How much time until the wealthy wring the last of the wealth from the rest of us?

[rickc]

A lot of wealth and success envy in this thread.

If the rich are getting richer without breaking any laws, more power to 'em....I'm not mad and I dont hate them; its not my money, its theirs.

Problem is they own the ones who write the laws. Therein lies the rub.
Can't blame the rich. Can blame our bought and paid for representatives

 

[The Old Soul]

if 40 years ago, you put $ 25 a payday into a 401k and just put it into the S&P500, you still would have done exceptionally well....

It is about consistent investing....adding more, as you make more....and paying yourself first

My old boss's admin assistant (used to be his secretary) who has been with him for 37 years, went into the program on day 1 she started with the company....She is a millionaire

Time and dividend reinvestment are your friend....

Yes, your flavor of investing can work, but its not for everyone; there are too many people who spin the wheel - like plowing every cent into their own business, which may or may not fail with uncontrollable and controllable forces at work like luck or CV19 for instance. Then there are the artists, inventors, gamers, outdoorspeople, explorers, adventurers, humanitarian volunteers, and those who just can't find the lust for money compelling or sufficiently abundant in their vocation. Nose to the grindstone is not a life worth living for many, especially with so many non-rewarding grunt labor positions that have absolutely no sense of reward or accomplishment other than a bank balance.

Anecdotally speaking, After many years being a business owner (I had a motorcycle shop among other things, which paid poorly) I decided to try a safe way to 'success;' I went back to college, graduated with a degree in Computer Science, and landed a very comfortable job working for a major credit card company - but after a few years, it felt like I sold my soul to the devil. I got sucked into it mattering what kind of car I drove, where I lived, what my house cost, and what my pay scale was; I was money rich, and self esteem and happiness poor, so I quit.
Now that I actually had some money, I was making a LOT in the Real Estate market, so invested heavily. Income was soo good, and required so little time, that I signed on with the Hospice that so kindly helped my Father pass through death's door, as a Respite Caregiver, which was both full time, and a volunteer position. Long story short, I hit the perfect financial storm in 2008 when the luck ran out; what looked like a bullet proof investment went belly-up big time with the rest of the industry, and basically wiped me out.
The one thing that pulled me through was working at Hospice and doing something that actually mattered, which I stuck with as long as I could while reviving the (now downsized, and barely profitable) motorcycle business; I love working with and for the M/C industry - it is the 2nd most enjoyable an fulfilling vocation of my life. Now I'm retired, living off my S.S., and making a few bucks wrenching bikes for the locals; once again, life is genuinely good. In retrospect I would not have taken life's little detour, but can't deny that the excursion into the corporate world was very enlightening, and not for me. I learned the way to genuine happiness to chase dreams, and not the almighty dollar.

 

[ataraxia]

I agree, though Most of the people supposedly not having “enough food” are obese, this is another left false narrative.

But suppose you are right, how does that equate to successful people taking wealth from them?

Heck I pay for the interstate highway system Jeff Bezos drives on. Should I be complaining?

Which is why the US does those things. But suppose we don’t, how is that somehow taking from others?

It's not. Where did you get the idea that it is?

 

[Bum]

Problem is they own the ones who write the laws. Therein lies the rub.
Can't blame the rich. Can blame our bought and paid for representatives

If someone is being bribed, let the law deal with it.....not my problem.

 

[ataraxia]

Oh. OK. No problems then.

There's always going to be problems. Doesn't mean we don't always try to keep fixing them and making things better, right?

 

[Port & Starboard]

The top 20% of Americans own over 70% of the wealth of this nation and that percentage is growing. The bottom 50% of Americans own 1% of the wealth of our nation and that is decreasing. Most middle class Americans, those that are left, have most of their wealth tied up in the equity of their homes, which if they are unable to pay their mortgages because of the Covid epidemic, may soon disappear. The wealthy and the GOP constantly talk about our tax system redistributing money and wealth from the wealthy to the poor, but if the wealth distribution in our country is any kind of gauge, that is not true. Wages in this country have remained about the same when you look at inflation for about 30 years, and yet during that time the wealthy have gotten wealthier. So at what time or how long will it take with low wages until the wealthy of this country have wrung all of the wealth of the country from those who do not belong to their "class"? And please do not argue that the wealthy are not a separate class in this country.

Nobody is stopping anyone from making a buck.

Stop your whining.

 

[ataraxia]

Nobody is stopping anyone from making a buck.

Stop your whining.

No, but if a kid is stuck in a bad place: bad schools, bad nutrition, etc... they are not really going to have much of a chance. If society gives him that chance, everyone benefits in the long term. It's not a zero sum game.

 

[Ginger Ale]

Looks like someone needs to explain the nature of capitalism vs, the nature of socialism. In capitalism, ingenuity, hard work and perseverance are rewarded. Some people have those qualities, some don't. The people that do have these talents create opportunities for those of us with other talents. This results in a high standard of living for a majority of people, but not all.
Socialism attempts to make a more equal society, but fails because these more talented people don't do what they do. There is no incentive to excel.
There's no perfect world, but socialism isn't the answer.

Crony capitalism isn't the answer either. It's an unfair playing field, and that's the problem.

 

[Simpletruther]

Heck I pay for the interstate highway system Jeff Bezos drives on. Should I be complaining?





It's not. Where did you get the idea that it is?

Ridiculous. It’s more like he pays for the you drive on, like millions of times more than you.


And it’s called 800 billion in assistance to the poor. Where did you get the idea we do not?

Not counting billions more indirect aid like free school, free roads, lots of free health csre etc.

 

[Moderate Right]

There's always going to be problems. Doesn't mean we don't always try to keep fixing them and making things better, right?

We can make things better but stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is just plain theft. I'm all for making things better.

 

[independentusa]

You already call them the one percenters. How much more can they get? Why is it the wealthy's fault that they make money and the simple minded morons don't? Are you now trying to admit that the war on poverty never worked, that just giving people money doesn't work? Are you now willing to admit that it is nothing but jealousy that someone's got more money than you?

Jealousy that they are psychopaths that think that eventually enough money will make the human. I look at the family that own Walmart. They all have billionaires and yet many of their employees are on Medicaid for health insurance and get food stamps because their employer makes sure they do not get enough hours to collect benefits. So middle income tax payers are paying for those employees to have food and insurance so the Waltons can get richer. Yet they want for their corporations and themselves to pay less in taxes and GOPers think that some of that money will someday trickle down to them. And they are not the only ones.

 

[rickc]

We can make things better but stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is just plain theft. I'm all for making things better.

Stealing from the Rich?

Please explain. I assume you feel paying taxes is stealing?

Well it is the cost of living in this great country. It is the cost of doing business in this great country.

Of course you do have a choice.

Taxes have varied wildly throughout this country's history. Last time the top marginal tax rate was this low was the Hoover days. Income inequality the same time period. It always ends in disaster.

 

[Ginger Ale]

We can make things better but stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is just plain theft. I'm all for making things better.

So, you think it should be even-steven? So do I. So, do I get that same breaks or do they stop getting them? Which should we do, either way, is good.
For instance, If the pond by my house looks like a good place to dump my garbage and waste, can I get the government to bend or end the clean pond policy for me?

Let's just make it even then.

As a small company, with 5 workers, I get nowhere near the tax, and policy breaks that big business gets.
Why, because I don't have lobbyists I pay to get them, nor can I donate a ton of money. That's not a fair system, it's crony capitalism and it turns our government into an oligarchy. Might as well just have family money picking our leaders.

 

[Rogue Valley]

How much time until the wealthy wring the last of the wealth from the rest of us?

Within the first year of a Trump second term.

 

[MamboDervish]

Right. The capitalist system is the enemy of the proletariat. Got it.

Sorry Van Winkle - much smarter people than you have tried to put words in my mouth and failed. I won't be stereotyped. I'm not the two-dimensional cartoon you've just exposed yourself to be.

 

[Grandpappy]

Sorry Van Winkle - much smarter people than you have tried to put words in my mouth and failed. I won't be stereotyped. I'm not the two-dimensional cartoon you've just exposed yourself to be.

If you don't like being called a communist, stop preaching marxist dogma. If you don't know it's marxist dogma, read about it.

 

[MamboDervish]

If you don't like being called a communist, stop preaching marxist dogma. If you don't know it's marxist dogma, read about it.

ZZZZ ... zzzz. Back to sleep for you, Van Winkle

 

[Craig234]

The top 20% of Americans own over 70% of the wealth of this nation and that percentage is growing. The bottom 50% of Americans own 1% of the wealth of our nation and that is decreasing. Most middle class Americans, those that are left, have most of their wealth tied up in the equity of their homes, which if they are unable to pay their mortgages because of the Covid epidemic, may soon disappear. The wealthy and the GOP constantly talk about our tax system redistributing money and wealth from the wealthy to the poor, but if the wealth distribution in our country is any kind of gauge, that is not true. Wages in this country have remained about the same when you look at inflation for about 30 years, and yet during that time the wealthy have gotten wealthier. So at what time or how long will it take with low wages until the wealthy of this country have wrung all of the wealth of the country from those who do not belong to their "class"? And please do not argue that the wealthy are not a separate class in this country.

It's worse than that. According to Wikipedia, years ago the top 20% had 96.5% of the wealth, and it's only gotten worse since. But propaganda factories that serve the wealthy spin the facts in various ways to make things look fine. For 40 years, nearly all economic growth as the economy has doubled and tripled has gone to the to0 1%, wit the top 0.01% doing far better. There's a reason they largely own the government.

Wealth inequality in the United States - Wikipedia

 

[Aurora]

Hard work is rewarded? Not for most people it isn't. They get a paycheck and their employer informs the IRS how much the employee earned and in essence it's almost impossible for anyone getting a W-2 to cheat on their taxes. Ingenuity and perseverance if you're lucky might pay off and get the average joe an upper middle class life. A whole bunch of folks get their money handed down to them through their families, like our president and we all know how he is with money.

Some leftist's types want to make sure nothing gets handed down to anyone.

 

[Aurora]

High taxes on the rich just cause them to hide their income. And income tax is not such a good way to help the poor. A healthy economy with plenty of jobs helps the poor more than anything.

However, our economy is very sick thanks to the corrupt alliances between the financial industry and the government. It was heading for a crash before the pandemic started. The current bailouts are setting us up for bigger crashes and creating devastating debt.

Some people think people should get a check, some believe people should have a job.

 

[Aurora]

Jealousy that they are psychopaths that think that eventually enough money will make the human. I look at the family that own Walmart. They all have billionaires and yet many of their employees are on Medicaid for health insurance and get food stamps because their employer makes sure they do not get enough hours to collect benefits. So middle income tax payers are paying for those employees to have food and insurance so the Waltons can get richer. Yet they want for their corporations and themselves to pay less in taxes and GOPers think that some of that money will someday trickle down to them. And they are not the only ones.

Not all corporations are like Walmart. There are plenty of companies that pay very well and provide great benefits. If we had more jobs than workers , wages and benefits would remain high. Flood the country with immigrants, illegals, migrants H1B's from India, etc wages collapse. Some politicians love trade deals that encourage companies to go offshore, some politicians want companies to come home.

 

[Aurora]

Awwww...pooor widdums. Did the evil bad rich person sneak into your hut at night, steal your pennies, and shove your face in the mud?

Wealth is not a zero sum game. The rich dont get rich by wasting their time thinking about people liem you, much less stealing from you. If you fail, go find a mirror, look at the person staring back at you, and kick that person right square in the ass, because THAT is who is to blame for your pathetic miserable existence.

Holy ****...what HAPPENED to people in this country.

[video]https://www.chicksonright.com/blog/2020/07/24/youre-about-to-fall-in-love-with-this-black-woman-whos-got-a-message-for-the-morons-whining-about-statues/[/video]

But the rich are making you poor........

As the Amazon truck pulls up to their house with Chinese made junk in it.

 

[Aurora]

I'd say Kennedy's tax cut was warranted, or was at least useful. when the top tax rate is ninety something percent, that's just stupid. however, trickle down in the 2000s has just been letting the rich raid the treasury over and over again.

The rich can't raid the treasury. Politicians ..congress controls that.

 

[Helix]

The rich can't raid the treasury. Politicians ..congress controls that.

No yes

 

[Ginger Ale]

Some leftist's types want to make sure nothing gets handed down to anyone.

It doesn't lead to job growth, economic growth, or income growth. There is no trickle-down, that's just a line to make it palatable for people like you. I'll show you, and you'll still find a way to justify it.

Trickle-Down Economics: Four Reasons Why It Just Doesn't Work - United for a Fair Economy

"The past 40 years have seen a gradual decrease in the top bracket's income tax rate, from 91% in 1963 to 35% in 2003. It went as low as 28% in 1988 and 1989 due to legislation passed under Reagan, the trickle-down theory's most famous adherent. The Clinton years saw the top bracket hold steady at a higher rate of 39.6%, but under the younger Bush's tax-cut policies, the rich are once again paying less. The drastic change in tax policy that has taken place since the early 1960s gives us a great opportunity to study and evaluate the claims that lower taxes for the rich translate to more wealth for the average American."



It's just money in (government) money out (big business). It's a perfect scam.