And you probably disagree that a 29-2 is worth $5k or a pre-war HD worth $10k and yet we saw those prices yesterday. The market is the authority on value, one's work or one's assets.
For whatever its worth, my Dad would have agreed with you 100%.
Why the disdain for “rich” people ?
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For whatever its worth, my Dad would have agreed with you 100%.
Would you be comfortable suggesting an alternative style of government that would work better? And "better" of course would be in the eye of each beholder.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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The "rich"-who pays attention to them ? Recall the term "the jet set" , they were a favorite of the society and the gossip columnists, the papparazzi, etc. People who lead dull and boring lives pay attention to them, those of us who often find there are not enough hours in the day don't have the time for them.
Years ago I heard a Republican Congresswoman-Millicent Fenwick here in NJ tell a heckler at a public meeting that if NJ were to confiscate EVERYTHING from the 50 wealthiest families in NJ that would cover the state's budget for ONE year-then what ?
Whenever I heard someone complain about the huge salaries sports figures receive-"They make more in one day than a teacher makes in a year !" I point out the Big League teams are very selective in who they hire , their revenues come from tickets, merchandise, etc. that are bought by fans who can chose NOT to spend their money that way
Years ago I heard a Republican Congresswoman-Millicent Fenwick here in NJ tell a heckler at a public meeting that if NJ were to confiscate EVERYTHING from the 50 wealthiest families in NJ that would cover the state's budget for ONE year-then what ?
Whenever I heard someone complain about the huge salaries sports figures receive-"They make more in one day than a teacher makes in a year !" I point out the Big League teams are very selective in who they hire , their revenues come from tickets, merchandise, etc. that are bought by fans who can chose NOT to spend their money that way
"Don’t tax you. Don’t tax me. Tax the guy behind the tree."
Like the one born from this philosophy? "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"
We all know how that worked out, don't we.
Ahh yes...the fare share crowd. I have yet to hear any of them actually define what fare share is.
SGT ROCK 11B
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All men are not created equal. A example is not everyone can be a doctor. Same with plumbers. Plumbing businesses that failed is due to incompetence of their plumbers.
A friend of my son has a grandfather, father and an aunt who are doctors. His career, pool boy. 20+ years cleaning pools and for extra money during the holidays works as a security guard.
A full 50% of Americans pay zero income taxes. Their votes count as much as the richest persons. I’m fresh back from a “vacation” so that is all. Joe
Yep. Folks deriding “the rich” solely because they are rich is odd.
But I find the number of people who are eager to rush to defend the rich to be equally strange.
As far as I’m concerned, they can fend for themselves.
But I find the number of people who are eager to rush to defend the rich to be equally strange.
As far as I’m concerned, they can fend for themselves.
OP
She’s got a face for office work. Not tv.
OP
This post is tough to follow with grammatical errors
On the other hand:
The chart titled “Wealth inequality: Europe and the U.S., 1810–2010,” taken from Thomas Piketty’s influential book Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Harvard University Press, 2014), illustrates a sharp rise in U.S. wealth concentration among the top 1% and top 10% since around 1980, after a mid-20th-century period of relative equality. While both Europe and the U.S. experienced high levels of wealth inequality in the 19th and early 20th centuries, only the U.S. has seen a significant return to those levels in recent decades, with the top 1% now holding over a third of the nation’s wealth. This stark divergence suggests that inequality in the U.S. is not merely a perception but a measurable and growing phenomenon. The data underscores that income and wealth inequality in the U.S. today represent a serious structural issue, likely to affect economic opportunity, social mobility, and political stability.
Eye of the beholder and all that.
OP
But surely you’d agree the CEO is worth many more times the wage of an entry level “whatever” ? I’m a retired teamster. I was an elected union rep. I was on the bargaining committee. I’ve seen the books. I know what management and officers of the company made. I also saw what the owners made. It never bothered me. Because if they were making money. I had a job. I guess I only worried about me. That’s all I could control.
And yet I suspect most would love to join their ranks. And more will if we pursue policies that create capital formation rather than those that kill the geese that lay the golden eggs.
This is a educational and revealing thread. At 77 feel am not rich by many standards but have zero debt. Conservative by nature and never felt need to 'keep up with the Jones'es' and paid as i could afford what i have. Wonder the future of those particularly young folks who have to have the latest car, new homes and anything to show their status altho can't really afford to do that. They cannot save for their old age so when they turn 65 all they have is social security to live on while still in debt. Gonna be a tuff lesson.
OP
Why do you think that? That’s kind of an open ended statement. Elaborate please.
I think it was Buffett who said "Leave them enough so that they can do anything they want but not enough so that they can do nothing."
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Envy is part of the human condition.
When we have politicians that prey on this weakness for personal gain and their parties power it divides the country. JFK would be excoriated by the people currently running his party.
Even the poorest person on this forum is wealthy compared to much of the world.
I'm just a blue-collar retiree but feel wealthy.
When we have politicians that prey on this weakness for personal gain and their parties power it divides the country. JFK would be excoriated by the people currently running his party.
Even the poorest person on this forum is wealthy compared to much of the world.
I'm just a blue-collar retiree but feel wealthy.
Yes, consumerism in full bloom but also perhaps due to a failure of our education system to help folks understand finance. The magic of compound interest over time is impressive when understood. My young grandson couldn't believe how much $5k invested now (think ROTH IRA), growing at 8% while adding $5k every year, would become in 50 years. When I showed him his interest in investing rather than buying the latest junk changed substantially. Lately our discussions are often about what stock might provide the best return over time. Just about every dollar he earns this summer as a lifeguard will go in to his ROTH account at the end of the year.
That magic of compound interest, of course, works in reverse when we borrow money. Our educational system largely ignores that too I think.
