What is Your Lifestyle?

[Lockback]

I guess Soros didn't do it any of those ways. He's an exception to that rule.

He became famous for his daring and large-scale currency speculation, most notably betting against the British pound in 1992, which earned him an estimated $1 billion profit.



What does it say that Wayne Newton only has $100 million but JZ has $1 billion dollars?

How much is a million worth today? Not nearly as much as it was. Our economic system is broken. Meanwhile the Trump's are doing great!

Jealousy, envy and bitterness are no way to go through life, son.

 

[Orangecat]

Good one. Of course he came from nothing which is why he supports Democratic causes. Compared to Don Jr. who votes GOP but was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Soros supports socialism/marxism. Are those now "Democratic causes" in your opinion?

 

[sealybobo]

So, billie eilish lied.

Got it.

No that was Robert Reich.

Billie just told billionaires to give half of their money away. It would do a lot of good and they can afford it. Why keep it all to themselves?

Billie isn't a billionaire and yet she gave $20 million away. They can do better.

 

[sealybobo]

Soros supports socialism/marxism. Are those now "Democratic causes" in your opinion?

Don't ask me. Ask young kids who surprisingly are open to socialism. I don't know what Marxism is. Sounds like red scare to me.

Yes I do support socialism. Trump is the biggest socialist there is. His hands in everything. I too believe in a well regulated economy. A good government produces a good middle class.

Do you get why a strong middle class is so important?

a. It leaves the poor no excuse. If they want to get out of poverty, they can. Because the middle class is booming.

b. It creates a good economy because everyone is spending money. Everyone wins with a strong middle class. Except the greedy rich, Republicans and corporations wanted to cut labor costs so they sent union jobs overseas. This killed the middle class. And you defended this by attacking lazy overpaid union workers. The same deplorables who voted for Trump. Irony.

 

[Lockback]

Soros supports socialism/marxism. Are those now "Democratic causes" in your opinion?

They sure as hell are.
The Democrats are full socialist/Marxists now. Anybody who denies it hasn't been paying attention.

 

[Orangecat]

Don't ask me. Ask young kids who surprisingly are open to socialism. I don't know what Marxism is. Sounds like red scare to me.

To me, Marxism is the government philosophy which supports taking from those with ability/means to subsidize those with needs. TBH, I find it acceptable when applied to a very slight degree, just enough to help the truly needy. What we have now is a degree much higher than I willingly support.

 

[Orangecat]

Billie just told billionaires to give half of their money away. It would do a lot of good and they can afford it. Why keep it all to themselves?
Billie isn't a billionaire and yet she gave $20 million away. They can do better.

I have an extreme dislike for people who think they can tell others what to do with their money, how much they can afford to give away, and virtue signaling about "doing better".

 

[Orangecat]

They sure as hell are.
The Democrats are full socialist/Marxists now. Anybody who denies it hasn't been paying attention.

They've been that way for quite a while, IMHO. They are only now starting to openly embrace it.

 

[sealybobo]

To me, Marxism is the government philosophy which supports taking from those with ability/means to subsidize those with needs. TBH, I find it acceptable when applied to a very slight degree, just enough to help the truly needy. What we have now is a degree much higher than I willingly support.

Well let me give you an example of how we are not doing enough.

a. We have all paid into social security. It should be making interest. Where's the money? Fund social security
b. These billionaires got rich in an economic system which you are complaining about. And yet you want to remove the social safety nets and programs that they benefited from. Thus making it harder for the next generation to do what they did. Look at how many boomers had job security and got pensions when they retired? But today they say we can't afford to have it that good. They say social security is going broke we may have to take a 20% cut to save the program but in the meantime, we keep giving those boomers cost of living increases. Why don't we freeze the payouts? Stop giving COLA increase. Why don't we do that? Because that would hurt them.

c. Tax laws have been changed in the last 40 years and those changes have made the rich richer. You're saying "it's not fair it's their money". Bullshit. If we go back to doing what we did 41 years ago, that's not unfair. It's fixing the mistake we made 40 years ago.

d. I LOVE the death tax. Rather than tax someone when they are alive, wait till they are dead.

Yes, a "death tax" still exists in the United States, but it is officially known as the federal estate tax and only affects a very small number of individuals and families due to high exemption thresholds. Some states also impose their own separate estate or inheritance taxes.

For 2025, the federal estate tax only applies to estates valued at more than $13.99 million per individual

So if my dad had $28 million my brother and I would each pay an estate tax on $1.

If my dad left us $30 million then we would pay a heavy tax on $2 million dollars.

If Trump died with $10 billion he now has because of him and his sons scams, they would have to pay a shit load of estate taxes. Put it toward the debt. Why give it to Eric, Don Jr., Ivanka and Baron and Tiffany? They each get $14 million clear tax free. The rest is heavily taxed.

 

[Papageorgio]

No that was Robert Reich.

Billie just told billionaires to give half of their money away. It would do a lot of good and they can afford it. Why keep it all to themselves?

Billie isn't a billionaire and yet she gave $20 million away. They can do better.

You are real good at telling others what to do with their money. You definitely should be giving more than you do. You should be donating half your income and help others. Share your home as well.

 

[Orangecat]

a. We have all paid into social security. It should be making interest. Where's the money? Fund social security

SS is a government enforced Ponzi scheme. No one should be forced into it.

b. These billionaires got rich in an economic system which you are complaining about.

And they paid taxes all along the way already.

c. Tax laws have been changed in the last 40 years and those changes have made the rich richer.

Complain to your representatives if you don't like the tax system they've implemented.

d. I LOVE the death tax. Rather than tax someone when they are alive, wait till they are dead.

If there are no taxes while someone is alive, I'm totally with you on that.

 

[sealybobo]

You are real good at telling others what to do with their money. You definitely should be giving more than you do. You should be donating half your income and help others. Share your home as well.

No. We should have a good government that taxes us all appropriately. More if necessary less if possible.

And we should have a IRS that goes after rich tax cheats. Did you know by shrinking the size of the IRS, that agency only has time to go after simple/easy tax cheats. Middle class people. But we don't have the proper staff to go after tax cheats like Trump. So literally today, the rich don't have to pay taxes. No one will catch them.

Of course the next Democratic president could come in, hire a bunch of agents and those agents could go back 7 years. But will they? I bet Trump and his buddies are taking their chances. If they get charged they'll just say "gimme a break everyone does it why pick on me?"

 

[mac allen]

SS is a government enforced Ponzi scheme. No one should be forced into it.

Agreed.

 

[sealybobo]

You are real good at telling others what to do with their money. You definitely should be giving more than you do. You should be donating half your income and help others. Share your home as well.

I just looked $48K to $103K I pay 22% as a single person

I need to make sure I max out my 401K. Still I don't think that will put my income down to under $48K. Too bad because under $48K they only pay 12%.

So I pay 22%. That's enough

Over $103K you pay 24%. That's fair

$200K I'd be paying 32%. I knew guys who made this much and complained about the taxes all the time. I probably would too if suddenly I went from paying 24% to 32%.

Over $250K, you pay 35%. But remember that's a single person

You pay 37% if you make $626K. That's a very high percentage.

Why are we broke? With all of us paying these kinds of taxes. Is it Trump's ballroom? His plane? Wasting money? Maybe we need to DOGE Trump next.

 

[Papageorgio]

No. We should have a good government that taxes us all appropriately. More if necessary less if possible.

And we should have a IRS that goes after rich tax cheats. Did you know by shrinking the size of the IRS, that agency only has time to go after simple/easy tax cheats. Middle class people. But we don't have the proper staff to go after tax cheats like Trump. So literally today, the rich don't have to pay taxes. No one will catch them.

Of course the next Democratic president could come in, hire a bunch of agents and those agents could go back 7 years. But will they? I bet Trump and his buddies are taking their chances. If they get charged they'll just say "gimme a break everyone does it why pick on me?"

Our government? lol! They are the ones that have added all the deductions and loopholes that the rich use! lol! The last President to eliminate loopholes and exemptions, Reagan, since then Democrats and Republicans have given their rich buddies more and more breaks.

I don’t look to government to make it right, they are the biggest part of the problem. They owe their masters.

 

[Papageorgio]

I just looked $48K to $103K I pay 22% as a single person

I need to make sure I max out my 401K. Still I don't think that will put my income down to under $48K. Too bad because under $48K they only pay 12%.

So I pay 22%. That's enough

Over $103K you pay 24%. That's fair

$200K I'd be paying 32%. I knew guys who made this much and complained about the taxes all the time. I probably would too if suddenly I went from paying 24% to 32%.

Over $250K, you pay 35%. But remember that's a single person

You pay 37% if you make $626K. That's a very high percentage.

Why are we broke? With all of us paying these kinds of taxes. Is it Trump's ballroom? His plane? Wasting money? Maybe we need to DOGE Trump next.

You need to give more, that is your mantra, so you need to put your money where your mouth is.

Also it is Democrats that are against DOGE, I am all for it, I don’t care what party is in power. You are against DOGE and securing our borders.

 

[SaxonJackson]

My main hobby is prepping. I freeze dry lots of food; collect gold, silver, goldbacks, and am starting to collect pure copper. I think about all the scenarios in which I may need to prepare myself. I have a nice gun collection with more ammo than I'll ever need. I target shoot on occasion but not as often as I used to. Ammo is too expensive these days.

My secondary past time is online forums (obviously), video games (I'm currently re-playing Fallout 4), and certain YouTube channels. I also like to cook my own meals to my liking using the best ingredients. I avoid fast food or even restaurant food due to their use of unhealthy ingredients.

I haven't watched television in many years (too many commercials) and will NOT watch any of the mainstream news channels: CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CBS, etc. I also refuse to watch professional sports. They all went the "woke" route and their rules have changed so much that "safety" has taken the place of hardcore competition. They're also a major, American distraction that keep folks' eyes off the more important issues.

I'm three times married but currently live alone. As it turns out ... I like it this way. No arguing. I set the temperature to my liking. I come and go as I please.

I work full time and live 75 yards from where I work which is an awesome convenience. I manage an industrial tool store and often come in on Saturdays (and some Sundays) to organize, dust, mop, or help a random customer.

My ideology or political views are more right-wing than just about everyone in this forum. I despise being lied to be politicians and will dump them the moment I realize I've been lied to, conned, or duped. It's infuriating to me. I crave honesty in government and I am an "America First / America Only" nationalist. I'm for small government; low taxes; freedom; strong borders; avoiding foreign entanglements. I'm pro-life; pro-gun; and am all for freedom of association & speech. I believe in bringing jobs back to America while, simultaneously, reducing immigration (both legal and illegal). I also refuse to glue myself to any particular politician because he happens to belong to one Party or another. I support politicians who share my standards and beliefs (or at least the majority of them) and who follow through with their promises. I'm currently pretty happy with Thomas Massie and MTG (and Rand Paul, for the most part).

I suffer from sleep apnea so my sleeping habits are off the charts. Because I'm awake (off and on) at all hours of the night, I generally fall asleep after work around 7:30PM. I wake up several times thereafter. Sometimes I go back to sleep and other times I just stay awake and watch YouTube or play a game. I used to be an avid reader but haven't picked up a book in several years even though I still buy them from time to time.

I believe in Jesus Christ but don't attend a church in my area. I am a Bible-only Christian and prefer the King James version. I used to have a collection of around 25 different versions but got rid of all but the KJV. I reject some of the more popular doctrines that I believe are false doctrines. That's another topic for another thread. I believe that "God's Chosen" are His sheep who "hear His voice." If you reject Him, you're in for a rather "toasty" afterlife.

I used to be a heavy drinker and drug user in my youth. I quit when I turned 24. I'm 65 now.

That's about it.

 

[sealybobo]

Our government? lol! They are the ones that have added all the deductions and loopholes that the rich use! lol! The last President to eliminate loopholes and exemptions, Reagan, since then Democrats and Republicans have given their rich buddies more and more breaks.

I don’t look to government to make it right, they are the biggest part of the problem. They owe their masters.

Yes the rich have taken over our government. And you guys think Trump, a rich guy, is going to take it back for you.

Reagan was the beginning of the end for the middle class. So you say he eliminated loopholes? Well that was just slight of hand. He must have added new others elsewhere.

I won't waste time looking for it and posting it but I know of an op ed piece before Trump was POTUS that said "don't just roll back the bush tax breaks. Roll back the reagan tax breaks too. Well now add the Trump tax breaks to that list.

If the government doesn't make it right it'll never be right.

Did you know Trump 1.0 doubled the number of companies who don't pay any federal taxes? I remember Republicans would say "how come Obama doesn't do anything about it? Or How come Obama gave GE that zero federal tax deal? Duh. They're GE. As if Obama is just as responsible. No he isn't. Bush created the tax laws that allowed so many companies to pay zero. Then Obama got in and didn't double that number. But Trump did.

 

[Orangecat]

No. We should have a good government that taxes us all appropriately.

"Appropriately" is far too subjective of a term. How about a flat 10% consumption tax across the board, with food being exempt?

 

[Orangecat]

So I pay 22%. That's enough

What if I think you should be paying 52%, like Mondami wants for select New Yorkers?