Screw Income Equality

a reply to: thedigirati

That doesn't mean to not reach higher than our base nature, or not to look for ways to compensate for it for the good of all. I'm not an idealist btw, I think compensation is required, not reaching higher. I don't expect humans to change in some drastic way. I expect any improvements to society to require compensating for, taking consideration of, and find ways to deal with, and work around the various issues we have as a species.

I do disagree though on man being inherently dog eat dog. I think we are more varied than that, and such mentality only applies to some.

Ah, the BS of the American dream running free. The total lie of "if everyone works hard they can achieve the dream" BS. The prime example that no one wants to bring up is the American penchant for sending your kids to university to "get a degree" therefore get a better job. No matter what degree they come out with, say nuclear physics, it doesn't matter that all the nuclear physics jobs are filled, turn out another 100 who get their degrees and end up flipping burgers. Now multiply that up to the 10s of thousands with lower degrees that have absolutely no chance of getting a job with their degrees. Ah, the American dream!!!!!

a reply to: Edumakated

I do well but I know some high dollars people and what they tell me, being wealthy is not easy. In many ways their quality of life is worse than someone making much less. Constantly stressed out, working long hours, no family time. Mark Zuckerberg, people see wow, that guy is mega rich but look at his life. Constantly worrying about how to stay on top, worried about his safety, employees, government cracking him over the head.

Screw that. I would not want to be him. Most people crying about income inequality could not handle a fraction of his problem without falling to pieces mentally.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I agree, but those past generations were not subject to this post modern Moral Relativism that our society is doused in now.

In Relativistic world Your A+ is meaningless just as much as my D+

No need to achieve or strive. And if you make me feel badly about my D+ then you violated my right to be happy.

Solution, take down these arbitrary marks of success so that no one feels too bad or too good.

Reward the ones who uphold equality and point to the political system that protects their “rights”

The new universal human rights are far from rights and more like claims. The relativists see what they want and stake claim to it, then weave it in as a right. Yet a right implies that there is a duty or responsibly of another to uphold that right.

‘The foundation of human rights were fundamentally a negative thing, like the right not to have your property taken away, or not to have you life taken away. It’s fairly easy for one to respect and fulfill their duty to others for these kind of rights. Now we have added rights to the list that are positive, like the right to have a job, or the right to health care.
Who’s duty is it to uphold these rights? ‘ (Paraphrased from Roger Scruton interview: See video below.)

I’d love to see hardworking people get rewarded. But the bar has been lowered so much or in many cases the bar has been removed, so this generation drifts on the whims of the elites. It will be easy to throw money at them.

It will be their “right”

Sad indeed

a reply to: Edumakated

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize there was no such thing as a liquid billionaire/multi-millionaire.

I was obviously referring to those who have their entire net worth tied to a company's best interest.

I can't possibly see anything wrong with companies holding wealth, that can't possibly be equated to an individual doing the same.

After all, this is America, where corporations are God and delusion is a right.

At one time all the countries in the world had limits on what wealth could be took out of the country which stopped people who made their millions of the workers backs from taking it out of the countries economy. They had to re-invest in the same country. Buuuuttt, off shore accounts.
My pet peeve is royalties and patents. This will get you shouting. Now you get this Bill Gates chappie. Launched his business with a friend and its self generating. He came from nothing. Hurrah for him. NOW, I want to be the same as him. But the world is skewed in his favour.
I'm a time served carpenter, spent 5 years on low wages to attain my trade. Now say I put a new door on Mr Gates house using my time served expertise. Now what would MR Gates say to me when I said "Mr Gates every time you use that door you've GOT to give me $10, going in or out". It's only fair, the same system. Would he agree. Would he f###. And that there is the problem. When rich people have got the money they have the power to give or not to give. The poor have no choice at all.

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
a reply to: Edumakated

I do well but I know some high dollars people and what they tell me, being wealthy is not easy. In many ways their quality of life is worse than someone making much less. Constantly stressed out, working long hours, no family time. Mark Zuckerberg, people see wow, that guy is mega rich but look at his life. Constantly worrying about how to stay on top, worried about his safety, employees, government cracking him over the head.

Screw that. I would not want to be him. Most people crying about income inequality could not handle a fraction of his problem without falling to pieces mentally.

Yeah, it isn't all glamorous.

People really have no idea how hard some people work to be successful. The hours, stress, and strain on family and personal lives. They just see the cars, etc.

Some of these people have miserable lives. A lot of the people who make it to the upper echelons of say Wall Street, Law, f500 literally have to kind of sell their souls. The live every waking moment thinking about work.

Want to see your daughter go to prom? Screw you, we have a presentation to work on. Family vacation? Sorry, interrupted by the board meeting. Son's little league game? Too bad, don't leave the office till 9pm. Oh great, it was a short week... only worked 60 hours. Over time, what's that? GTFOH. You are management.

Next thing you know, you are 60 years old. Kids hate you as you were never around. Wife is banging the physical trainer. But hey, you were the youngest VP in company history!

a reply to: Edumakated

Next thing you know, you are 60 years old. Kids hate you as you were never around. Wife is banging the physical trainer. But hey, you were the youngest VP in company history!

I worked for a very high level person once. She told me that one year was very busy and between all her travel and her husbands, they literally only spent two weeks that entire year together. She laughed...

I can only speak on my expirence, was I lucky?? maybe. did I sacrifice, I think so, others may not..

My father was born in 1931, to alocholic parents, Grampa was a golden glove boxer, and a mean drunk.

My father started working making bricks for 5 cents each at 17 he worked for 50 years, and saved 50% of his wages.

He did not go away for vacations, his time off was spent fixing the house, he did not own a new car, he did not own a new suit, he did not get a color TV until 1974 (he only missed 10 days of work for illness/doctor visits)

(Yeah AFTER nixon) but he did invest, he told others he was taking a risk, but he was a "company man", so he invested in his company.

he would not buy new things, he would either fix broken things or make his own.

every summer we made hand made kits, they were amazing thinngs not a triangle but round spinners and such, dragons, odd things.

he saved money every week, and every week he would ask my MOM, what do we need Vs what do we want.


he could have had new everything, last month his investments mad him 1000$ a day

he said it's weird to make more money retired then when he was working, his total output for a month is less then 1000$

thats food, electric, and property taxes, the house is paid for, I would not be here but he became blind 4 years ago.

he even pays his own insurance, and it's very good insurance.

how

self control, like when he quit smoking, he carried a pack in his pocket for a month but never lite one up, then tossed them

I had to use patches to quit smoking after 45 years, but I did quit.

everything in life is self control, because that is all one CAN control...

a reply to: Edumakated

No, we're aware. It's an unhealthy obsession, like a hoarder, or an addict. It consumes every part of their being. They have an insatiable hunger a need that can't be filled. It's unhealthy, and they expect the exact same obsession from the rest of us. They are willing to do it, and if they're willing to give up everything, they expect everyone else to do so as well.

Most of them could retire, and live a life of ease. It's not like they are forced to keep working like this. They can't stop because they are sick, a sickness that will infect the whole world. There's no thought to consequence, just filling that never ending need. It's #ing scary as hell...

a reply to: Edumakated

I've actually backed off on work hours and am close to selling my business.
The stress and the time required is pretty rediculous to be honest.

I might change professions just to work a normal 40 hour week.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: JAGStorm

My wife see's people with $100k incomes and $60-$100k in credit card debt all the time.

Lots of school teachers making $75k and paying overdraft fees on their checking accounts.

I know people who makes more than 300k a year and live payday to payday... It is not how much you make but how much you spend and we are the #1 consumer society on the planet. We are so far off the bell curve in this you cant even compare us to anyone else. I just look at what my 20s were like in the 80s and we are much different today in what people see are rights compared to privileges.

It is funny, isnt it, how capitalism the motto, but god forbid if someone did it better or cheaper.

I'm pretty sure, America has tonnes of open positions an a huge demand for trades, but no body want it? I could move down to the states an apply for citizenship an make a killing if needed be.

What happened, not being home and at work all day made the children soft yet bitter to the point that they hardened to reality.

Taxes, ten percent, what a #ing joke. How unpatriotic not make such a small sacrifice compared to 30.

So Burgerville is a small local chain hamburger place of around 47 restaurants. They made big news a few years ago by making their minimum wage 12.50 per hour. Now their employees are going on strike as Burgerville said they will raise minimum to 13.5 per hour but the employees want 17.50 per hour.

This is the world we live in now where the employees need 17.50 to feed their consumer driven spending rights....lol

a reply to: JAGStorm

fiscal irresponsibility is a big problem with people.

being debt free is a liberating thing to do for yourself.

originally posted by: subfab
a reply to: JAGStorm

fiscal irresponsibility is a big problem with people.

being debt free is a liberating thing to do for yourself.

I make good money and my cars are not cheap, BUT I keep them a long time as in 15+ years unless I wear them out. I never have more than 1 car payment and I go sometimes 5 to 10 years without one. The car I drive now is 11 years old with 230,000 miles, and it looks like I will most likely replace it next year only because I'm seeing that it is reaching a point that it will cost me more to keep it.

a reply to: Xtrozero

that is the right way to be.

i've been debt free for over a decade now.
no car payment
no credit card payments
no loans

the only two debts that i see as "good" are a home loan and educational loan.

originally posted by: StallionDuck
Sure... 65k a year sounds wonderful but it's only great if you live in a small town with no economy. If you're living in a big city, you can't afford to make any less than that. Living in other cities and small towns throughout my life, it's pretty much the same no matter where you live. The cost justifies the salary and no the other way around. It makes it so middle class is really low class and the rich remain rich. There is such a huge gap between the 'can afford' and 'can't afford'.

This is what a LOT of the naysayers keep forgetting, be it willfully, or due to naivete. What we make and live extremely easily on here in MI does not cut it for basics back in FL where we came from, and I'm not talking in just Tampa itself. This income wouldn't pay the rent, utilities & groceries in 100 miles in any direction there, no matter the no-horse boondock bedroom community picked.
I.E, the wide flux in local economies & local CoL are royal bitches to contend with and nullifies the "you spend poorly" arguments. We never spent poorly. We still do not spend poorly. The buck simply stretches a f# of a lot further here up north than it does back down south.

What really needs done before we can even settle on baseline incomes/credits/whatever you want to call it is a stable, country-wide CoL with hard caps & legit inflation reworking. When we tackle THAT, we make serious headway in any other venture.

originally posted by: subfab
a reply to: Xtrozero


the only two debts that i see as "good" are a home loan and educational loan.

I pay for my kids education out of pocket, but they work hard to get private scholarships. My one son is in his 2nd year as an EE and his first two years at a top engineering school has cost me only 7,000, plus I bought him a car that cost me 11,000. He is actually living at home these first two years, and that is another cost I didn't need to pay, hence why I bought him a car.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: TonyS

I am all for capitalism but the system needs be restored to some degree of balance or it will tear itself apart.

Of course there are things that need fixing. For one I think companies that fail, should fail.
I think companies that do illegal things should be punished more, especially when using illegal labor.

it is more than that today. Almost every single thing is corrupt. Everyone looks the other way while the People winning have cheated their way to the top.
There are many who will never get an opportunity to compete because of shear corruption. I knew a guy who won all the bids on his contracts because he had a friend inside where the bids came in who let him know what they were and he bid last a dollar more every time he is now a millionaire, prove it though.
I read a few years back the guy that showed how even the school in Ca let the administration "invest" any extra, they could divy up the income but if the school was short money the next year, the "invested" income was allowed by law not to be counted.