Or, "how Citigroup analysts described the 1%ers to a T back in 2005":
http://cryptome.org/0005/rich-pander.pdf
http://cryptome.org/0005/rich-pander.pdf
Gah. Can read no more.
Plutonomy
- Thread starter Toshi
- Start date
The world must look like absolute chit to you from inside that media bubble you live in. You better stay there; if you ever learn the truth it might give you a heart attack.
Do the rich really forget what happens when there's massive (and growing worse) income disparity??
And then...
It seems once every hundred years or so the richest 1% twist rules in their favor to the extent that they're FAR wealthier than everyone else, and then the poor rise up and behead/shoot/imprison those 1% and implement programs that distribute the wealth, and then over the course of the next 90 or so years the rich build their way back to prosperity and then it happens all over again. You'd think that maybe the rich would have learned by now?
And then...
It seems once every hundred years or so the richest 1% twist rules in their favor to the extent that they're FAR wealthier than everyone else, and then the poor rise up and behead/shoot/imprison those 1% and implement programs that distribute the wealth, and then over the course of the next 90 or so years the rich build their way back to prosperity and then it happens all over again. You'd think that maybe the rich would have learned by now?
No, because it happens at worst once in their lifetimes each time.Do the rich really forget what happens when there's massive (and growing worse) income disparity??
And then...
It seems once every hundred years or so the richest 1% twist rules in their favor to the extent that they're FAR wealthier than everyone else, and then the poor rise up and behead/shoot/imprison those 1% and implement programs that distribute the wealth, and then over the course of the next 90 or so years the rich build their way back to prosperity and then it happens all over again. You'd think that maybe the rich would have learned by now?
Is there anything reducing taxes can't fix?
Constipation?
Stupidity and paid shills screeching for more?
defecates?
This may be my favorite post you've ever made.
You probably don't even know why, but I do.
Go type that exact word into google.
how big can your pile be? no, no, i'm not talking about 35" MT super swampers; i mean cheddar.
i have everything i need
i want for nothing
what do i care that there are those [geographically, anyway] in our midst who have unimaginable wealth?
what do i care if they hoard almost all of it, giving far, far less than 1% to charity & are "irresponsible" with it?
let go of the bitterness
let go of the covetousness
i have everything i need
i want for nothing
what do i care that there are those [geographically, anyway] in our midst who have unimaginable wealth?
what do i care if they hoard almost all of it, giving far, far less than 1% to charity & are "irresponsible" with it?
let go of the bitterness
let go of the covetousness
That one was actually intentional, I know how to spell deficits
what am i looking for?
Whose societal interest should the government cater too? Whom should they listen too?
Deep, man.
I'm personally against it because it reflects the vast disconnect between effort * skill and rewards garnered. There is no freakin' way that people are doing 100x the "work" that I am, yet there are people who reap those rewards.
(One could turn this lens around 180 degrees and argue whether I'm doing 10x the work of a line worker, but I think that's easier to justify in terms of educational attainment, etc... but of course I'd think so, right?
)
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Not only can we blame you for the income disparity, but we get to pin skyrocketing health care costs on you too...
I'm not on the clinical frontlines, where imaging studies are indeed wildly overutilized... but it's not my job to be the gatekeeper. Those who control the pursestrings--the insurers, public or private, or the hospital administrators--are the people who should be cracking down on overuse.Not only can we blame you for the income disparity, but we get to pin skyrocketing health care costs on you too...
I love how you find your unbiased data on american enterprise insitute. Seriously. This is not a neutral agency so you taking your data from there is beyond stupid
From their site.
Also I think you must know less than me about the stimulus package and not read properly. The one now is allso called to little, a lot went to big business (which paid its Executives huge premiums from it - ergo poorly directed as in japan so big companies are not allways good). Also it's a different situation. Taxes in the US are lower now than they were then in Japan If I remember right.
Dante - just go to South Africa. We should send hello kitty there. Of course he will think it's because black men are evil but that won't really matter when they decide to rape him as their way of saying how much they respect his money.
#occupyToshi'sApartment ?Not only can we blame you for the income disparity, but we get to pin skyrocketing health care costs on you too...
no one in particular
not the loudest voice
not the deepest pockets
not the most pious
unsure what that whittles it down to, but there ya go
Then there is a serious need for a correction, no?
Are you applying for the job of Poet Laureate at the Heritage Foundation too? My application:
eliminate tax
infinite revenues
praise be to jeebus
You realize that, despite your comfortable life, there are still people in the US who are struggling to put food on the table or to provide a decent quality of life for their family?
"I'm happy with the status-quo so you should be too" is not a very powerful argument.
not sure to whom that's directed
anyone who's read a minority of my posts with a modicum of reading comprehension knows that's not my position, nor one with which i empathize
boogeyman or strawman; i don't care, really
just b/c someone wants something, we should give it to them, or shall we ensure they have the opportunities to either succeed or fail based upon their decisions?
i'd rather have the freedom to fail, as i have in the past. it taught me much more than putting my hand in someone else's pocket.
That's the thing though, when you're paying out the ass for healthcare, and working 2 8$ an hour jobs to attempt to pay for food for you and your kids, it's a bit on a difficult side to get a leg ahead. The system is working against the poor who are hard working, and allowing the lazy rich to rob them blind through campaign donations.
[devil'sadvocate] Why the **** did said person have children when they were only equipped with the skills to warrant working minimum wage jobs? [/da]
Your posts have taken on a certain...... poetic quality to them. Reread them and think "bad haiku".
Even without kids it's hard to put food in YOUR mouth, and pay rent. I know plenty of kids my age working 40 hours a week, making 8 or 9$ an hour, they can't really afford a gas or insurance, much less a car. It's food and rent, that's about it, if one of them were to get sick they would be in a whole world of ****.
If some one works full time they should be able to at least, put food on their plate, pay some rent, and see a doctor. The reality is, you can't really do that.
A car, gasoline to run it, and insurance for the whole mess is not a guaranteed right. Take the bus or ride a bike--works for plenty of Hispanic immigrants so why shouldn't it work for white boys from the 'burbs?
Continuing with the devil's advocacy here: Do your friends have cell phones? Do they buy new clothes? Video games? There's a hell of a lot of fat to be cut out from most peoples' lives, and whinging that one just can't get by on $20k/yr as a single person rings false to my ears... since I lived, as a single person, on $20k* myself. Did I have health insurance? Yep. Did I maintain continuing auto insurance coverage? $25/yr to Zipcar accomplished that. Did I eat enough food to stay alive? Not an issue... Did I have a car, though? No, and that single choice saved me multiple thousands of dollars.
(* I made more than that, but I put away enough into my IRA and 403b accounts such that I netted about $20k.)
True, I ride my bike everywhere
These kids don't eat out, most have cell phones instead of a house phone, the broke asses I know don't play video games. They either A) go to school, and work and nothing else, or they B) are trying to make something of themselves playing music (hardcore to be more specific, that being dumb is another issue) NONE of them have health insurance (nor can they afford it) They make ends meat, but barely.
Oh, and 8 an hour is 1600$ before taxes, that's quite a bit off of 20K
health insurance doesn't come so easy nowadays. and for some (not all) not having a car is not possible. i guess i could ride my bike to work everyday, but i'd be pulling just shy of 80 miles a day. i'd drop dead with the hours i have to work sometimes. and never see my kids, which i think is important, more important than a few extra bucks in my pocket.
owning a house closer to work is just not a possibility. i can't afford it, so i would have to move out of state to live closer to my job. and i thought i read you saying once that it wasn't a sustainable way to live - not having a car (i'm paraphrasing with some liberties i think). and also, if all americans dropped cell phones and cars from their budgets and use, wouldn't there be lots of job loss? vz would layoff, att would layoff, ford, chevy, toyota would all probably lay off workers too. your local mechanics would lose work, the parts suppilers would lose work too. cutting spending doesn't help ecomonies, it hurts them. we don't want people making $20k a year. we want people making $40k a year, or $50k a year, that's better for the economy. i know you're playin DA, i'm just returning a serve.
Where's all their money going then? Into their cars? Into buying musical equipment for their bands? No pity there, either.
Owning a house isn't a right, either, let alone one close to your workplace. You made the choice to live farther away, and owning a car therefore should have been part of your "is it worth it?" cost metric.
Your point about increased consumption being what the economy needs is one that I've mulled over myself, as it seems to be ultimately unsustainable:
https://plus.google.com/115479414905422234350/posts/eF31S4mVYPf
https://plus.google.com/115479414905422234350/posts/MPoSAB4itu6
https://plus.google.com/115479414905422234350/posts/9qSa8JQq8bt
I know 1 kid who lives like that an owns a car, he doesn't have insurance
Lets see, that's like 1200$ a month on 8$ an hour, you're looking at between 6 and 700 for a room around here (unless you live out a bit, then 5 is doable BUTTT you need to factor in bart bus costs) add another 100$ in utilities and 40$ on a cheep phone thats less than 500$ a month to buy food, get to work, buy food, replace worn out shoes things of that nature. Now I don't know how much food costs where you are, but I can easily drop 80$ a week for food for myself at the grocery store, that's with no booze, no meat, nothing organic, cooking from scratch twice a day.
Like I was saying, they barely make it, I feel especially bad for my friends who's parents kicked them too the curb, but because of their age can't get FAFSA money. Even CC around here is 1000$ a year tuition and another 1000$ in books, so there goes those kids money.
2 points
1) wages are lower there, as well as cost of living
2) how the hell are you supposed to afford to move across the country with no car and no money?
Uh, no offense, but that's not exactly a cohesive argument when you extrapolate it to the rest of the population. There has to be *someone* to flip burgers for minimum wage or else the living costs go through the roof. If everyone who made less than $15/hour moved to the midwest prices would go up for everyone to the point that $20/hour workers would have to move........