines, generating millions of dollars of revenue and employing thousands of people, and pays taxes on the sale of those products.
RR
Who do you think actually creates the clothes? Probably slave-laborers in sweatshops in third world countries. Ms. Hilton gets rich off of their labor.
Who do you think actually creates the clothes? Probably slave-laborers in sweatshops in third world countries. Ms. Hilton get rich off of their labor.
For the record, sweatshops are the best option for those people. Ms. Hilton is doing them a favor, believe it or not. Blame the economic conditions of their country rather than the person bringing them jobs. They choose the sweatshop over their alternatives.
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