They say it because as BILLIONAIRES they know they'll never truly lose money. They have so much that even if you increase their taxes by 10% they'll still have more than enough money in profits to pay for it. Besides, they'll just find other business ventures to invest in to make still more money. If you listened to those billionaires in the interviews, you should have heard them say they want to reinvest their earnings right here in AMERICA on AMERICAN businesses that create products right here IN AMERICA! You and I both know that manufacturing has gone down in this country for years. As such, these wealthy individuals have little choice but to invest their money overseas. Doesn't it then make sense that if you want them to bring that money AND those jobs back here in the U.S., you have to create manufacturing jobs here IN AMERICA?
As one of the supporters of the Occupy movement, I WANT the 1% to increase to %5...10%...20%....25%...50%. I want more Americans to become part of the wealth class. I do envy them, but in a good way. I think most of us would be lying if we said we didn't want their oppulance. My only beef is with those who act like those investment bankers in the book, "Too Big to Fail" who fought among themselves not about what was the right thing to do to preserve the properity of the nation, but rather they fought among themselves to retain or GAIN a larger piece of the economic pie and cared less about the fate of the nation. That's what I have a problem with. That's what the Occupy movement is trying to convey to all of America.
Let's reverse this argument just for a second, however, and direct it at the poor. I don't blame all poor people for their economic situation. I know some who are poor not by their own choosing or their own doing. Some got into unforeseen accidents and have medical bills they can't afford. Some lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Some went from a two-income household to one primary bread winner; in some cases it was due to one spouse losing his/her job, in others, one wage earned left (divorce). These people I have no problem whatsoever lending a helping hand to. But those who take advantage of the entitlement system and are, in fact, lazy and don't want to work but instead purposely rely on WIC, TANF, Medicaid/SSDI - those people I do have a problem with. But make no mistake, there IS a difference between the two bottom extremes just as there is a difference between the two top extremes. Moreover, to think that laziness and addictive behavior only happens with certain demographics, i.e., Blacks, Hispanics or other minority groups alone, is just wrong! It happens with people across ALL racial divides.
Once people start viewing things not from one extreme or the other, but seek a more middle-ground point of view, then and only then I believe will this nation beging to really change.
