the state of the rich

[Ernie S.]

He can't afford tissues?

Damn, he really is a failure.

lol you and warrior buy into the neocon bullshit and anyone who deosn't must be poor because they are lazy and stupid.

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I'm willing to bet that if we took 5 billion from Bill Gates and gave it to 5,000 people raised on welfare, that 10 years from now, the vast majority of our new millionaires would be back on welfare and Mr Gates would still be near the top of the Forbes list.

 

[California Girl]

lol you and warrior buy into the neocon bullshit and anyone who deosn't must be poor because they are lazy and stupid.

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I'm willing to bet that if we took 5 billion from Bill Gates and gave it to 5,000 people raised on welfare, that 10 years from now, the vast majority of our new millionaires would be back on welfare and Mr Gates would still be near the top of the Forbes list.

One only needs to look to lottery winners to see how badly some people cope with excessive instant wealth. Most of them think their lives will be perfect - it doesn't.

 

[Big Fitz]

lol you and warrior buy into the neocon bullshit and anyone who deosn't must be poor because they are lazy and stupid.

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I'm willing to bet that if we took 5 billion from Bill Gates and gave it to 5,000 people raised on welfare, that 10 years from now, the vast majority of our new millionaires would be back on welfare and Mr Gates would still be near the top of the Forbes list.

Then the solution is to take 50 billion from him and give it to 50,000 people. We just didn't take enough is all.

 

[Truthseeker420]

why is it that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I am 58 years old and I have never owned a home. I am so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. the rich always seem to have what ever they want. when the poor ask for help they just get laughed at and they get no help. the rich get driven around in shiny new cars and the poor are lucky to own a 12 year old car, then they have to buy insurance and gas and that fixes i so they can not buy much in food. WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?

Americans work twice as hard for their money and get paid half of what they used to get.

The American Dream is a myth.

It might be for you. It isn't for me. Or my family.

John McCain has 7 houses and he is neither hardworking or smarter than any avg American.

 

[Againsheila]

He can't afford tissues?

Damn, he really is a failure.

lol you and warrior buy into the neocon bullshit and anyone who deosn't must be poor because they are lazy and stupid.

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I have a friend who's worked hard all her life. So has her sister. They still live in poverty. In fact one of them lost her job more than a year ago and still hasn't found another one. It's difficult to find a job when you are over 50, impossible in this economy. They will lose their apartment in Nov. If it weren't for their parent's still being alive, they'd have no where to go. I'm sure you think they are just lazy, but you're wrong.

Imagine having to move back in with your parents when you are in you 50's. My parent's aren't around anymore. If it were me, I'd probably be on the streets as so many others.

 

[MikeK]

I have a friend who's worked hard all her life. So has her sister. They still live in poverty. In fact one of them lost her job more than a year ago and still hasn't found another one. It's difficult to find a job when you are over 50, impossible in this economy. They will lose their apartment in Nov. If it weren't for their parent's still being alive, they'd have no where to go. I'm sure you think they are just lazy, but you're wrong.

Imagine having to move back in with your parents when you are in you 50's. My parent's aren't around anymore. If it were me, I'd probably be on the streets as so many others.

This is an increasingly common situation.

The overwhelming input of foreign products has eliminated millions of jobs for Americans and the export of American jobs has put millions more out of work. Still the right-wing water carriers are here to tell us how lazy the unemployed are and how easy it is to get work if one wants it.

These brainwashed servants of the uber-rich are a malignancy which has weakened any chance the Nation has to recover.

 

[BDBoop]

I'm 53 and was able to get a job at home, telecommuting. Pay is 15th and end-of-month, hours vary between 12-8 and 1-9. They sent me my computer, two monitors and peripherals. I have a call center/customer service background.

There are a lot of online jobs, many ways to make money. If anybody has any questions, feel free to PM me. There are all manner of freelance writing, coding, and transcription jobs (and more). Some places will charge you for the background/credit check, but I just never looked at those.

 

[auditor0007]

why is it that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I am 58 years old and I have never owned a home. I am so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. the rich always seem to have what ever they want. when the poor ask for help they just get laughed at and they get no help. the rich get driven around in shiny new cars and the poor are lucky to own a 12 year old car, then they have to buy insurance and gas and that fixes i so they can not buy much in food. WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?

The problem with your post is that you are whining just a bit too much for me. And if you're whining too much for me, you're in trouble in this forum. The problem should not be that the rich are getting richer. That would be fine, but many people have a problem with the fact that the rich continue to get richer while nobody else does, and a good lot of them do it by not paying much in taxes. So it is a legitimate gripe. But for God's sakes, sometimes you still have to try a bit harder to find success. Pure whining won't get you anywhere, in this forum or in real life.

 

[auditor0007]

Who's stopping you from improving yourself financially ?

Waiting for a handout from someone ?

Get off your ass and do something to better yourself financially, vs. bitching about it on on Internet forum.

only rthe rich get handouts.

The rich get incentive to invest their money in creating wealth. The poor get free food, health care and housing. Plus they aren't expected to contribute. In America today you can see this entitlement mentality in families when the children grow up and perpetuate the same cycle of being poor and living off government aide and programs for lower income family's. They learn the system and how to manage it and take part in it just like their parents did. And they also get help from well meaning bureaucrats who excel at their jobs of helping those less advantaged individuals among us who need a handout because they are unable to take a hand up due to being raised in the welfare system.

Oh quit bitchin about the poor fucks who aren't going to change. The middle class has been taking it up the ass for the last thirty years, and it's getting worse lately. And as the middle class goes, so does the country. Believe, most of the middle class are not looking for handouts, but they would like to be rewarded for their part in making their bosses lives so much better.

 

[auditor0007]

why is it that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I am 58 years old and I have never owned a home. I am so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. the rich always seem to have what ever they want. when the poor ask for help they just get laughed at and they get no help. the rich get driven around in shiny new cars and the poor are lucky to own a 12 year old car, then they have to buy insurance and gas and that fixes i so they can not buy much in food. WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?

Quit waiting for government to make you richer. The rich work an average of a 70 hour work week and they don't expect it to fall into their laps. They busted their asses to earn it. They possess character traits YOU don't -first of all you'd never see any of them write a whiny ass post like yours. They are more driven than you, more ambitious than you, more innovative and more able to think outside of the box than you -and even at their lowest dealing with what looks like never ending set backs, are FAR less self-pitying than you. They don't have time for that kind of crap because they know it is a self-defeating attitude. And your post just DRIPS with self-defeat and self-pity. You aren't rich because of YOU. You didn't want it enough, weren't willing to work enough, chose paths that would never lead to greater wealth and settled for less. No one else did it to you -if becoming rich was a major priority in life for you all this time, then YOU sabotaged yourself at all times by the decisions YOU made in life. If you can't get rich in this country -you were never going to get rich ANYWHERE because there is no easier place on the planet to get rich than THIS country. If buying a house was on your list of priorities, where were you when banks were giving out loans to people they knew would never pay it off? When NO down payment was required and only a minimum income needed? If you make enough to pay rent, you could have had a house. So there is NO excuse for not having a house -except you didn't bother to get off your fat ass and go buy one when they were giving loans to anyone so obviously it was NOT on your list of priorities at all.

How's that class envy working out for you, huh? Made you one dime richer yet? I decided I did not want to work a 70 hour work week, I didn't burn with envy and being rich was never on my list of priorities. I knew I would have to sacrifice so much else in life to do it -so I decided being wealthy was not going to be worth the rich, full life I made a priority over being rich. So I know why I'm not rich -but unlike you, I never expected the choices I made to make me rich in the first place! And I sure as hell don't envy people who made other choices in life! In fact I wish more people would get rich because it makes MY life easier the more rich people we have in this country. My share of taxes is less when we have a lot of rich people. But my share of the benefits from those taxes is not lessened. For those at the bottom, it is because we have such a large class of rich compared to other countries that makes our POOR the envy of so many others. And even those too stupid to understand it, our POOR actually have a middle class income and lifestyle according to the international definition of "poor" -because of the wealthy in this country who bring up the standard of living for everyone along with their own. When the pool of rich expands it raises the standard of living for the rest and it puts upward pressure on incomes for everyone. But likewise when that pool of wealthy contracts, the standard of living for those at the very bottom gets worse and wages become stagnant and even drop. So having a lot of rich people in this country is a good thing, not an "evil" conspiracy trying to keep you back. You only kept yourself back and people have started off in much worse condition yet managed to succeed in spite of it. So what's your REAL excuse for YOUR failures in life now?

Unlike most other countries the IRS records show the American "rich" is a very fluid class in this country with only a tiny percentage with hardened wealth -the kind of hardened wealth that is unaffected by a bad economy and unaffected by raising income taxes kind of wealth. In other countries that group is much, much larger than it is here and the pool of fluid wealth very tiny so far more difficult for those who want to be rich. Our country is is the best place to try and earn wealth if you are driven enough. (But NOWHERE is there a guarantee you will.) That means the majority of those who are "rich" will not be the same people even 10 years later -so it will be people who became rich during that time while those who were rich have dropped down. It is much harder to STAY rich than people realize. So if those who are "rich" is constantly changing in this country -which it is -who the fuck are you to sit around all whiny and envying them as if this is a permanent class of some kind like they are all landed gentry with permanent wealth? Either get off your fat ass and work harder and learn how to pick yourself up again when it doesn't work out. Or sit back and wait for hell to freeze over so it will just fall in your lap. Or hope the rich get hit with punitive taxes and then wait and see how that actually ends up fucking YOU over the most.

Or decide when you wake up if you are still breathing, have clean clothes to wear and have something to eat its a pretty damn good day after all -because times are going to get much, MUCH rougher for all of us. Including you -maybe especially you.

Honestly, I don't think it is so much class envy as it is just wanting to get a fair shake. You are correct, most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there, and not everyone has that in them. However, someone who busts their ass for forty to fifty hours per week would like to be able to pay their bills on time, buy a decent used care when their old one clunks out on them, and be able to put a little money away for a rainy day and retirement. They'd also like to not have to worry what will happen, God forbid, that they become seriously ill.

I don't think a lot of you understand the common American, the one who just wants to go to work, do their job, and get a paycheck worthy of the work they put in. They don't care how rich the rich are, and they don't care if they ever get rich themselves. With so many of you on the right, it's all about the wealthy and the poor bastards who collect welfare at everyone else's expense, yet you never seem to account for the hard working Americans in the middle.

 

[PoliticalChic]

lol you and warrior buy into the neocon bullshit and anyone who deosn't must be poor because they are lazy and stupid.

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I'm willing to bet that if we took 5 billion from Bill Gates and gave it to 5,000 people raised on welfare, that 10 years from now, the vast majority of our new millionaires would be back on welfare and Mr Gates would still be near the top of the Forbes list.

And here is a guy who agrees with your great point:




"Now that I'm an old curmudgeon, and in my old age, become cynical, I have long since abandoned the notion that Utopia would ever be possible.
Here is what would happen in reality if someone ever did create such a society:

Within a year, some people would be wealthy. Some would be penniless. There would be a lot of resentment from the ones who frittered their money away towards the ones that managed to use their natural good thinking, instincts, and sheer determination to parlay their start-up funds into fortunes.

Within five years, there would be an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class. The rich would continue to get richer, and the poor would continue to get poorer.

Some people would find loopholes enabling them to cheat the cheatable. Some people would be so gullible they would find themselves easy targets for those who would take advantage of them. Some people would have scruples, others would not.

Some people would begin to steal, and murder, and whatever else they think will allow them to circumvent the legal process to success.

You see, Utopia isn't possible this side of Heaven. There is too much diversity in people.

Some people are ambitious, some are not. Some people are industrious, some are not. Some people are inventive, some are not. Some people take pride in good workmanship, others are just content to get the job done, whether it is done well or not. Some people are workaholics, some are just plain lazy.

Some people buy anything, Some people buy nothing. Some buy what they want. Some buy only what they need. Some people are foolish with money, some are miserly.

It takes all kinds to make a world. It takes one kind to make a Utopia.
Casting Pearls Before Swine: Why Communism Can't Work



And that is a major difference between conservatism and liberalism:

Conservatives believe in the principle of variety, while liberal perspectives result in a narrowing uniformity. Conservatives believe in choice of healthcare, education, religion, and various other areas. Under conservative principles, there will be differences in class, material condition and other inequalities.
Equality will be of opportunity, not necessarily of result. The only uniformity will be before the law. Society will not be perfect.
Consider the results of the rule of ideologues of the last century.

 

[Sallow]

Conservatives believe in the principle of variety, while liberal perspectives result in a narrowing uniformity. Conservatives believe in choice of healthcare, education, religion, and various other areas. Under conservative principles, there will be differences in class, material condition and other inequalities.
Equality will be of opportunity, not necessarily of result. The only uniformity will be before the law. Society will not be perfect.
Consider the results of the rule of ideologues of the last century.

What a load of crap.

Conservatives believe in god, king and country. Spare the rod spoil the child. One people, one nation.

To paraphase a great conservative quote:

If they'd rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population. But for Pete's sake..make sure each and every one of their women bring each child to term. So they can know the pain and folly of their indiscretions. Then they can die.

 

[Sallow]

Honestly, I don't think it is so much class envy as it is just wanting to get a fair shake. You are correct, most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there, and not everyone has that in them. However, someone who busts their ass for forty to fifty hours per week would like to be able to pay their bills on time, buy a decent used care when their old one clunks out on them, and be able to put a little money away for a rainy day and retirement. They'd also like to not have to worry what will happen, God forbid, that they become seriously ill.

I don't think a lot of you understand the common American, the one who just wants to go to work, do their job, and get a paycheck worthy of the work they put in. They don't care how rich the rich are, and they don't care if they ever get rich themselves. With so many of you on the right, it's all about the wealthy and the poor bastards who collect welfare at everyone else's expense, yet you never seem to account for the hard working Americans in the middle.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Conservatives believe in the principle of variety, while liberal perspectives result in a narrowing uniformity. Conservatives believe in choice of healthcare, education, religion, and various other areas. Under conservative principles, there will be differences in class, material condition and other inequalities.
Equality will be of opportunity, not necessarily of result. The only uniformity will be before the law. Society will not be perfect.
Consider the results of the rule of ideologues of the last century.

What a load of crap.

Conservatives believe in god, king and country. Spare the rod spoil the child. One people, one nation.

To paraphase a great conservative quote:

If they'd rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population. But for Pete's sake..make sure each and every one of their women bring each child to term. So they can know the pain and folly of their indiscretions. Then they can die.

You are not only an ignorant fellow, but, truly, a disgusting creature.

 

[Ernie S.]

The only way to liberate oneself from poverty is to work your way out of it. Simple. There is no point whining about it. If one truly wants a better life, one has to work for it. Unless you think that rich people should just hand their money over to others. Is that the 'liberal' way?

I'm willing to bet that if we took 5 billion from Bill Gates and gave it to 5,000 people raised on welfare, that 10 years from now, the vast majority of our new millionaires would be back on welfare and Mr Gates would still be near the top of the Forbes list.

Then the solution is to take 50 billion from him and give it to 50,000 people. We just didn't take enough is all.

Shit! I'm such a dummy!

 

[BDBoop]

why is it that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I am 58 years old and I have never owned a home. I am so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. the rich always seem to have what ever they want. when the poor ask for help they just get laughed at and they get no help. the rich get driven around in shiny new cars and the poor are lucky to own a 12 year old car, then they have to buy insurance and gas and that fixes i so they can not buy much in food. WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?

Quit waiting for government to make you richer. The rich work an average of a 70 hour work week and they don't expect it to fall into their laps. They busted their asses to earn it. They possess character traits YOU don't -first of all you'd never see any of them write a whiny ass post like yours. They are more driven than you, more ambitious than you, more innovative and more able to think outside of the box than you -and even at their lowest dealing with what looks like never ending set backs, are FAR less self-pitying than you. They don't have time for that kind of crap because they know it is a self-defeating attitude. And your post just DRIPS with self-defeat and self-pity. You aren't rich because of YOU. You didn't want it enough, weren't willing to work enough, chose paths that would never lead to greater wealth and settled for less. No one else did it to you -if becoming rich was a major priority in life for you all this time, then YOU sabotaged yourself at all times by the decisions YOU made in life. If you can't get rich in this country -you were never going to get rich ANYWHERE because there is no easier place on the planet to get rich than THIS country. If buying a house was on your list of priorities, where were you when banks were giving out loans to people they knew would never pay it off? When NO down payment was required and only a minimum income needed? If you make enough to pay rent, you could have had a house. So there is NO excuse for not having a house -except you didn't bother to get off your fat ass and go buy one when they were giving loans to anyone so obviously it was NOT on your list of priorities at all.

How's that class envy working out for you, huh? Made you one dime richer yet? I decided I did not want to work a 70 hour work week, I didn't burn with envy and being rich was never on my list of priorities. I knew I would have to sacrifice so much else in life to do it -so I decided being wealthy was not going to be worth the rich, full life I made a priority over being rich. So I know why I'm not rich -but unlike you, I never expected the choices I made to make me rich in the first place! And I sure as hell don't envy people who made other choices in life! In fact I wish more people would get rich because it makes MY life easier the more rich people we have in this country. My share of taxes is less when we have a lot of rich people. But my share of the benefits from those taxes is not lessened. For those at the bottom, it is because we have such a large class of rich compared to other countries that makes our POOR the envy of so many others. And even those too stupid to understand it, our POOR actually have a middle class income and lifestyle according to the international definition of "poor" -because of the wealthy in this country who bring up the standard of living for everyone along with their own. When the pool of rich expands it raises the standard of living for the rest and it puts upward pressure on incomes for everyone. But likewise when that pool of wealthy contracts, the standard of living for those at the very bottom gets worse and wages become stagnant and even drop. So having a lot of rich people in this country is a good thing, not an "evil" conspiracy trying to keep you back. You only kept yourself back and people have started off in much worse condition yet managed to succeed in spite of it. So what's your REAL excuse for YOUR failures in life now?

Unlike most other countries the IRS records show the American "rich" is a very fluid class in this country with only a tiny percentage with hardened wealth -the kind of hardened wealth that is unaffected by a bad economy and unaffected by raising income taxes kind of wealth. In other countries that group is much, much larger than it is here and the pool of fluid wealth very tiny so far more difficult for those who want to be rich. Our country is is the best place to try and earn wealth if you are driven enough. (But NOWHERE is there a guarantee you will.) That means the majority of those who are "rich" will not be the same people even 10 years later -so it will be people who became rich during that time while those who were rich have dropped down. It is much harder to STAY rich than people realize. So if those who are "rich" is constantly changing in this country -which it is -who the fuck are you to sit around all whiny and envying them as if this is a permanent class of some kind like they are all landed gentry with permanent wealth? Either get off your fat ass and work harder and learn how to pick yourself up again when it doesn't work out. Or sit back and wait for hell to freeze over so it will just fall in your lap. Or hope the rich get hit with punitive taxes and then wait and see how that actually ends up fucking YOU over the most.

Or decide when you wake up if you are still breathing, have clean clothes to wear and have something to eat its a pretty damn good day after all -because times are going to get much, MUCH rougher for all of us. Including you -maybe especially you.

Honestly, I don't think it is so much class envy as it is just wanting to get a fair shake. You are correct, most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there, and not everyone has that in them. However, someone who busts their ass for forty to fifty hours per week would like to be able to pay their bills on time, buy a decent used care when their old one clunks out on them, and be able to put a little money away for a rainy day and retirement. They'd also like to not have to worry what will happen, God forbid, that they become seriously ill.

I don't think a lot of you understand the common American, the one who just wants to go to work, do their job, and get a paycheck worthy of the work they put in. They don't care how rich the rich are, and they don't care if they ever get rich themselves. With so many of you on the right, it's all about the wealthy and the poor bastards who collect welfare at everyone else's expense, yet you never seem to account for the hard working Americans in the middle.

"Most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there?" What the hell are you smoking?

 

[PoliticalChic]

Quit waiting for government to make you richer. The rich work an average of a 70 hour work week and they don't expect it to fall into their laps. They busted their asses to earn it. They possess character traits YOU don't -first of all you'd never see any of them write a whiny ass post like yours. They are more driven than you, more ambitious than you, more innovative and more able to think outside of the box than you -and even at their lowest dealing with what looks like never ending set backs, are FAR less self-pitying than you. They don't have time for that kind of crap because they know it is a self-defeating attitude. And your post just DRIPS with self-defeat and self-pity. You aren't rich because of YOU. You didn't want it enough, weren't willing to work enough, chose paths that would never lead to greater wealth and settled for less. No one else did it to you -if becoming rich was a major priority in life for you all this time, then YOU sabotaged yourself at all times by the decisions YOU made in life. If you can't get rich in this country -you were never going to get rich ANYWHERE because there is no easier place on the planet to get rich than THIS country. If buying a house was on your list of priorities, where were you when banks were giving out loans to people they knew would never pay it off? When NO down payment was required and only a minimum income needed? If you make enough to pay rent, you could have had a house. So there is NO excuse for not having a house -except you didn't bother to get off your fat ass and go buy one when they were giving loans to anyone so obviously it was NOT on your list of priorities at all.

How's that class envy working out for you, huh? Made you one dime richer yet? I decided I did not want to work a 70 hour work week, I didn't burn with envy and being rich was never on my list of priorities. I knew I would have to sacrifice so much else in life to do it -so I decided being wealthy was not going to be worth the rich, full life I made a priority over being rich. So I know why I'm not rich -but unlike you, I never expected the choices I made to make me rich in the first place! And I sure as hell don't envy people who made other choices in life! In fact I wish more people would get rich because it makes MY life easier the more rich people we have in this country. My share of taxes is less when we have a lot of rich people. But my share of the benefits from those taxes is not lessened. For those at the bottom, it is because we have such a large class of rich compared to other countries that makes our POOR the envy of so many others. And even those too stupid to understand it, our POOR actually have a middle class income and lifestyle according to the international definition of "poor" -because of the wealthy in this country who bring up the standard of living for everyone along with their own. When the pool of rich expands it raises the standard of living for the rest and it puts upward pressure on incomes for everyone. But likewise when that pool of wealthy contracts, the standard of living for those at the very bottom gets worse and wages become stagnant and even drop. So having a lot of rich people in this country is a good thing, not an "evil" conspiracy trying to keep you back. You only kept yourself back and people have started off in much worse condition yet managed to succeed in spite of it. So what's your REAL excuse for YOUR failures in life now?

Unlike most other countries the IRS records show the American "rich" is a very fluid class in this country with only a tiny percentage with hardened wealth -the kind of hardened wealth that is unaffected by a bad economy and unaffected by raising income taxes kind of wealth. In other countries that group is much, much larger than it is here and the pool of fluid wealth very tiny so far more difficult for those who want to be rich. Our country is is the best place to try and earn wealth if you are driven enough. (But NOWHERE is there a guarantee you will.) That means the majority of those who are "rich" will not be the same people even 10 years later -so it will be people who became rich during that time while those who were rich have dropped down. It is much harder to STAY rich than people realize. So if those who are "rich" is constantly changing in this country -which it is -who the fuck are you to sit around all whiny and envying them as if this is a permanent class of some kind like they are all landed gentry with permanent wealth? Either get off your fat ass and work harder and learn how to pick yourself up again when it doesn't work out. Or sit back and wait for hell to freeze over so it will just fall in your lap. Or hope the rich get hit with punitive taxes and then wait and see how that actually ends up fucking YOU over the most.

Or decide when you wake up if you are still breathing, have clean clothes to wear and have something to eat its a pretty damn good day after all -because times are going to get much, MUCH rougher for all of us. Including you -maybe especially you.

Honestly, I don't think it is so much class envy as it is just wanting to get a fair shake. You are correct, most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there, and not everyone has that in them. However, someone who busts their ass for forty to fifty hours per week would like to be able to pay their bills on time, buy a decent used care when their old one clunks out on them, and be able to put a little money away for a rainy day and retirement. They'd also like to not have to worry what will happen, God forbid, that they become seriously ill.

I don't think a lot of you understand the common American, the one who just wants to go to work, do their job, and get a paycheck worthy of the work they put in. They don't care how rich the rich are, and they don't care if they ever get rich themselves. With so many of you on the right, it's all about the wealthy and the poor bastards who collect welfare at everyone else's expense, yet you never seem to account for the hard working Americans in the middle.

"Most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there?" What the hell are you smoking?

I know I should be used to the Left being as ignorant as you appear to be...

Most of America's millionaires are first-generation rich. How is it possible for people from modest backgrounds to become millionaires in one generation? Why is it that so many people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds never accumulate even modest amounts of wealth?
washingtonpost.com: The Millionaire Next Door

Most of America's millionaires are first-generation rich. How is it possible for people from modest backgrounds to become millionaires in one generation? Why is it that so many people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds never accumulate even modest amounts of wealth?

Most people who become millionaires have confidence in their own abilities. They do not spend time worrying about whether or not their parents were wealthy. They do not believe that one must be born wealthy. Conversely, people of modest backgrounds who believe that only the wealthy produce millionaires are predetermined to remain non-affluent. Have you always thought that most millionaires are born with silver spoons in their mouths? If so, consider the following facts that our research uncovered about American millionaires:

* Only 19 percent receive any income or wealth of any kind from a trust fund or an estate.

* Fewer than 20 percent inherited 10 percent or more of their wealth.

* More than half never received as much as $1 in inheritance.

* Fewer than 25 percent ever received "an act of kindness" of $10,000 or more from their parents, grandparents, or other relatives.

* Ninety-one percent never received, as a gift, as much as $1 of the ownership of a family business.

* Nearly half never received any college tuition from their parents or other relatives.

* Fewer than 10 percent believe they will ever receive an inheritance in the future.

America continues to hold great prospects for those who wish to accumulate wealth in one generation. In fact, America has always been a land of opportunity for those who believe in the fluid nature of our nation's social system and economy.

More than one hundred years ago the same was true. In The American Economy, Stanley Lebergott reviews a study conducted in 1892 of the 4,047 American millionaires. He reports that 84 percent "were nouveau riche, having reached the top without the benefit of inherited wealth."

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stanley-millionaire.html


Now, I know from experience that folks like you will never change their tune, even when the above comes from the house-organ of the Liberals.
Aren't you ashamed of yourself?

 

[Wicked Jester]

why is it that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I am 58 years old and I have never owned a home. I am so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. the rich always seem to have what ever they want. when the poor ask for help they just get laughed at and they get no help. the rich get driven around in shiny new cars and the poor are lucky to own a 12 year old car, then they have to buy insurance and gas and that fixes i so they can not buy much in food. WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?

You mean all those poor who own big screens, nintendo's, microwaves, air conditioners, 95 pairs of Air Jordans, custom "doo rags", rollin' on spinnin' 20's. Empty 40 ounce bottles littering their lawns, 5 kids and no idea who the father is?

Are those the poor you speak of?

Cry me a fuckin' rollin' river.

 

[auditor0007]

Quit waiting for government to make you richer. The rich work an average of a 70 hour work week and they don't expect it to fall into their laps. They busted their asses to earn it. They possess character traits YOU don't -first of all you'd never see any of them write a whiny ass post like yours. They are more driven than you, more ambitious than you, more innovative and more able to think outside of the box than you -and even at their lowest dealing with what looks like never ending set backs, are FAR less self-pitying than you. They don't have time for that kind of crap because they know it is a self-defeating attitude. And your post just DRIPS with self-defeat and self-pity. You aren't rich because of YOU. You didn't want it enough, weren't willing to work enough, chose paths that would never lead to greater wealth and settled for less. No one else did it to you -if becoming rich was a major priority in life for you all this time, then YOU sabotaged yourself at all times by the decisions YOU made in life. If you can't get rich in this country -you were never going to get rich ANYWHERE because there is no easier place on the planet to get rich than THIS country. If buying a house was on your list of priorities, where were you when banks were giving out loans to people they knew would never pay it off? When NO down payment was required and only a minimum income needed? If you make enough to pay rent, you could have had a house. So there is NO excuse for not having a house -except you didn't bother to get off your fat ass and go buy one when they were giving loans to anyone so obviously it was NOT on your list of priorities at all.

How's that class envy working out for you, huh? Made you one dime richer yet? I decided I did not want to work a 70 hour work week, I didn't burn with envy and being rich was never on my list of priorities. I knew I would have to sacrifice so much else in life to do it -so I decided being wealthy was not going to be worth the rich, full life I made a priority over being rich. So I know why I'm not rich -but unlike you, I never expected the choices I made to make me rich in the first place! And I sure as hell don't envy people who made other choices in life! In fact I wish more people would get rich because it makes MY life easier the more rich people we have in this country. My share of taxes is less when we have a lot of rich people. But my share of the benefits from those taxes is not lessened. For those at the bottom, it is because we have such a large class of rich compared to other countries that makes our POOR the envy of so many others. And even those too stupid to understand it, our POOR actually have a middle class income and lifestyle according to the international definition of "poor" -because of the wealthy in this country who bring up the standard of living for everyone along with their own. When the pool of rich expands it raises the standard of living for the rest and it puts upward pressure on incomes for everyone. But likewise when that pool of wealthy contracts, the standard of living for those at the very bottom gets worse and wages become stagnant and even drop. So having a lot of rich people in this country is a good thing, not an "evil" conspiracy trying to keep you back. You only kept yourself back and people have started off in much worse condition yet managed to succeed in spite of it. So what's your REAL excuse for YOUR failures in life now?

Unlike most other countries the IRS records show the American "rich" is a very fluid class in this country with only a tiny percentage with hardened wealth -the kind of hardened wealth that is unaffected by a bad economy and unaffected by raising income taxes kind of wealth. In other countries that group is much, much larger than it is here and the pool of fluid wealth very tiny so far more difficult for those who want to be rich. Our country is is the best place to try and earn wealth if you are driven enough. (But NOWHERE is there a guarantee you will.) That means the majority of those who are "rich" will not be the same people even 10 years later -so it will be people who became rich during that time while those who were rich have dropped down. It is much harder to STAY rich than people realize. So if those who are "rich" is constantly changing in this country -which it is -who the fuck are you to sit around all whiny and envying them as if this is a permanent class of some kind like they are all landed gentry with permanent wealth? Either get off your fat ass and work harder and learn how to pick yourself up again when it doesn't work out. Or sit back and wait for hell to freeze over so it will just fall in your lap. Or hope the rich get hit with punitive taxes and then wait and see how that actually ends up fucking YOU over the most.

Or decide when you wake up if you are still breathing, have clean clothes to wear and have something to eat its a pretty damn good day after all -because times are going to get much, MUCH rougher for all of us. Including you -maybe especially you.

Honestly, I don't think it is so much class envy as it is just wanting to get a fair shake. You are correct, most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there, and not everyone has that in them. However, someone who busts their ass for forty to fifty hours per week would like to be able to pay their bills on time, buy a decent used care when their old one clunks out on them, and be able to put a little money away for a rainy day and retirement. They'd also like to not have to worry what will happen, God forbid, that they become seriously ill.

I don't think a lot of you understand the common American, the one who just wants to go to work, do their job, and get a paycheck worthy of the work they put in. They don't care how rich the rich are, and they don't care if they ever get rich themselves. With so many of you on the right, it's all about the wealthy and the poor bastards who collect welfare at everyone else's expense, yet you never seem to account for the hard working Americans in the middle.

"Most of the wealthy worked very hard to get there?" What the hell are you smoking?

I'm not smoking anything. I am not referring to the uber rich who may or may not have worked for their wealth. I'm talking about the average millionaire/ multi-millionaire who started his/her own business and made it. And there are a lot of those out there. I would also venture to say that the blue blood rich are decreasing in number if not for any other reason then the kids who inherit all that wealth are too stupid to know what to do with it and end up pissing it away.

 

[BDBoop]

I'm 53 and was able to get a job at home, telecommuting. Pay is 15th and end-of-month, hours vary between 12-8 and 1-9. They sent me my computer, two monitors and peripherals. I have a call center/customer service background.

There are a lot of online jobs, many ways to make money. If anybody has any questions, feel free to PM me. There are all manner of freelance writing, coding, and transcription jobs (and more). Some places will charge you for the background/credit check, but I just never looked at those.

Another helpful place to find work:

Genuinejobs.com Search Jobs