Why the disdain for “rich” people ?

[dsf]

I hope the link works but if not - "As Good As it Gets" and look for "noodle salad".



I think most would say it's wrong to draw conclusions about someone's character because they were tight on money. That Dad must be lazy or not so bright because the family had an older car, not the latest niceties or unable to travel for a vacation. Or take a vacation. And no summer home. Would be poor form to make those assumptions.

Alot of those same people have no problem assuming a well off person must have lied and cheated, screwed over their best friend, etc just to get ahead. Or that they tripped in to the money and absent such luck lacked any talent or ability to make it on their own.

FWIW I think the reason is more closely related to resentment than envy.

 

[Grayfox]

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.

Of course not. We have the best form of government on the planet. A Constitutional Republic. However, we the people failed to do our part. We didn't watch closely enough or pay attention. As a result, these rich people and corporations have corrupted and bought our government until its so badly broken it no longer works. Everybody knows that bribes are how government really works. That's just SOP for Washington.
The best things that could happen for this country are term limits, ending PACs and for the people to pay attention and speak up.

 

[Jimbo41]

Interesting conversation.
I worked for ‘the man’ for a while then started my own business. Invested my own money, and nearly lost it all at 45 and again at 55. Had I lost it I’d have had my family and my home, probably would have qualified for social programs while I tried to dig out. For those of you that are near 55 consider being flat broke 5 or 10 years from retirement. Anyway, with hard work and the grace of God it worked out.
In my ‘best’ year I earned 266x what I paid my lowest paid employee.
I’ve cut my pay and increased theirs, this year I’ll make less than 50x my lowest paid employee. I’m proud to have had pretty much the same executive team for 20+ years.
But what’s really interesting is that if I look at what I’ve earned from my business, it’s less that 25% of what the government has taken from me and my business.
For me it was the only path, but before you judge me for what I’ve earned, ask yourself if you ever really put everything you owned on the line.
That last line reminds me how much I appreciate our military. I never served, I love America, but my mind isn’t wired to risk everything without the opportunity for commensurate reward. I don’t understand the reward, but am thankful that others do, and I don’t begrudge the tax dollars used to give those folks everything we owe them for putting it all on the line so the rest of us can do what we do.
Sorry for the long post, it just sorta happened.

 

[Protocall_Design]

To me, the richest man is not the one who has the most, but rather the one who needs the least.

 

[paddlingman]

The only rich people I disdain are the amount of Senators and Congressmen amassing great wealth from Foreign Lobby Groups. America is for sale or should I say politicians are for sale. How much to purchase a Senator these days? Just saw recently that one received 7 million. And that was not even the under the table money that he receives.

I believe we should simply call them traitors. Certainly traitors to their oath and the power entrusted to them.

This country is full of victims these days. It's always someone else's fault.

The entitlement of "I deserve." Repulsive, isn't it?

 

[Deke Thornton]

JFK would be excoriated by the people currently running his party.

Ditto Ronald Reagan.

 

[Doug M.]

I have found while in LE and prosecution that some of the worst conduct came from the "entitled", so this resulted in a bias. I often cut the working poor/underprivileged a break on some minor stuff because they did not need me to make things worse. People of status, like me to a great extent, should not be driving with no insurance, etc.

 

[22hipower]

Of course not. We have the best form of government on the planet. A Constitutional Republic. However, we the people failed to do our part. We didn't watch closely enough or pay attention. As a result, these rich people and corporations have corrupted and bought our government until its so badly broken it no longer works. Everybody knows that bribes are how government really works. That's just SOP for Washington.
The best things that could happen for this country are term limits, ending PACs and for the people to pay attention and speak up.

Perhaps, but another factor is that when more than 50% of citizens don't pay federal taxes, but can vote, they may not have much incentive to vote against spending. Especially spending which flows to them.

 

[DixieRanger]

If you can take a slice of humble pie, look up "The Man In The Mirror" poem. No idea how to post here.

 

[Kiwi cop]

I teach college (I know, I know, insert how awful and the 'L' word professors are here) - the complaints currently arising, at least from the young people I encounter bringing this up, are in regard to wealth inequality, not simply 'rich' vs poor. Wealth inequality has grown quite a lot in our country and most developed Western countries.

Rich people, eh let'em be rich. But also let'em pay taxes at the same rate w/o dubious financial shelters and a thousand safeguards for private business that guard the business before the worker. (And yes, I have sucessfully owned and run private businesses; I disdained it so I go into teaching.)

That's all I'll say on the matter here, but it's the disparity between the common worker and the CEO that angers people - and probably rightfully, as it has never in modern history been such a deep gap.

*Wanted to add - while I personally am, as Ray Charles once put it, 'comfortable', it is my earnest belief that if I invented the bloody wheel, put into place all the business organization and construction for its build and continual use, and started WheelCo, Inc - as founder and CEO I would still NEVER deserve 300x (or more) what my lowest paid worker makes.

Wealth inequality will continue to be a problem until those that rails against it realise that it is the system that is the problem.

When a certain segment of the population claim more back in economic subsidies than they pay in taxes and where the bulk of taxes are paid by the middle and upper middle class there is an issue.

As for the rich "not paying their fair share" there are two issues. One is that 33% (our current Kiwi top tax rate under $180,000 annual income) of $1,000,000 is still ten times more than 33% of $100,000. That is everyone paying an equal share percentage wise. But some do not see it that way and want these earners to pay more.

The other is that a "progressive" tax system is actually regressive. Just ask the Brits who almost went bankrupt as a country in the mid- late 1970's when the draconian tax rates (up to 98%) imposed to pay for the rebuild after World War II remained in place when the rebuild was complete. That is when "the rich" started to use tax havens to avoid paying "their fair share".

It will be a very brave leader who tries to c change the tax system to one that id "fair for all".

 

[biku324]

I have found while in LE and prosecution that some of the worst conduct came from the "entitled", so this resulted in a bias. I often cut the working poor/underprivileged a break on some minor stuff because they did not need me to make things worse. People of status, like me to a great extent, should not be driving with no insurance, etc.

And those with wealth and connections often could get their tickets 'fixed' in the lower court if they were of a mind to do so. However, the wealthiest man in Gallup, NM was arrested for DWI several years ago - he never even asked for special treatment, went to court, and pled guilty.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

This Forum consists of modern-day men and women of whatever age spending time on computers when they're not spending time on the range or spending money on guns or spending time at work or spending time with family, fishing, traveling, etc. If there are "poor people" on this Forum I'd like to meet them..........

 

[65-2x2]

I don't know why folks have a hard time understanding why people are resentful.

There is a huge and rapidly growing disparity of wealth in the country and it is not all because the lower half doesn't deserve more and they are not all a bunch of bums. If you divided the population in half the top half of the population owns about 98% of everything, the bottom half owns 2%. Looking at it from another angle the top 1% if wealthy people own 30% of all of the wealth of the nation. That has changed a great deal just since 1989. History tells us that, sooner or later, the resentment will turn to action, and that, my friends, will be a very ugly thing.

I don't resent wealthy people. I worked, as a tradesman, and my wife as a professional person, we worked hard and long and we got a fair shake and we tried to make the most of it by being thrifty. We are living out the end of life in (very) modest comfort, but I am no longer sure that that will be possible for young people today.

 

[GypsmJim]

We are living out the end of life in (very) modest comfort, but I am no longer sure that that will be possible for young people today.

My son fits into that classification. We offered him a college education, but as it turned out he didn't like it, so he went another way. Working his butt off and moving up the ladder on his own.

Then, he DID go to college, but paid his own way. After years of changing jobs and moving up he is now an executive. He married a girl who was just like him.

Now, he lives in a $1MM house and is on track to retire at 55.

The young people today can truly exceed us. But it takes a lot of hard work and planning for the future. Those that sit around and lament how bad it is today are not going to make the big time.

 

[Jimbo41]

There is a huge and rapidly growing disparity of wealth in the country and it is not all because the lower half doesn't deserve more and they are not all a bunch of bums.

This is entirely true. Generational wealth is a thing, and if your grandparents had bad luck or made bad decisions, and my grandparents had good luck AND made good decisions, odds are that I have had opportunities that you did not, that I could take chances and reap rewards that you never could. The disparity grows geometrically with each successive generation. It happened in the industrial age, then got knocked back by regulation, but it’s coming back now. Maybe AI will trigger an adjustment, eliminating huge numbers of mid-level white collar jobs while having little effect on trades; or maybe that makes the situation worse.

I don’t know how to fix this, or if it should be fixed. How can it be fixed without discouraging the hard work, innovation and investment that have made America the economic engine of the world? It is not the problem, it is a symptom of capitalism.

 

[quikdraw67]

There are many people who have more money than me. Some inherited it, some worked very hard for it, some invested wisely.

There are many people who have less money than me. Some were born into poverty, some have addictions and lost everything, some don't make as much as I do. Some made poor life choices.

Either way, it doesn't bother me. I only have to worry about myself. If you're wealthier than me, congrats. If you're not, it's not my problem.

I have found it's much easier to go through life with this mentality.

 

[Bald1]

I agree Jim. I came from nothing. The youngest of 5 kids. Dad worked and mom stayed home to raise kids. My parents never owned a home. But we lived with a sense of decency. No handouts. We needed more? Dad worked OT. I did the same thing. Ran my ass off all my life. Planned to retire at 55. Back injury and surgery forced me out at 53. In my 20s my friends in college were partying. I was going to work at 5am. I bought my first house at 21. I worked nights, weekends, holidays and my days off…………This is America. Plenty of opportunities. But you gotta put in the work. I think the people who resent the wealthy have no idea how hard many of them worked. Or how many risk they took. I’ve dabbled quite a bit in real estate. I know what risk is. Some never will. They’re to busy feeling sorry for themselves.

 

[GypsmJim]

This is entirely true. Generational wealth is a thing, and if your grandparents had bad luck or made bad decisions, and my grandparents had good luck AND made good decisions, odds are that I have had opportunities that you did not, that I could take chances and reap rewards that you never could. The disparity grows geometrically with each successive generation. It happened in the industrial age, then got knocked back by regulation, but it’s coming back now. Maybe AI will trigger an adjustment, eliminating huge numbers of mid-level white collar jobs while having little effect on trades; or maybe that makes the situation worse.

I don’t know how to fix this, or if it should be fixed. How can it be fixed without discouraging the hard work, innovation and investment that have made America the economic engine of the world? It is not the problem, it is a symptom of capitalism.

My parents and grandparents were "comfortable", but not rich. Maybe lower middle class. We had food on the table and and clothes on our back, but no fancy stuff. But then again, Mom was the only one to actually finish high school. Dad joined the Navy on December 8, 1941 because he felt the need.

I don't know how to fix it either, but discouraging hard work is NOT the way to go.

AI will certainly make some people rich, possibly at the expense of others.

My wife has cancer, and thus sees more doctors than usual. A recent EKG came back with a report that she had a heart attack. SAY WHAT? She didn't feel bad. The recommendation was go to the hospital and have more tests.

A call to the doctor gave a tweet response (not even had the balls to call her): " I just read the EKG and you are OK." SAY WHAT, YOU JUST READ IT? Oh it was read by AI and it was not correct..........

Now we have to find another cardiologist. Our first interview question will be "do you use AI to review your test results?".

AI is the work of the devil.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Have no issue with anyone for being rich . I have issues with some of the ways many of them got rich . Stealing , Influencer , Only Fans , any of those I look down on pretty hard. No apologies for my opinion , I think all of those mentioned are trash .

 

[Denverd0n]

Lot of people bemoaning the gap between the "rich" and the "poor." Given that the "poor" today (in the U.S., at least) have a materially better standard of living than the middle classes had 60 years ago, the only reaction I can work up is... So what?

I'm just seeing a whole lot of envy. Which really just translates into greed. Greed to take away some of what they have, so that you can have it for yourself. It's not a pretty image.