Why are people jealous of the rich, intelligent, and powerful "Elite"?

reply to post by grapesofraft


well it sounds like a case of certain folks seeing the end result vs. the hard work it took/takes to achieve certain material items...hard work typically pays off in this country. but what one person views as "elite" may mean nothing to someone else. perspective is key here too.

reply to post by pakarbb3


A star for you. Very good point. Peoples perception of who is "elite" probably changes from person to person. Also, I agree that hard work and a good plan pay of in this country.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by nunya13

 

Look the fact is economies grow and economies shrink. I dont agree with the bailouts, not because it is going to a bunch of "elites" but because it is wrong to help something that has failed to survive. They should just let them go bankrupt and let us deal with the consequences no matter how painful and let somebody who knows how to run a business buy up the good pieces that are left. That is how it was meant to be.

But that's the thing. Letting them go bankrupt was never an option. The money only went to the elites. It wasn't because they were too big to fail. It was because they were too connected to NOT get bailed out by their friends in Washington.

They had very poor business practices. Too poor to be merely a horrible 'mistake'. They knew what they were doing and they knew they would be saved by their buddies in the end. All that mattered in the meantime was conjuring up crooked practices in order to get even more money than they already had.

These are the people I am angry with and that I fear because they have way too much power for any one person to be able to handle responsibly. It's not intelligence they have it's lack of ethics and lust for money and the ability to step all over whomever they want in order to get what they want. Some people don't have that ability. Thank God. And it's not even just one person that has the power. When you take all of these individuals who are connected to other individuals with power you get massive amounts of money and power in the hands of the few and the meager masses are left begging for their mercy. But there's no money in mercy.

Look at what they did to our economy. You can blame it on Obama all you want but he's just their buddy. So was Bush. Don't forget Bush was the one who signed the bailout bill. Obama then matched it by throwing money we didn't have out the window. You can blame it on people that couldn't pay their loans but these companies/banks knew these people shouldn't have been given loans in the first place.

I knew someone who worked in a realty firm and she said that they rubber stamped the majority of people that walked through the door regardless of credit history or income. The banks were enablers to people who stupidly though buying a house or getting a credit card with too high a limit was a good idea somehow. And the banks willingly enabled them because they got something out of it. MORE MONEY.

Wall street and the corporations have the politicians in their pocket. They can basically do anything they want and get away with it. It just takes the vote of a well bought of congressman/woman and the stroke of a President's pen whose ties to these people got him the seat at the desk in the oval office.

This is why I don't like the elite. These are the elite I and most people are referring to. Why in the heck would any of us ever be jealous of unethical, low-down, dirty crooks?

The elites are the ones who are well connected to people on wall street and in the government, have too much money for what they THINK they've contributed to society, and know they can do whatever they want and they will be bailed out in the end whether it's with money or pulling legal strings.

Take Madoff for example. He was just thrown to the wolves. Do you think any of these CEO's that ran their company into the ground and were rewarded with the hard earned tax money that you and I gave them will ever be investigated and brought up on charges. Nope. For the reasons I illustrated above. They know enough people in certain places for that to ever happen.

Madoff was the sacrificial lamb thrown to the hungry masses to rip to shreds and sit back after their bellies were full, grab a beer, watch some reality TV and forget that this whole mess even happened.

reply to post by grapesofraft


Well if you read my post that is what I said that everybody should have to pay the SAME percent as the next person. However, if you mean that the average Joe should pay a million dollars in taxes that they don'r even bring in in a year, then how do you suppose they come up with that kind of money.
AS for people B**** about it, doesn't inherently make them jealous. Maybe it's because they do feel that they are being treated unfairly, honestly, because they do get a lot of tax breaks, and they do pay less on their earned wages, Percentage wise. I never really hear anyone on here complaining that they are not wealthy whaaaaaaaa as another poster put it. But there are those that do hard labor and build those people's empire's and aren't getting paid their worth. Not to say that's happening in all instances, but it does happen. And I don't think anybody lumps all of the wealthy in one category.

reply to post by FritosBBQTwist


You took it in the wrong context I don't despise them, but like I said in the post that followed the one you quoted, The OP just wants to inflate his ego, that's really the intention of this thread. He feels self important, therefore he posts this to make himself feel more self important. That's what I was getting at. Also just because somebody inherits a trust does not nor never will make them better than me, that's my other point, but this Poster thinks that everybody who doesn't have money covets them, which is absurd.

[edit on 2-7-2009 by ldyserenity]

[edit on 2-7-2009 by ldyserenity]

Originally posted by nunya13
reply to post by grapesofraft

 

Seriously? Your defense on not address the answers YOU yourself asked for is that you don't have the time? But you have the time to explain your actions and STILL not address people that have replied to your question.

And to imply that everyone else must just be sitting on their butts all day hanging out on ATS instead of working for their money, is once again, very presumptive of you.

That, that right there is a good point. That's what was in his thread! Right. You said it so well!!!! He presumes everyone is sitting on their BUTTS[b**** that they want more money], that was the point I was trying to make, most people I know are not sitting on their Butts, mostly they complain because they just want equal treatment and respect!

[edit on 2-7-2009 by ldyserenity]

reply to post by ldyserenity


Wow now you are a mind reader. That is incredible. I did not create this thread to inflate my ego. You dont know whether I am rich or poor.

My point of creating this thread was because I keep hearing people complain about the "elite" and corporations, etc... The only common things I could find as to why they would complain about that is because
1. They are jealous
2. They need someone to blame for their lives.

reply to post by ldyserenity


Why should people sitting on their butts get any respect. I do agree they need equal treatment, but somehow they are handed what they need to survive while the rest of us have to work for what we need and now what they need.

reply to post by ldyserenity


That is exactly my point. Maybe the people would stop the government from continuing to increase their spending if everyone in this country had to pay an equal share of the taxes. So if the bill is 2 trillion a year then everybodies taxes should be 2trillion/number of tax payers. Then maybe people would realize how the government is screwing all of us.

Instead people keep wanting the rich to pay for more so they can get free infrastructure and services. Is that fair? Does a rich guy use more government services than a poor guy? Probably not, so why should he have to pay more.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
I always here people complaining about the "Elite" controlling the world and holding us all back. That is just ridiculous. We live in a country that is full of opportunity. Why is it that a person can come here from a foreign country and become successful, if there is some group of people that are holding everyone back? Why is it that a kid could leave high school or college and start a business and become wildly successful, if we are held down by the Powers that Be?

I think it is just a matter of being jealous of people who have developed the skills to be successful, while some people are incapable or unwilling to do what it takes to succeed.

So tell me why is there so much hate of people who succeed, and why do you consider them a threat to you. Why do you call them the elite, when they are no different from you other than the fact that they have greater accomplishments?

I can't remember if I replied to this or not, but I don't want to search back through it all. LOL

No jealousy here, me and my dh are successful small business owners. Only problem with the 'elite' is that I feel sorry for them, they are not any better than anyone else.

I blame no one, I am responsible for my own actions, my own feelings, my own success and my own failures! The 'elite', whoever that is, have nothing to do with how far I can succeed.

reply to post by grapesofraft


You keep talking about people that sit around on their butts all day. You seem to have just as much time posting on this forum as other people do. "Let he is without sin cast the first stone".

Secondly, a very small percentage of the population owns a very large percentage of the wealth. Whereas, us lazy, ungrateful bottom feeders work extremely hard for our money, they just invest some of it and basically only make earnings by sitting around on their butts while their large sums of money gain interest via dividends/capital gains, investing in other people's businesses, buying houses and having people pay rent on them, etc.

Making a smart business decision doesn't make you an intelligent person.

So what is the difference between these rich people sitting on their butts letting other people make money for them versus someone who "sits on their butt" but still manages to work a full time job, go to school, or even work two jobs while they are making all this money for those who are sitting on their butts reaping the benefit of other people's hard work?

Why are you so jealous of people who don't feel the need to take advantage of others and aspire to be millionaires?

reply to post by nunya13


If we did not have investors though, many companies would have a hard time starting up, going national, etc.

This allows good ideas to make more money than they normally could, even if it does means paying some in return.

Life is not fair. When we try to make it fair, we will make it worse for everyone. People are given the chance to succeed, no matter how small. Some are higher, some are lower. In correspondance with free will, "fairness" does not have much as an effect.

We ALL can not be on top. Always will be an upper, middle, and lower, no matter what item is being used as "currency" or "power".

I wasn't suggesting that investing itself was bad. I was responded to the OP's notion that all of us lazy, government moochers supposedly just sit on our butt all day, when in actuality, someone who has a ton of money only has to invest it into someone else's good idea or hard work, sit back and relax, and let the fruits of other people's labor fill up their bank accounts.

The OP keeps suggesting that anyone who isn't rich are lazy people which is such a ridiculous notion. We work harder for less money than many of the elite. We loath them because they take advantage of other people's hard work and are able to do just about what ever they want because of the connections they have to other powerful people whether they be in the corporate world or the political world.

reply to post by grapesofraft


i do not hate the people who strive and make a honest buck and become successful. I do hate the greedy ones who steel from people and do not manage an honest job and treat peoples unfair or anyone else who do this tactics in all areas of life.
the greedy ceo who takes and gets to much pay, does not deserve. the ceo moves the company overseas so he pays less to peoples. this person is a greedy pig and we all know what happens to pigs to market,anyone for bacon.
i think all pigs like this should be treated accordingly, so go out and get a pig and dish the pig how it should be served. roasted pig is good. so check your alarms, lock your doors and call the police when you hear a bump in the night. so check the usual spaces for the gremlins. you know what happens to gremlins when they do not get treated right. so peoples around the world keep an eye on your pig it may get rabbies and become greedy and foam at the mouth. if this happens you know how to deal with it, and deal with it swiftly with your own judgement. i think roasted pig is the best.
people are not jealous, they are sick and tired of being abused. the whole system is abusing the american and we the people fed up with it. the greed-------greeeeeeeeeed. ok, lesson learned.

reply to post by grapesofraft


oh i don't hate anybody.

i do have a problem with anybody making decisions that affect me directly without my having any knowledge or input on the matter.

like a guy trying to rob me....if he is rich or poor makes no difference.

it is my decision to offer wealth or material.
it is not his decision to take it.

the principle is known as liberty.

there is a lot of talk about those kinds of decisions and a lot of it comes from people who don't KNOW, and therein lies (part of) the problem.

somebody here quoted d. rockefeller.

i know that quote.

this one too:

"We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years... It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. "

- David Rockefeller, June 1991 Baden, Germany


and this one:

"If the people knew what we had done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us."

- George H. W. Bush, December 1992


and this one:

“The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes”

-US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965)


and this one:

"The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes."

- Benjamin Disraeli, 1844


and particularly this one:

"Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the U.S., in the field of commerce and manufacturing, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.”

-Woodrow Wilson - in “The New Freedom” (1913)


.along with a few hundred others i've collected, all stated for the record by well known people of the world, all having to do with the same subject, from one perspective or another.

these men are not "conspiracy theorists".. they are leaders, many are men of long bloodlines of power and influence, or had direct knowledge of them.

those of you that are dismissive should really catch up on history.

"elitism" has been going on for a long, long time and only a person unknowledgeable of humanity's history would deny or attempt to diminish the importance of this fact.

i don't hate any of them.
i never used to even think about them.
i began to think about them when i began to read history.
i think about them alot, now.

this is what bothers me : why all the secrecy?

i think it comes down to choices made and choices to be made.
the phrase "you can't please everyone" applies.

now its a matter of trust.. for me, at least.
how do you trust anyone who is holding back on you?

when did life become a poker game?

does money or power or influence or a five century long bloodline really authorize an "elite" to make certain decisions?

...like perhaps this one?

"1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature."

-The Georgia Guidestones, erected March 22, 1980 (which, as it happens, has its own mysteries of origin)

.. i don't have a problem with the rest of what is on that monument, but...

who gets to decide that?
when?
how?
what "culling process" is to be used?
is there to be suffering?

i don't much care how it regards me, i'm old and maybe even useless, but i have a lovely grand-daughter who lives cleanly and with honesty and compassion.

i would despise anyone that would think they have a right to decide whether she lives or dies.

Originally posted by nunya13
I wasn't suggesting that investing itself was bad. I was responded to the OP's notion that all of us lazy, government moochers supposedly just sit on our butt all day, when in actuality, someone who has a ton of money only has to invest it into someone else's good idea or hard work, sit back and relax, and let the fruits of other people's labor fill up their bank accounts.

The OP keeps suggesting that anyone who isn't rich are lazy people which is such a ridiculous notion. We work harder for less money than many of the elite. We loath them because they take advantage of other people's hard work and are able to do just about what ever they want because of the connections they have to other powerful people whether they be in the corporate world or the political world.

I see your point. It is a bit "sickening"...but to me, that is still not a reason to hate the rich.

Most of them are still intelligent people who have worked hard their life to get to their spot now. I am also sure they work a lot, even if it is not scrubbing floors, but more likely sitting at a computer analyzing whatever information.

Nobody is stopping you from learning the stock market, going to school, getting jobs at the bottom, and working your way up.

As I said, while it is easier for some, real talent will let you prevail.

I am personally jealous of those who have it so easy. But that jealousy is also inspiration. I have friends who actually HATE rich people...because they are stuck up snobs? Get real. Different life style will change you, but many are still nice at heart.

reply to post by FritosBBQTwist


Oh bother...lol

I think the MAJOR problem I have isn't ALL rich people. You shouldn't generalize. I hate the ones who are scum bags and no one can deny that there are those whose ONLY motivation is to step all over other's to get to the top. To get more power. To get more money.

There are people, young/old, rich/poor, that suffer for the actions of the few. Ergo, the very situation we are in with the economy right now.

I don't know how to make that any clearer.

On another note, I wasn't saying that those who know how to make money off the stock market are all bad either. My point to the OP was that he complained people sit on their butt all day, and assume those people are poor and lazy, but their are a lot of rich people who also sit on their butts all day letting others make money for them.


He was equating that with being poor and I don't think that was an accurate correlation to make.

My problem with the OP and many of his threads and posts is that he is an absolutist. Everything is black and white and it most certainly is not.

reply to post by nunya13


I read "your" post as a generalization so that is what I responded with. Sorry if that was not the case. We more than likely agree on this subject and it is just a few words mixing us up

About things being black and white. It is just like saying for someone to pick a number between 0 and 1....the chances of it landing on 0 or 1, which in this case would be black and white, are almost NOTHING. NADA.

I don't think the OP is being absolute, but basing his post of off his opinion/generalizatio of ATS users and the "hate" of the "superior". Except when questioned, many who are the targets run, we are left with useless arguments of whom many actually agree.

JEALOUSY.....I DONT THINK SO, WE ALL DESERVE WEALTH ....AND USE OUR TALENTS, INTELLIGENCE TO DO SO...
BUT WHAT HAPPEN WITH THE ELITE THEY HAVELOTS OF MONEY TO NOT LET OTHERS SHINE, THEY WANT IT ALL,AND THEY WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, THAT'S WHY IS THE ELITE

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by _Phoenix_

 

I am of the belief that we all suffer bad luck from time to time, but that people who succeed use it as a way to improve themselves whereas people that fail use it as an excuse as to why they have failed.

Easy to say but the reality is much different. The way our society operates means that we will always need people to do the crappy jobs. If everyone on the planet was Bill Gates then one guy would still be on top and many others would still be delegated to sweep the floors, clean the toilets, pull the weeds, etc. This is a huge flaw in our system. There isn't room for everyone to succeed.