[ACoochy]

...

[ACoochy]

...

[Ralphie Halves]

Directed at the article, not you Cooch...

I've never been a fan of this argument, just because it's never done right. You'll see this with the leftist agendas -- "We should do this, and this, and this, because it's really unfair", yet they have no idea how to do it, and everything they do try to come up with wouldn't work anyway.

You take the good with the bad when it comes to capitalism. There's no perfect system.

- Raising wages would F over a lot of small business owners who are not rich.

- Overtaxing the wealthy would just mean they'll take the super high taxes they already pay to a different country that doesn't tax their balls off. Then you lose their tax money too, and it's a lot.

- "Inequality" needs to be defined, or you're going to be giving a lot of free shit to a bunch of lazy failures, thus setting a bad example for these "future generations" they're so worried about. Do not incentivize failure and bad decision making!!

- Gender equality is a whole other thread topic, but nobody EVER takes the time to present both sides of this argument, and there are two very clear sides.

- Some lobbying is good. It gets programs that would normally be ignored the things they need. It took me awhile to realize this too.

"We need to DO something about this". Eh, maybe. What you NEED to do first is stop generalizing and map out how exactly you plan on changing this. Until then, stop whining, you're accomplishing nothing -- except for a lot of whining.

For now, I'm going to work on being part of that 1% instead of complaining that I'm not. And if you try to take my money, I'll go somewhere where you can't.

[TheMoneyShot]

If you own a home without a mortgage... you're considered in the 1% wealth group? What?

If that's considered elite... man this world is changing. Did I read that right?

[Ralphie Halves]

If you own a home without a mortgage... you're considered in the 1% wealth group? What?

If that's considered elite... man this world is changing. Did I read that right?

Probably assumes you were able to buy it with cash and don't need to worry about a mortgage.

[DrunkHorseplayer]

If you own a home without a mortgage... you're considered in the 1% wealth group? What?

If that's considered elite... man this world is changing. Did I read that right?

That's the top 1% in the world, not in the US.

[Mr KLC]

Who cares? I hear about the mean, dastardly 1% and how they need to be brought down. What's the alternative? Run to the sweet, honest government for help? Hell, the majority of them are in bed with these guys anyway. I bust my tail at work everyday, have a mortgage, and am raising 3 children. Life is great. There is one thing I've learned in life. It is not always fair. There are those that make the rules, and those that follow them. I know that I am in the "follow them" category, and am willing to accept it.

Going into the category of the 1% being unfair leads to the path of jealousy and envy, IMO. I don't want their money. I didn't earn it, and I don't want my children following the example that all you have to do is whine and complain, and you can possibly get redistribution "wealth". My mentor always said, "Why settle for crumbs, when you can have the whole pie". Instead of bitching about the 1%, and hoping for a few morsels, I believe the best path is to get off our asses, and if we truly want to, get as much of that pie that we can.

[newguy]

If you own a home without a mortgage... you're considered in the 1% wealth group? What?

If that's considered elite... man this world is changing. Did I read that right?

It says if you have over $700k in assets which is the avg house price in London so their example is if you own a house in London w/o mortgage your 1%. I'm amazed assets need to be that small, $700k to be 1%. That's really not that much at all in the US.

[rkelly110]

Those that make policies are 1%ers themselves, take contributions from 1%ers and are for the 1%ers.

That's 3 strikes against the little man, we are out.

You will take what your employer gives you and like it. Not working? Tough shit, rob your neighbor or sell drugs.

Imagine a world where everyone had a job and made good money, no one would have time to terrorize, rape,
murder, be pedofiles, rob or sell drugs.

Put that in your brain and smoke it.

[OTL]

So, if your net worth is $760,000 you're considered in the top 1% in the UK?

LOL, in North America these people are average middle-class Joe's.

[newguy]

Those that make policies are 1%ers themselves, take contributions from 1%ers and are for the 1%ers.

That's 3 strikes against the little man, we are out.

You will take what your employer gives you and like it. Not working? Tough shit, rob your neighbor or sell drugs.

Imagine a world where everyone had a job and made good money, no one would have time to terrorize, rape,
murder, be pedofiles, rob or sell drugs.

Put that in your brain and smoke it.

How do you do that? That is what communism is basically right??

[trytrytry]

"get to top 3% and be happy with it"

[Ralphie Halves]

Imagine a world where everyone had a job and made good money, no one would have time to terrorize, rape,
murder, be pedofiles, rob or sell drugs.

Put that in your brain and smoke it.

Again, a great Utopian theory, but not real. People that have good jobs and good money did something to deserve it. God forbid.

[TheMoneyShot]

If you own a home without a mortgage... you're considered in the 1% wealth group? What?

If that's considered elite... man this world is changing. Did I read that right?

I mean... I guess if you didn't have a 30 year mortgage... and didn't pay all that interest to the bank for 30 years... you'd be up near the elite. Funny how that works though.

Sometimes owning a home... isn't really the american dream. Making smart moves... and watching where that "interest" goes is the better alternative.

[d2bets]

So, if your net worth is $760,000 you're considered in the top 1% in the UK?

LOL, in North America these people are average middle-class Joe's.

Middle-class Joe's are not worth $760,000. That'd put you in top 10% in U.S overall, though depends on age group.

[jjgold]

Big money divide

Rich still getting richer and poor getting poorer

[rkelly110]

How do you do that? That is what communism is basically right??

Can't be done unless, like communism, everyone works for food/ lodging.

The communists of the time didn't have crime. Now that they use capitalism, they are crime riddled.

[No coincidences]

Directed at the article, not you Cooch...

I've never been a fan of this argument, just because it's never done right. You'll see this with the leftist agendas -- "We should do this, and this, and this, because it's really unfair", yet they have no idea how to do it, and everything they do try to come up with wouldn't work anyway.

You take the good with the bad when it comes to capitalism. There's no perfect system.

- Raising wages would F over a lot of small business owners who are not rich.

- Overtaxing the wealthy would just mean they'll take the super high taxes they already pay to a different country that doesn't tax their balls off. Then you lose their tax money too, and it's a lot.

- "Inequality" needs to be defined, or you're going to be giving a lot of free shit to a bunch of lazy failures, thus setting a bad example for these "future generations" they're so worried about. Do not incentivize failure and bad decision making!!

- Gender equality is a whole other thread topic, but nobody EVER takes the time to present both sides of this argument, and there are two very clear sides.

- Some lobbying is good. It gets programs that would normally be ignored the things they need. It took me awhile to realize this too.

"We need to DO something about this". Eh, maybe. What you NEED to do first is stop generalizing and map out how exactly you plan on changing this. Until then, stop whining, you're accomplishing nothing -- except for a lot of whining.

For now, I'm going to work on being part of that 1% instead of complaining that I'm not. And if you try to take my money, I'll go somewhere where you can't.

Not disagreeing with any of this in theory necessarily, but I've always been confused by how adamantly some defend the current system, when clearly, reform is needed. There are so many willing to kick the can down the road in the name of "capitalism," and as a result, the wealthiest of the wealthy get exactly what they're seeking -- defense from the masses.

[No coincidences]

Who cares? I hear about the mean, dastardly 1% and how they need to be brought down. What's the alternative? Run to the sweet, honest government for help? Hell, the majority of them are in bed with these guys anyway. I bust my tail at work everyday, have a mortgage, and am raising 3 children. Life is great. There is one thing I've learned in life. It is not always fair. There are those that make the rules, and those that follow them. I know that I am in the "follow them" category, and am willing to accept it.

Going into the category of the 1% being unfair leads to the path of jealousy and envy, IMO. I don't want their money. I didn't earn it, and I don't want my children following the example that all you have to do is whine and complain, and you can possibly get redistribution "wealth". My mentor always said, "Why settle for crumbs, when you can have the whole pie". Instead of bitching about the 1%, and hoping for a few morsels, I believe the best path is to get off our asses, and if we truly want to, get as much of that pie that we can.

You are right if everyone is on a level playing field. They aren't. If you want to play by the rules and stake your claim, by all means, do so. I couldn't agree more. But when said rules are different for everyone and the system is rigged to assure the rich get richer as a true middle class shrinks, we've collectively got a problem.

[No coincidences]

"get to top 3% and be happy with it"

A lot of this issue/problem stems from the idea that money -- or even wealth -- somehow ensures happiness. It doesn't. Would it make life easier? In certain respects, yes. But I know plenty of wealthy people who are miserable, and plenty of broke people who feel like they've got the world by the balls. If you define yourself by how much money you make or spend and nothing more, you'll always be chasing contentment. And that goes both ways; some feel like if they only had a little more money they'd be happy, some feel like because they have a whole lot of money they should be happy. Doesn't work that way. But this collective obsession with it as a society is putting us in a world of hurt.

[afgballer56]

Who cares? I hear about the mean, dastardly 1% and how they need to be brought down. What's the alternative? Run to the sweet, honest government for help? Hell, the majority of them are in bed with these guys anyway. I bust my tail at work everyday, have a mortgage, and am raising 3 children. Life is great. There is one thing I've learned in life. It is not always fair. There are those that make the rules, and those that follow them. I know that I am in the "follow them" category, and am willing to accept it.

Going into the category of the 1% being unfair leads to the path of jealousy and envy, IMO. I don't want their money. I didn't earn it, and I don't want my children following the example that all you have to do is whine and complain, and you can possibly get redistribution "wealth". My mentor always said, "Why settle for crumbs, when you can have the whole pie". Instead of bitching about the 1%, and hoping for a few morsels, I believe the best path is to get off our asses, and if we truly want to, get as much of that pie that we can.

its weak people like you that have put our world in a scenario like this.
you cant just accept things. you have to fight for your rights and strive for equality amd actually try to do good rather than just accept the status quo like a coward

[chico2663]

well read where the top 1 % has as much percentage of wealth as they did before stock market crash. I worked for a little known company called trans-america. These assholes kept cutting the contract before and after the meltdown. I was doing more for less money. It got to where I was working the 13 hr work daysthe first 16 days of the month. They would tell us in meetings that if we didn't like it there was a shit load of people wanting our jobs. I will tell them to kiss my ass all the time and they wanted to fire me but were afraid of my client base leaving with me(even though we had a noncompete clause) I finally got tire of their shit and left. Within 3 months my sales man.,district man and regional managers lost their jobs because no one could collect my book.

[Ralphie Halves]

Not disagreeing with any of this in theory necessarily, but I've always been confused by how adamantly some defend the current system, when clearly, reform is needed. There are so many willing to kick the can down the road in the name of "capitalism," and as a result, the wealthiest of the wealthy get exactly what they're seeking -- defense from the masses.

I completely agree. There are ways to make it better, but these pie-in-the-sky solutions are ridiculous and lazy.

To make bankers/politicians agree to receiving a lot less money is almost impossible. It would take something drastic, some level of actual force. That's the linchpin that you would have to break to set everything else in motion. Good luck figuring that part out.

[Mr KLC]

its weak people like you that have put our world in a scenario like this.
you cant just accept things. you have to fight for your rights and strive for equality amd actually try to do good rather than just accept the status quo like a coward

Yep! I'm weak and I'm a coward. What rights are you exactly talking about? The right to demand money I have not earned myself? The right to waste my time and whine like a bitch, instead of going out there to stake my claim if I choose so? I started out in the fast food industry at 18 making $3.55/hr. I worked my way up to Asst. Manager at 20. Got my first General Manager position at 23. Got tired of fast food and moved to bill collecting at 30. Had to work 2 part-time jobs for the first 3 years until I got good at it. Have been doing it for 17 years now. I am debt free except for my mortgage. My wife has not worked for 7 years now. We've raised 3 children. High school diploma, no college at all.

Why do I bring this up? I could have been like all of those kids out there, bellowing and crying, waiting for that wonderful day that someone in Washington would throw me a few crumbs. The system is not perfect. I agree with that, but it has helped me live a fulfilled life because I was willing to put forth the effort, and I had the drive. To live the life I wanted, I didn't have time to worry about what everyone else was doing. There's that old adage that if the runner worries about the competitor behind him, he will soon slow down and get passed by. Maybe if more people thought this way, we would have more rich people to share that higher tax bracket.

[Mr KLC]

You are right if everyone is on a level playing field. They aren't. If you want to play by the rules and stake your claim, by all means, do so. I couldn't agree more. But when said rules are different for everyone and the system is rigged to assure the rich get richer as a true middle class shrinks, we've collectively got a problem.

"Adversity introduces a man to themselves." Again, the world is not fair. Some people start at the top, and have to put little effort in. Some people start at the very bottom, and have to literally kill themselves to achieve greatness. One thing I can say though is that I appreciate everything that I have scraped for in my lifetime. America is one of the few places I could do it in.

[The Kraken]

Most Americans are willing to look the other way on this issue because the average American is a white male. The majority of 1%'ers are white males. So the avg American connects with these white, male 1%'ers. They fantasize about being them, they think because they're both white men, then the 1% represents their needs, which is the exact opposite of what really takes place. If a majority of the 1% was black, the avg white American male would be raising hell right

[packerd_00]

Directed at the article, not you Cooch...

I've never been a fan of this argument, just because it's never done right. You'll see this with the leftist agendas -- "We should do this, and this, and this, because it's really unfair", yet they have no idea how to do it, and everything they do try to come up with wouldn't work anyway.

You take the good with the bad when it comes to capitalism. There's no perfect system.

- Raising wages would F over a lot of small business owners who are not rich.

- Overtaxing the wealthy would just mean they'll take the super high taxes they already pay to a different country that doesn't tax their balls off. Then you lose their tax money too, and it's a lot.

- "Inequality" needs to be defined, or you're going to be giving a lot of free shit to a bunch of lazy failures, thus setting a bad example for these "future generations" they're so worried about. Do not incentivize failure and bad decision making!!

- Gender equality is a whole other thread topic, but nobody EVER takes the time to present both sides of this argument, and there are two very clear sides.

- Some lobbying is good. It gets programs that would normally be ignored the things they need. It took me awhile to realize this too.

"We need to DO something about this". Eh, maybe. What you NEED to do first is stop generalizing and map out how exactly you plan on changing this. Until then, stop whining, you're accomplishing nothing -- except for a lot of whining.

For now, I'm going to work on being part of that 1% instead of complaining that I'm not. And if you try to take my money, I'll go somewhere where you can't.

Yeah they just leave up to the rest of us poor f@ckers instead,bunch of bastards.

[ACoochy]

Alot of valid points in this thread from both sides of the agenda

Point is, the current system has become so top bottom heavy with wealth thats failed to trickle down (like it was originally designed to do) that eventually something will have to break that will once again begin closing the gap on inequality.

Maybe a move away from Western laissez-faire style of economy and a move toward a more European form of fiscal function is needed??

[Ralphie Halves]

Yeah they just leave up to the rest of us poor f@ckers instead,bunch of bastards.

Gotta blame the system on that one. UK just as bad. USA and UK's wealthy often look for reasons to move of park their money elsewhere.

[Ralphie Halves]

Maybe a move away from Western laissez-faire style of economy and a move toward a more European form of fiscal function is needed??

Yeesh. Europe's system not looking enviable these days.

Believe it or not, America's economical system is doing quite well, and is what many other are looking to model.

Bottom line for me, I know I won't be able to change something that's damn near impossible to change, nor would I feel strongly enough to do it. So I try and take the good parts, and make the best of it. And to be thankful I wasn't born elsewhere.

[No coincidences]

Most Americans are willing to look the other way on this issue because the average American is a white male. The majority of 1%'ers are white males. So the avg American connects with these white, male 1%'ers. They fantasize about being them, they think because they're both white men, then the 1% represents their needs, which is the exact opposite of what really takes place. If a majority of the 1% was black, the avg white American male would be raising hell right

Probably a certain amount of truth to this, especially if you read SBR.

And those 1% appreciate their gullible stupidity for blindly tailing.

[CappinTerp]

This is very old news.....been going on for a long,long time.