Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%

[Avatar4321]

What coveting? Most of us don't want this for ourselves.

I never understood the selfish nature of Conservatives.

You do understand that whatever you STEAL from the 1% isn't gonna go to bottom 10% don'tcha? Or haven't you figured out that it will just DISAPPEAR into the giant black pockets of Congress? Just like the $3TRill stolen FICA excess that we are now PAYING FOR AGAIN.. 535 mental midgets are gonna spend it wisely?

Here's a clue -- you can't STEAL IT fast enough...

That's NOT a solution to getting America a 21st Century economy.. It's a massive failure of leadership to be pumping on the class war.. A failure of HISTORICAL proportion...

The failure was George W. Bush.

He lowered taxes for the rich, started two useless wars, created an trillion dollar unfunded drug program, and allowed Wall Street to run a $516 trillion dollar derivatives Ponzi scheme.

Now we have to raise taxes on the rich, re-regulate Wall Street, get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and repair our shattered economy.

If you honestly believe George W. Bush is the cause of and solely responsible for our nations problems right now, then you havent been paying attention to politics for the last 70 years.

 

[Avatar4321]

You post on this site practically every day, so I think you do care. A lot actually. I realize trying to talk common sense with you is pointless though. I feel bad for you. I know, you don't care, but I just thought I'd let you know.

Why on earth do you feel bad for her? She actually recognizes the real problems we are facing.

It's the people who continue blindly contributing to the problem while pretending they care and want to fix it who are sad.

 

[Avatar4321]

Are you happy with your life? Be honest.

The real question is why aren't you?

 

[Avatar4321]

Zzzzz....until you stop sucking up to Big Business and their shills in the government, nothing in this country will change.

Because clearly attacking businesses and taking money from them is going to inspire them to go out and hire new people.

 

[flacaltenn]

What coveting? Most of us don't want this for ourselves.

I never understood the selfish nature of Conservatives.

You do understand that whatever you STEAL from the 1% isn't gonna go to bottom 10% don'tcha? Or haven't you figured out that it will just DISAPPEAR into the giant black pockets of Congress? Just like the $3TRill stolen FICA excess that we are now PAYING FOR AGAIN.. 535 mental midgets are gonna spend it wisely?

Here's a clue -- you can't STEAL IT fast enough...

That's NOT a solution to getting America a 21st Century economy.. It's a massive failure of leadership to be pumping on the class war.. A failure of HISTORICAL proportion...

The failure was George W. Bush.

He lowered taxes for the rich, started two useless wars, created an trillion dollar unfunded drug program, and allowed Wall Street to run a $516 trillion dollar derivatives Ponzi scheme.

Now we have to raise taxes on the rich, re-regulate Wall Street, get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and repair our shattered economy.

Sorry man -- not buying the class war deflection and the GW fixation is so yesterday. The LEADERSHIP is lacking TODAY. Not understanding how to "repair a shattered economy" is NOT covered-up with class warfare rhetoric.

Raising taxes on the rich does nothing if the money dissappears into the crapper. Dodd-Frank is a PRIME CAUSE of the stagnating economy. And the leadership is lacking on ending the wars also.

Unless you folks start looking into the eyes of the unemployed and seeing that the only dignity they want is BETTER MIDDLE CLASS jobs and salaries , you're not gonna be part of the solution. THat means Business Friendly, not as an adversary. And REAL changes in education, ending corporate subsidies and replacing them with R&D programs.

THOSE my dear leftists are solutions. Pouring MORE MONEY into Congress from the only remaining stashes of money is madness.

You've been fixated on Bush and Redistribution so long now --- that you've become useless to help those really in need.

 

[GWV5903]

What coveting? Most of us don't want this for ourselves.

I never understood the selfish nature of Conservatives.

Oh right, because Liberals all have SUCH BIG HEARTS AND WALLETS. but as we all see, they DON'T want to donate it themselves, they want the Big daddy Guberment to TAKE it from the people THEY DEEM WHO it should be ...THE RICH..then they can crow about, see we Liberals care more..

I'd love for you to be able to one day realize how backwards your thinking is. How you're sticking up for people who don't give a shit about you, while at the same time you argue against policies that would directly benefit you. I'd love to see the lightbulb go off when you realize,..."what the hell was I thinking". The sad part is, I don't think you'll ever reach that day. That's a real shame.

Why? Yours certainly never came on...

 

[EriktheRed]

 

[editec]

The imbalance in wealth and equity isn't a harmless event.

Additionally it isn't because the rich have increased their contibution to society either.

This phenomena is directly the result of LAWS and POLCIES that are giving them a greater adn greater share of the national wealth.

And we can fix this by changing those laws and policies, and when we do this economy will once again become a more healthy economy.

Ironically, the wealthy will actually become weathier overall once the economy recovers for over 40 years of Supply side advantages.

 

[Skull Pilot]

If you want more wealth, why don't you work at producing something of value so you can recieve it without compulsion and without force.

How have you fared economically over the last ten to twenty-five years?

Very well. In fact we have seen our annual income triple over the last 6 years. But then again we worked, saved and sacrificed in order to do so.

Are you telling me I don't deserve what I have because you don't have the same?

 

[Skull Pilot]

I never understood the covetous nature of Liberals.

What coveting? Most of us don't want this for ourselves.

I never understood the selfish nature of Conservatives.

Then what do you want it for?

Or are you like the Obnoxious Whining Sheep and don't know what the fuck you want only that you want it?

 

[Skull Pilot]

Some people look at income inequality and shrug their shoulders. So what if this person gains and that person loses?

So you're telling me that if I make more than I did last year that someone else or a group of someones makes less money than they did last year in an equal amount to my increase?

You do realize how unbelievably idiotic that statement is don't you?

 

[georgephillip]

Some people look at income inequality and shrug their shoulders. So what if this person gains and that person loses? What matters, they argue, is not how the pie is divided but the size of the pie. That argument is fundamentally wrong. An economy in which most citizens are doing worse year after year—an economy like America’s—is not likely to do well over the long haul. There are several reasons for this.

First, growing inequality is the flip side of something else: shrinking opportunity. Whenever we diminish equality of opportunity, it means that we are not using some of our most valuable assets—our people—in the most productive way possible. Second, many of the distortions that lead to inequality—such as those associated with monopoly power and preferential tax treatment for special interests—undermine the efficiency of the economy. This new inequality goes on to create new distortions, undermining efficiency even further. To give just one example, far too many of our most talented young people, seeing the astronomical rewards, have gone into finance rather than into fields that would lead to a more productive and healthy economy.

Third, and perhaps most important, a modern economy requires “collective action”—it needs government to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology. The United States and the world have benefited greatly from government-sponsored research that led to the Internet, to advances in public health, and so on. But America has long suffered from an under-investment in infrastructure (look at the condition of our highways and bridges, our railroads and airports), in basic research, and in education at all levels. Further cutbacks in these areas lie ahead.

None of this should come as a surprise—it is simply what happens when a society’s wealth distribution becomes lopsided. The more divided a society becomes in terms of wealth, the more reluctant the wealthy become to spend money on common needs. The rich don’t need to rely on government for parks or education or medical care or personal security—they can buy all these things for themselves. In the process, they become more distant from ordinary people, losing whatever empathy they may once have had. They also worry about strong government—one that could use its powers to adjust the balance, take some of their wealth, and invest it for the common good. The top 1 percent may complain about the kind of government we have in America, but in truth they like it just fine: too gridlocked to re-distribute, too divided to do anything but lower taxes.

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% | Society | Vanity Fair

Good grief...the rest was just as barfworthy.
The MAJORITY of people don't RELY on the Government. And I don't work my ass off "for the COMMON GOOD". If I wanted to live in a Socialist country, I'd MOVE TO ONE. Or if I wanted to live in a commune I'd go live in.

Milton Friedman added up federal, state and local government budgets and found they totaled 40% of GDP. Does this make the US 40% socialist? Should we privatize 60% of public schools, courts and fire departments? Who should control the monopoly of violence in your opinion? Goldman Sachs?

 

[georgephillip]

I never understood the covetous nature of Liberals.

Coveting what others have is likely to destroy us.

Are you talking about Iraqi or Mexican oil?

 

[georgephillip]

If you want more wealth, why don't you work at producing something of value so you can recieve it without compulsion and without force.

How have you fared economically over the last ten to twenty-five years?

"While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top."

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% | Society | Vanity Fair

Many of those at the top of the economic pyramid did not contribute anything of value to society. In fact, the outsourcing of millions of middle class jobs to China and the "contributions" of mortgage back securities to the Great Recession have turned life into a living hell for millions of formerly middle class Americans.

So rather than do something to make yourself better, you want to tear down others. Doesn't seem like a good plan to me.

Over the last twenty-five years US working men with only a high school education have seen their income drop by 12%. During that same time the richest 1% of Americans have doubled their share of national income. Can you connect two dots?

Personally, I have enough.
I don't need or want any more income or wealth.
I do have a need to prevent the rich from stealing anymore income and wealth from the majority of workers.

 

[Chris]

Let's start with the obvious: Unemployment. Three years after the financial crisis, the unemployment rate is still at the highest level since the Great Depression (except for a brief blip in the early 1980s)

Corporate profits just hit another all-time high.

Corporate profits as a percent of the economy are near a record all-time high. With the exception of a brief happy period in 2007 (just before the crash), profits are higher than they've been since the 1950s. And they are VASTLY higher than they've been for most of the intervening half-century.

CEO pay is now 350X the average worker's, up from 50X from 1960-1985.

CEO pay has skyrocketed 300% since 1990. Corporate profits have doubled. Average "production worker" pay has increased 4%. The minimum wage has dropped. (All numbers adjusted for inflation).

After adjusting for inflation, average hourly earnings haven't increased in 50 years.

In short... while CEOs and shareholders have been cashing in, wages as a percent of the economy have dropped to an all-time low.

In other words, in the struggle between "labor" and "capital," capital has basically won.

Of course, life is great if you're in the top 1% of American wage earners. You're hauling in a bigger percentage of the country's total pre-tax income than you have at any time since the late 1920s. Your share of the national income, in fact, is almost 2X the long-term average!

In fact, income inequality has gotten so extreme here that the US now ranks 93rd in the world in "income equality." China's ahead of us. So is India. So is Iran.

And, by the way, few people would have a problem with inequality if the American Dream were still fully intact—if it were easy to work your way into that top 1%. But, unfortunately, social mobility in this country is also near an all-time low.

So what does all this mean in terms of net worth? Well, for starters, it means that the top 1% of Americans own 42% of the financial wealth in this country. The top 5%, meanwhile, own nearly 70%.

CHARTS: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About...

 

[georgephillip]

If you want more wealth, why don't you work at producing something of value so you can recieve it without compulsion and without force.

How have you fared economically over the last ten to twenty-five years?

Very well. In fact we have seen our annual income triple over the last 6 years. But then again we worked, saved and sacrificed in order to do so.

Are you telling me I don't deserve what I have because you don't have the same?

Whether you "deserve" the tripling of your annual income over the last six years depends on how you "earned" the increase. Did any innocent human beings, like Iraqis or Afghans, die to increase your income? How many jobs did you outsource during the last six years? How many Republicans OR Democrats did you bribe. Did you stick-up three times as many liquor stores?

Not everyone denotes self worth with a dollar sign.
You may have earned every penny.
Obama's "Jobs Czar" did not.

 

[Dragon]

If you want more wealth, why don't you work at producing something of value so you can recieve it without compulsion and without force.

When something like this is happening not just to one person but to EVERYBODY, it is completely irrational to blame the people it's happening to. What we have here is a change to the rules of the economic game that occurred in the 1980s.

The top 1% may be IN the top 1% because of a combination of factors including hard work, ingenuity, and dedication (as well as luck and ruthlessness) -- but a change in the STATUS of the 1% -- in the amount by which they are doing better than others -- does not happen because they have become even MORE dedicated and smart. It happens because the fix is in.

And that is the basis of the protests.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Oh right, because Liberals all have SUCH BIG HEARTS AND WALLETS. but as we all see, they DON'T want to donate it themselves, they want the Big daddy Guberment to TAKE it from the people THEY DEEM WHO it should be ...THE RICH..then they can crow about, see we Liberals care more..

I'd love for you to be able to one day realize how backwards your thinking is. How you're sticking up for people who don't give a shit about you, while at the same time you argue against policies that would directly benefit you. I'd love to see the lightbulb go off when you realize,..."what the hell was I thinking". The sad part is, I don't think you'll ever reach that day. That's a real shame.

Why? Yours certainly never came on...

Oddly, people like RDD think that Soros, Obama, etc. give a shit about them... their tools of the Marxist elitists... nothing more. Personally, I'm under no illusion that the Koch brothers (or whoever the conservative bogeyman is) care about me... anyhoo... why should they?

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

How have you fared economically over the last ten to twenty-five years?

Very well. In fact we have seen our annual income triple over the last 6 years. But then again we worked, saved and sacrificed in order to do so.

Are you telling me I don't deserve what I have because you don't have the same?

Whether you "deserve" the tripling of your annual income over the last six years depends on how you "earned" the increase. Did any innocent human beings, like Iraqis or Afghans, die to increase your income? How many jobs did you outsource during the last six years? How many Republicans OR Democrats did you bribe. Did you stick-up three times as many liquor stores?

Not everyone denotes self worth with a dollar sign.
You may have earned every penny.
Obama's "Jobs Czar" did not.

 

[RDD_1210]

I'd love for you to be able to one day realize how backwards your thinking is. How you're sticking up for people who don't give a shit about you, while at the same time you argue against policies that would directly benefit you. I'd love to see the lightbulb go off when you realize,..."what the hell was I thinking". The sad part is, I don't think you'll ever reach that day. That's a real shame.

Why? Yours certainly never came on...

Oddly, people like RDD think that Soros, Obama, etc. give a shit about them... their tools of the Marxist elitists... nothing more. Personally, I'm under no illusion that the Koch brothers (or whoever the conservative bogeyman is) care about me... anyhoo... why should they?

And people like you love to throw insults from the sideline without having any actual knowledge of the topic at hand.