Top tax rates were at 70% when Microsoft and Apple were founded

[ilia25]

The market doesn't redistribute jack.

Of course it does, you silly thing!

How else do you think Bill Gates had "earned" his billions -- by working 40,000 hours per week?

You do realize that Microsoft sells billions of dollars of product every year don't you?

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.

Anyone who voluntarily

As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Of course it does, you silly thing!

How else do you think Bill Gates had "earned" his billions -- by working 40,000 hours per week?

You do realize that Microsoft sells billions of dollars of product every year don't you?

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.

Anyone who voluntarily

As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

If you don't buy stock in Microsoft or products from Microsoft how does your money get redistributed to Microsoft?

It is voluntary therefore it is not redistribution.

Redistribution that is not voluntary is theft.

 

[ilia25]

Fair share isn't the government taking 70% of anything.

What's fair about a guy taking 100 times the average salary? You think his work week is 100 times longer? You think that him taking home 40 times the average salary is not a fair compensation for his troubles?

Because its my money and its my company.

You do not live on an uninhabited island. You and your company could only succeed by being a part of big economy, where others have to work hard and make the right decisions every day for that to happen. They deserve credit for your business success as well -- you can't claim it for yourself.

It's pretty amazing to me that some people think its about how many hours a week someone works, as if working at 7/11 equates to discovering a new drug for cancer or Alzheimer's.

It does not "equates". And we have a free-market based economy to promote innovation and risk taking.

But it does not mean that two people working hard the same hours do not deserve an equal compensation simply because they work different line of work. And new drugs are important, but so is running water in our homes.

 

[Desperado]

Those that take delight in the 70% Tax Rate, Just how much is too much for the Government to take?

Seems that it would be wrong for any tax rate to be more than 49%.
The Government should never take more than the person they are stealing it from.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Of course it does, you silly thing!

How else do you think Bill Gates had "earned" his billions -- by working 40,000 hours per week?

You do realize that Microsoft sells billions of dollars of product every year don't you?

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.

Anyone who voluntarily

As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

If you choose to act in your own best interest the result is by definition fair for you.

If someone else forces you to act in a way that they deem is in your best interest well that is a horse of a different color now isn't it?

 

[ilia25]

Those that take delight in the 70% Tax Rate, Just how much is too much for the Government to take?

You are talking like the Government is a beast, and not something created by the people to serves the people.

 

[ilia25]

You do realize that Microsoft sells billions of dollars of product every year don't you?

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.

Anyone who voluntarily

As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

If you choose to act in your own best interest the result is by definition fair for you.

Of course not. When you are giving you wallet to an armed robber, you are acting in your best interest. Or if you are overpaying to a monopoly (and MS, actually, resembled a monopoly in a lot of ways). But those thing are not fair.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.



As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

If you choose to act in your own best interest the result is by definition fair for you.

Of course not. When you are giving you wallet to an armed robber, you are acting in your best interest. Or if you are overpaying to a monopoly (and MS, actually, resembled a monopoly in a lot of ways). But those thing are not fair.

The only thing that is analogous to robbery is governmental redistribution of income via force.

No one is forcing you to buy anything from Microsoft.

 

[ilia25]

If you choose to act in your own best interest the result is by definition fair for you.

Of course not. When you are giving you wallet to an armed robber, you are acting in your best interest. Or if you are overpaying to a monopoly (and MS, actually, resembled a monopoly in a lot of ways). But those thing are not fair.

The only thing that is analogous to robbery is governmental redistribution of income via force.

No one is forcing you to buy anything from Microsoft.

No one is forcing you to buy anything from a monopoly either, but these are classic examples of how a market economy can be unfair.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Those that take delight in the 70% Tax Rate, Just how much is too much for the Government to take?

You are talking like the Government is a beast, and not something created by the people to serves the people.

The government is best considered as a necessary evil nothing more.

 

[Desperado]

Those that take delight in the 70% Tax Rate, Just how much is too much for the Government to take?

You are talking like the Government is a beast, and not something created by the people to serves the people.

Government is a beast, It serves no one but itself.
It stopped be of the people, by the people many years ago.

 

[Toro]

You do not live on an uninhabited island. You and your company could only succeed by being a part of big economy, where others have to work hard and make the right decisions every day for that to happen. They deserve credit for your business success as well -- you can't claim it for yourself.

Sure. That's why I support a progressive tax system. But anything over 50% is expropriation and the antithesis of "fairness."

It's pretty amazing to me that some people think its about how many hours a week someone works, as if working at 7/11 equates to discovering a new drug for cancer or Alzheimer's.

It does not "equates". And we have a free-market based economy to promote innovation and risk taking.

But it does not mean that two people working hard the same hours do not deserve an equal compensation simply because they work different line of work. And new drugs are important, but so is running water in our homes.

Actually, it does mean that.

 

[bripat9643]

Of course it does, you silly thing!

How else do you think Bill Gates had "earned" his billions -- by working 40,000 hours per week?

You do realize that Microsoft sells billions of dollars of product every year don't you?

Yes, that is how free-market system redistributes wealth to the rich from the rest.

That isn't "redistributing" anything. Who is the money being taken from by force?

Liberals think they can just redefine words to mean whatever they want. "Redistribution" has a specific meaning. The most important part says that money is taken by force. Microsoft never took a dime from anyone using force.

FAIL!

Anyone who voluntarily

As I explained already, the concept of "voluntarily" vs "forced" is simply false. We always act in our best interest. But it does not mean that the outcome is always fair to us.

It's only false to boot licking fascists like you. Any 5-year-old understands why voluntary acts are morally different in character from being forced.

The issue isn't whether I act in my own self interest. The issue is whether you respect my rights or whether you fuck me by forcing your whims on me. The former is how the market operates. The later is how criminals and the government operate.

 

[bripat9643]

Those that take delight in the 70% Tax Rate, Just how much is too much for the Government to take?

You are talking like the Government is a beast, and not something created by the people to serves the people.

The government is a beast. It may act in the self interest of leaches and tics on the ass of society, but it mostly acts against the self interest of productive Americans.

 

[bripat9643]

The only thing that is analogous to robbery is governmental redistribution of income via force.

No one is forcing you to buy anything from Microsoft.

No one is forcing you to buy anything from a monopoly either, but these are classic examples of how a market economy can be unfair.

The only kind of monopolies that have every existed are government enforced monopolies, so those are a form of robbery, but you aren't supporting your case for income redistribution with that example.