$53,000

[Apple Of Sodom]

That's not what I got out of your OP.



Lol. You're living a very insulated life if that's truly what you think.

Well, then I think that you have a jealousy issue and you are reading negativity into my post to make yourself feel vindicated in feel animosity toward me.

Shit, where is Moonbeam when you need him??

 

[mugs]

My Amex black card HAS A BLACK CARD. My butler HAS A BUTLER.

My butler's butler has an Amex black card.

@OP - I hope you realize that the environment in which you achieved your success did not spontaneously come to exist.

Also, you're really clueless if you think that it isn't "THAT" great being where you are. I'm "only" in the top 10%, and I know enough poor people to know that I have it a hell of a lot better than they do.

I also don't believe that I have accomplished what I've accomplished in my life in a vacuum. I may not have received direct help, but I've had opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't have had if my parents were poor.

 

[Kadarin]

I have no problem whatsoever with hardworking people who contribute to society and actually produce goods and services reaping the benefits of success. However, I DO have a problem with things like:

Transocean execs granting themselves bonuses for an "excellent" safety record.
Goldman Sachs and other financial firms benefiting from high speed trading algorithms.
Republicans and others who believe that preserving the Bush tax cuts for the rich is the single most important issue facing the Federal Government.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I have no problem whatsoever with hardworking people who contribute to society and actually produce goods and services reaping the benefits of success. However, I DO have a problem with things like:

Transocean execs granting themselves bonuses for an "excellent" safety record.
Goldman Sachs and other financial firms benefiting from high speed trading algorithms.
Republicans and others who believe that preserving the Bush tax cuts for the rich is the single most important issue facing the Federal Government.

Hey remember, the business of America is doing business....somewhere else.

 

[preslove]

There literally exists no country in the world where you have both rates of taxation as low as ours AND an economy as open to entrepreneurship. Stop whining.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Bahahahaha! I was homeschooled, fool. 🙂 And not for religious reasons, but because our school system was a joke. When I reached high school my parents asked if I wanted to go back to school or homeschool and work. I chose homeschool + work cause I had plenty of friends in public school who hated it and were as dumb as a bag full of ATOTers 🙂

Good for you. Many people have had teachers growing up who inspired them and helped them growing up.

Some people choose professions that give them different benefits than others. Someone who chooses teaching or social work KNOWS before going into it what type of money they will make. In return they do something that makes them feel good, gives them summers off (teachers) as well as retirement...

That's kind of my point. We NEED people in all sorts of professions, some of which don't pay well. Degrading those people by basically saying they didn't make the "right" choices in life is foolish.

And I don't know many teachers with an MSE...sorry.

And your point is what, exactly?

 

[bfdd]

True, true. My sister-in-law has a friend who grows medical marijuana, but grows more than allowed. They show very little income and have a pesky problem of laundering the money from what I hear. Allegedly they have a couple hundred thousand buried in cans in their yard. Problem is, if they start spending it on legit shit (homes, cars) then the IRS will get wise and audit them...

they're stupid then. laundering a few grand a week wouldn't be hard at all.

 

[rivan]

Well, then I think that you have a jealousy issue and you are reading negativity into my post to make yourself feel vindicated in feel animosity toward me.

Hardly jealous; I just think you're either a colossally selfish person or ultra-insulated to think you're living like the common man.

Frankly, at this point I'm wondering if I'm just feeding the troll.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Good for you. Many people have had teachers growing up who inspired them and helped them growing up.



That's kind of my point. We NEED people in all sorts of professions, some of which don't pay well. Degrading those people by basically saying they didn't make the "right" choices in life is foolish.



And your point is what, exactly?

We do need those people. I didn't say that THEY didn't make the right choices. People who want more money but are having a time achieving it didn't make the right choices. I know plenty of people who want free time over work/money, which is fine. So someone who is making $40K a year and NEEDS more money (for whatever reason - kids, bills, expensive mortgage) should have made different choices.

For those who are content at $40K/year, I say cheers to them!

 

[soulcougher73]

Thread backfire.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

And your point is what, exactly?

You said teachers had more education than I did. I say, no, not generally.

It isn't even about the level of education... it is about hard work and integrity.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It isn't even about the level of education... it is about hard work and integrity.

I agree with you 100% and I do respect your accomplishments. In fact, I envy people who can go out and start their own successful businesses. I don't feel that I lack the intelligence or work ethic to do it; I think I lack the most important overlooked feature -- socialization skills. I think if I had a different personality, life sure would've been much easier. 🙂

And I thought I said that most had the same level of education, not more. If I said more, that was a mistake on my part.

 

[Engineer]

You said teachers had more education than I did. I say, no, not generally.

It isn't even about the level of education... it is about hard work and integrity.

I hope you are not implying that all teachers don't work hard and have no integrity.

 

[Aharami]

Hardly jealous; I just think you're either a colossally selfish person or ultra-insulated to think you're living like the common man.

Frankly, at this point I'm wondering if I'm just feeding the troll.

I think you are. If anyone making 400K+ a year thinks he lives like the common man, HAS to be ultra insulated

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

I hope you are not implying that all teachers don't work hard and have no integrity.

You know that is not what I said. I said it isn't about level of education, it is about hard work and integrity. That statement has nothing to do with teachers. I just don't want people to think that I believe ANYONE with a degree will make more/is smarter than someone without one.

 

[Engineer]

You know that is not what I said. I said it isn't about level of education, it is about hard work and integrity. That statement has nothing to do with teachers. I just don't want people to think that I believe ANYONE with a degree will make more/is smarter than someone without one.

It's not about what I "know", it's about how the sentence was worded.

 

[JEDI]

Here are some charts to give us an idea of what "top 1%" might be:
http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html

thx for the link.

wowthe top 1% only make $380,354?! 😱

thought the top 1% made at least 7figures.

i guess $1M is top .5%?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

I think you are. If anyone making 400K+ a year thinks he lives like the common man, HAS to be ultra insulated

Maybe a little above the norm but certainly not a lifestyle of super luxury like is assumed by many. See, when you start making money like that you get slapped with stupid rules. I cannot, for example, contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA. I pay $100K in taxes. I don't get a subsidized cell phone like so many people in my state do...etc etc.

It isn't bad...but it isn't fair to lump me in with hedge fund managers and rally and say "Yeah fuck those guys! They have all the wealth! Tax 'em to death!" Not that it is fair to do that to a smart investor. My money is on shutting down all of these tax loopholes that corporations use.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

It's not about what I "know", it's about how the sentence was worded.

"It isn't even about the level of education... it is about hard work and integrity."

How does that even imply teachers do not work hard or have integrity? Goddamn, this is exactly why people cannot have a decent conversation on here.

Success (however an individual chooses to measure it) is about hard work and integrity. Education is a means to success, but education itself is not success, nor does it guarantee it.

 

[JTsyo]

I see two major problems:

People confuse the top 1% with ultra-rich bankers and oil execs (more like the top 0.01% or something). I don't think there's a lot of outrage against people who make a few hundred grand a year. It's the guys who get millions and millions of dollars and then act like they deserve government bailouts. The guys who run their companies into the ground, make obviously bad decisions that cost thousands of people their jobs, and ride home on a golden parachute.

The other is that a lot of very rich people are perfectly willing to pay a large portion of their income in taxes, with many even outright saying that they SHOULD be paying more. The outrage should be directed at Congress for passing tax cuts that benefit the ultra-rich more than anyone else in the name of job creation. The economic benefits of such cuts are often outweighed by the problems they introduce (namely, larger deficits).

I appreciate that you pay your taxes like (almost) everyone else. What I hate is when I see billionaires like Larry Ellison whine about their taxes until they get a break.

Exactly. I hate it when I see in the papers, so-so company is doing bad and laying off employees while at the same time giving the execs millions in bonuses that would easily cover the jobs they shed.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The trade offs are not as simple as money or free time. The OP's casual mention of $40k belies an understanding of the state of America's economy. Millions of Americans would kill to make $40,000 a year. Now, if only they had education, worked hard and, had integrity. D:

What does it say about your world view if they do?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

thx for the link.

wowthe top 1% only make $380,354?! 😱

thought the top 1% made at least 7figures.

i guess $1M is top .5%?

Yep. And $380K is a far cry from the hundreds of millions execs make. Again, the point was that we need to stop beating up the 1% people because not all of us are the problem...not any more than the top 5% are the problem.

 

[her209]

thx for the link.

wowthe top 1% only make $380,354?! 😱

thought the top 1% made at least 7figures.

i guess $1M is top .5%?

Different chart. Note that this is for "families".

 

[Blackjack200]

Yep. And $380K is a far cry from the hundreds of millions execs make. Again, the point was that we need to stop beating up the 1% people because not all of us are the problem...not any more than the top 5% are the problem.

If you have a callous and dismissive attitude to the poor (Escalades and Food Stamps), why should I have any other kind of attitude toward you?

I pay my taxes, yet don't feel the need to create a thread bitching about it. Amazing.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

The trade offs are not as simple as money or free time. The OP's casual mention of $40k belies an understanding of the state of America's economy. Millions of Americans would kill to make $40,000 a year. Now, if only they had education, worked hard and, had integrity. D:

What does it say about your world view if they do?

I threw that number out there as I believe it was mentioned as a teacher's salary.

A decent certified nursing assistant can make $40k/year. It takes about 8 weeks of school and hard work.

Millions of Americans are too good to start at the bottom and work their way up. Nobody wants to be a Wal-Mart cashier or a receptionist while they go to school or try to work their way up in the system. No, we all want to start off as middle management with 6 weeks of vacation and full benefits.