Wealth and Income Inequality in the United States

[bripat9643]

Do you think that middle-class Americans are "lazy, stupid, parasitic, shiftless people"?

Only the ones who work for the government

Are we more lazy and stupid than middle-class Japanese?
Swedes?
Germans?

Why is the answer to that question even relevant?

 

[bripat9643]

Does Donald Trump work harder than you do? Does he work 100,000 times harder than a nurse? A plumber? A teacher?

He works smarter. There's nothing stopping a nurse, a plumber or a teacher from doing exactly what Trump did.

 

[Auxous]

If that was directed to me I certainly was not talking about anything other than taxing profits made on honest commerce and industry.

Of course it was directed at you. I quoted you, didn't I? I believe in honest wealth, but we don't have this. We operate in a system where simply owning capital and income earning assets produces much wealth while not producing anything at all.

Capital can produce wealth "while not producing anything at all"?
Please explain further.
Maybe walk through the steps involved?

It can't. It requires labor. There are no steps to walk you through and I apologize for any mis-communications.

Nonetheless, my contention is earning economic rents and passive income simply by ownership of capital.

 

[hellofromwarsaw]

"That's right. It's only a "problem" for parasites, looters and moochers, just as how to break into a house is only a problem for thieves."

Hate the victims of banana republicans, who are proudly and happily ruining the country for pure ignorant greed-

"How much money anyone earns is simply not the government's business."

Take your meds for god's sake...sounds like you're the thief here...

 

[bripat9643]

And your solution to this "problem" is .......?

Simple. Raise taxes on corporations.

Almost everyone in the bottom 60% gets their income from their job and their employer. With corporate taxes as low as they are, there is no additional incentive for a company to pay a worker more than what it would take to keep that worker. You raise taxes, and then the corp has to decide between paying more to the worker or to the government. Which do you think they will choose?

How does raising taxes on corporations give them an incentive to pay their employees more? Furthermore, corporate profits average about 5% of gross revenues. How much of a raise do you think their employees would get if the government expropriated 100 % of this profit?

 

[DontBeStupid]

Got news for you, people arnt equal, some are worth more than others.

If people were equal anyone could be a supermodel.

Oh God give me strength.

It's not about that. Having a small group of people controlling the vast majority of income and therefore spending, is simply not good for an economy.

Please elaborate. Use facts and do not post anything from blogs. I would be interested in how the other side views this issue.

I already elaborated in this thread.

 

[DontBeStupid]

And your solution to this "problem" is .......?

Simple. Raise taxes on corporations.

Almost everyone in the bottom 60% gets their income from their job and their employer. With corporate taxes as low as they are, there is no additional incentive for a company to pay a worker more than what it would take to keep that worker. You raise taxes, and then the corp has to decide between paying more to the worker or to the government. Which do you think they will choose?

How does raising taxes on corporations give them an incentive to pay their employees more? Furthermore, corporate profits average about 5% of gross revenues. How much of a raise do you think their employees would get if the government expropriated 100 % of this profit?

Asked and answered bub. Try to keep up.

 

[Full-Auto]

simple. Raise taxes on corporations.

Almost everyone in the bottom 60% gets their income from their job and their employer. With corporate taxes as low as they are, there is no additional incentive for a company to pay a worker more than what it would take to keep that worker. You raise taxes, and then the corp has to decide between paying more to the worker or to the government. Which do you think they will choose?

how does raising taxes on corporations give them an incentive to pay their employees more? Furthermore, corporate profits average about 5% of gross revenues. How much of a raise do you think their employees would get if the government expropriated 100 % of this profit?

asked and answered bub. Try to keep up.

except you were shot down and ran like the little ***** you are.

 

[DontBeStupid]

except you were shot down and ran like the little ***** you are.

Shot down? By the person who doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit?

You're funny

 

[Full-Auto]

except you were shot down and ran like the little ***** you are.

Shot down? By the person who doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit?

You're funny

LOL I was the one that pointed out the other poster misspoke.

You get dumber by the moment.

 

[freetek]

Some people are just smarter than others and can make that kind of money.

You mean people like Charlie Sheen, Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber?

Are any of those named at fault for the taste and ignorance of the general public?

 

[Cuyo]

It's not about that. Having a small group of people controlling the vast majority of income and therefore spending, is simply not good for an economy.

Sure it is. Having smart competent people control the majority of income is the best thing for the economy.

However, those charts are pure Marxist propaganda, so your lament is moot.

Yes the charts are Marxist, everything's Marxist.


idiot

 

[Sundial]

Got news for you, people arnt equal, some are worth more than others.

If people were equal anyone could be a supermodel.

Oh God give me strength.

Are you one of the people who are worth more than others?

No, but it's clear you are worth-less.

Are you "mudwhistle"?

 

[thereisnospoon]

"Problem"? What problem? There are industrious, clever, risk-taking, smart entrepreneurial people in the world who get rich, and there are lazy, stupid, parasitic, shiftless people who stay poor.

Do you think that middle-class Americans are "lazy, stupid, parasitic, shiftless people"?

Are we more lazy and stupid than middle-class Japanese?
Swedes?
Germans?

Who said anything about the middle class.
Poor attempt at deflection. Your stupid premise just ran out of gas.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Well equality is not possible as there will always be differences between the man that works his ass off and gets a good education, and the man that is not serious and drinks. The man that has a good business education and owns his own business will make a profit and earn more money, while the man that drinks and screws around won't. You get what you put into it. The left has the belief they have for the past 150 years that have caused hundreds of millions to be slaughtered.

Why should the man that works hard get the same as the man that does nothing, but collects from the government?

Does Donald Trump work harder than you do? Does he work 100,000 times harder than a nurse? A plumber? A teacher?

Yes..That's why he is wealthy.
Question to you...Does Donald Trump's work provide jobs for thousands of people?

 

[Sundial]

When a small group of people control a disproportionate share of the resources of a country, they're able to use their wealth to shape laws, policies, and institutions to their advantage, allowing them to control an ever greater share of the country's wealth, while insulating themselves from the repercussions of their actions. Eventually, as the productive part of the country's population is forced to shoulder an ever-greater burden, they begin to question why they are doing the lion's share of the work, while another group of people get to enjoy its benefits. Aside from the inherent immorality of the situation, it's economically unproductive, unsustainable and inconsistent with democracy.

Wow. I couldn't agree more, Sundial. in fact, I'd go one further and say that a rather large chunk of them got rich in the first place via a targeted effort to manipulate government policy in their favor.

I'm glad we agree about something.

Economies don't exist in a vacuum. Wealth is often a function of power, and the ability to shape the rules.

 

[thereisnospoon]

And your solution to this "problem" is .......?

Simple. Raise taxes on corporations.

Almost everyone in the bottom 60% gets their income from their job and their employer. With corporate taxes as low as they are, there is no additional incentive for a company to pay a worker more than what it would take to keep that worker. You raise taxes, and then the corp has to decide between paying more to the worker or to the government. Which do you think they will choose?

ANd this will do what?
With you people everything is about sending more wealth to the federal government.
Now, with the amount of crushing debt, waste, fraud, pork barrel spending, wasteful social programs and all the other shit government funds and STILL Washington cannot get it's fiscal house in order and your solution is to give them MORE money?
The definition of insanity to keep doing the same things over and over with the expectation of a different result.

 

[DontBeStupid]

Does Donald Trump work harder than you do? Does he work 100,000 times harder than a nurse? A plumber? A teacher?

Yes..That's why he is wealthy.

I highly recommend you read up on his dad, Fred Trump.

 

[rightwinger]

Does Donald Trump work harder than you do? Does he work 100,000 times harder than a nurse? A plumber? A teacher?

He works smarter. There's nothing stopping a nurse, a plumber or a teacher from doing exactly what Trump did.

Except for a rich daddy

 

[Sundial]

And THAT is why we have trillions of dollars sidelined both here in America and stashed abroad right now because our fearless leader keeps threatening to increase taxes, regulation, requirements, mandates, etc. etc. etc. and business just isn't willing to risk the capital they have with so much uncertainty re the risk they will be taking.

We have trillions sidelined because of lack of demand. There's lack of demand because so many people are unemployed, and so many others are afraid of becoming unemployed.