Why do we allow so few to hoard to much wealth?

[DCal430]

10%?
so is that the magical number one should donate to the needy?

or is it the max amount you're willing to give up before it interferes with you living your lifestyle?

10% is what I can afford, the more money you have the more you can afford to donate.

 

[Steeplerot]

The depending on the rich to throw the poor scraps works really well in the real world isnt it? This is so sad you guys cling to this as a last defense.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

The depending on the rich to throw the poor scraps works really well in the real world isnt it? This is so sad you guys cling to this as a last defense.

I'm not rich, and I donate to charity. Who decides what is "too much money" for someone to have? You?

 

[piasabird]

The reason people want to be rich is so that they can buy lots of stuff. Buying stuff helps the economy. Why do you care if some people are rich? Envy is a sin. I dont know what is up with that photo? Looks almost photoshopped to me.

You sound like a communist.

 

[DCal430]

I'm not rich, and I donate to charity. Who decides what is "too much money" for someone to have? You?

It should be obvious to all when you have a billion more than the poorest man you have excess. The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

 

[Kev]

By all means continue to whine about it. Keep thinking the man has got his boot on your neck while those around you are leading very good lives. You are the master of your own destiny. You - no one else. If you feel your lot in life is to piss, moan and complain about what others have got you will have achieved nothing. Learn to get satisfaction from your misery because it is of your doing.

My stepson, a recovered alcoholic, 38 years old with no car and no driver's license, in debt up to his eyeballs, divorced, with child support, currently twists balloons for a living at a local Jeepers. I was ashamed for him but my thoughts changed very recently.

His mother and I stopped by at his work last Saturday afternoon when we were in the area. He had children with their parents lined up for his creations. He took a break and I asked how things were going. He said he's pulling in typically between $140 to $380 a day twisting balloons. He's renting space from Jeepers to the tune of $75 a week. He works the fairs and outdoor markets and such on the weekends in the summer months and he told me he's had $800 days doing that. He NEVER complains. He just picks himself up when he stumbles, reinvents himself and works within the systems that are in place.

He's been a waiter, carpenter, roofer, odd jobber, more different jobs than I can remember. He's picked up cans off the side of the road for money. Every trade he's done work in he's taught himself to do it. No complaints from him. He recognizes his shortcomings, realizes he's going to fall on his face from time to time, gets back up and gets back in the game. No whining about the man having his boot on his neck.

The opportunities are still boundless in this country of ours. The biggest obstacle we all need to overcome is ourselves. Those that do can thrive in varying degrees. Once you realize what's holding you back is not the system but yourself, you will find peace with the lot you hold in life.

You want to help your fellow human beings? Well you can and in a big way. Work within the system that exists and your possibilities are endless if you just learn to throw off the constraints you put on yourself. Make it big and help whomever you wish.

In the meantime quit whining because I'm not doing what you could be doing.

I also have a personal story about a friend who was born into wealth, and basically takes vacations half the year while getting jobs when he "feels like it."

Anecdotal evidence FTW!

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

10% is what I can afford, the more money you have the more you can afford to donate.

you have a computer. kids in somalia don't have those. you should be donating that, along with everything else that a common person wouldn't have in a 3rd world country.

if you're not doing that, you're a hypocrite.

 

[Steeplerot]

I'm not rich, and I donate to charity. Who decides what is "too much money" for someone to have? You?

Who said anyone wanted to? Save your talk radio strawmen for your peers who buy that nonsense.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It should be obvious to all when you have a billion more than the poorest man you have excess. The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

LOL! Wow, you are really delusional and have no clue how the real world works.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Who said anyone wanted to? Save your talk radio strawmen for your peers who buy that nonsense.

No strawmen here. That is what people in this thread (DCal) are claiming and he provided the (ridiculous) answer.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

It should be obvious to all when you have a billion more than the poorest man you have excess. The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

the poorest man is the homeless guy on the streets with probably no more thanthe clothes on his back and the $20 he got from begging that day.

by your logic, the richest man in the world should have $200 and a nicer change of clothes.

 

[Steeplerot]

No strawmen here. That is what people in this thread (DCal) are claiming and he provided the (ridiculous) answer.

Sigh...the left is a basketcase. No country has done the wage cap thing in real life socialist/capitalist whatever. It is nonsense.

Some basic lefty economics would serve people in here well.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Sigh...the left is a basketcase. No country has done the wage cap thing in real life socialist/capitalist whatever. It is nonsense.

You're right, it is nonsense, and I don't think it will ever happen. But that wasn't the question here. DCal comes in here and says people have too much money and when I pose the question of what is too much, he serves up a ridiculous answer.

 

[BoberFett]

It should be obvious to all when you have a billion more than the poorest man you have excess. The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

You are far more than 10 times as rich as the poorest man. Why do you hate the poor you evil piece of shit?

 

[Steeplerot]

To be honest one thing the right wing noise machine has done over the years has totally obscured lefty economics into small bite sized generalizations. Most of them very misleading (to be expected from the opposition) this is really bad if we cannot even have a debate without folks using rw crap to argue against rightwingers themselves. Total fail.

I would try to explain stuff better but I am more of a history buff then economics. (I have read quite a bit though)

 

[MotF Bane]

I'm not rich, and I donate to charity. Who decides what is "too much money" for someone to have? You?

Pay him no mind, he's still shell-shocked from a little earlier in this thread.

 

[JimW1949]

If providing a tax break for people who donate to charities plays no part in why people donate to charity, then why doesn't the Government remove deductions for charitable contributions from the tax code? Since people are donating money to charity for reasons not associated with tax deductions anyway, doing this would provide more money to the Government and it would not lower the monies donated to charities.

 

[MotF Bane]

It should be obvious to all when you have a billion more than the poorest man you have excess. The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

Yeah, sure. So are you still in middle school, or have you been hiding from the real world in graduate school for about a decade? Here, have a cookie, and go start flipping burgers or something.

 

[MotF Bane]

To be honest one thing the right wing noise machine has done over the years has totally obscured lefty economics into small bite sized generalizations. Most of them very misleading (to be expected from the opposition) this is really bad if we cannot even have a debate without folks using rw crap to argue against rightwingers themselves. Total fail.

I would try to explain stuff better but I am more of a history buff then economics. (I have read quite a bit though)

Let's ask the Soviet Union how their economy turned... oh, wait, that's gonna be tough. Okay, how about Vietn... never mind. Maybe China? Nope, guess not, that's showing lots of capitalist traits. They betrayed The Vision! So maybe North Korea? Uh, doesn't look promising. Cuba? Not happening.

Then your reply becomes - THAT'S NOT REAL SOCIALISM! THAT'S NOT *MY* LEFTIST ECONOMICS.

Well, of course you'll answer that in the face of such failures, but let's use that theory for a minute. Let's take DCal430, he's a leftist by pretty much any interpretation.

The richest man should be no more than 10 times richer than the poorest man.

If that's leftist economics, well, hell, I don't need to go any further.

 

[alkemyst]

FACT the top 1% hold more than 40% of the world wealth, FACT the top 10% hold more than 85% of the world wealth, and the bottom 50% of the world has less than 1% of the world wealth.

Seems to me we are allowing the top to hoard all of the resources and wealth, while the bottom to get nothing. These people collect all of this wealth that they don't need, while people in countries like Uganda can't even get enough water to drink.

Something needs to be done about this.

QFT Bruddah...

My money is on putting the Colt 45 down, stop spending time looking for stolen rims and BASS, and get a job.

Now one has a little bit of wealth...rinse and repeat.

 

[Linflas]

If providing a tax break for people who donate to charities plays no part in why people donate to charity, then why doesn't the Government remove deductions for charitable contributions from the tax code? Since people are donating money to charity for reasons not associated with tax deductions anyway, doing this would provide more money to the Government and it would not lower the monies donated to charities.

How about we go even further and remove all that crap from the tax code and quit using the tax code as a blunt instrument to try and favor whatever fad policy is currently in vogue with the idiots in Congress? No deductions/credits for anything period.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

The point that you should do something with your life to gain wealth means you need to turn into an evil scum sucking fuck who would be OK with harming and hurting his/her fellow human being.

If you have the stomach for such behavior, you will have full pockets.

You don't get rich by being evil. You get rich by providing a good or service that people want to buy. People giving you money to provide something or it isn't stealing from the middle/lower class; it's called a transaction.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

If providing a tax break for people who donate to charities plays no part in why people donate to charity, then why doesn't the Government remove deductions for charitable contributions from the tax code? Since people are donating money to charity for reasons not associated with tax deductions anyway, doing this would provide more money to the Government and it would not lower the monies donated to charities.

We didn't say it plays *no* part - it effectively allows them to contribute more to the charities. If remove the tax code then of the $1 million I'm willing to donate, $360,000 goes to the government and I end up only donating $640,000 to charity.

The charitable contribution deductions are there to help the CHARITIES get more money.

If you think otherwise, please explain to me how donating ANY money at all is beneficial to me.

 

[DCal430]

We didn't say it plays *no* part - it effectively allows them to contribute more to the charities. If remove the tax code then of the $1 million I'm willing to donate, $360,000 goes to the government and I end up only donating $640,000 to charity.

The charitable contribution deductions are there to help the CHARITIES get more money.

If you think otherwise, please explain to me how donating ANY money at all is beneficial to me.

Like I said there are too many religious based charities, who are nothing but front end for spreading their propaganda. Take the catholic church, look at all of their propaganda charities. Same with other Christian, and even Muslim and Jewish charities.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

I kinda like this "no more than 10x" idea... but no man should ever have to work 10x harder than the laziest man, or take 10x the risk of the most conservative man, or have 10x the stress of the most laid back man.

Can someone help me out with the math? You have a broke man with 0 stress, 0 work and 0 risk. What is 10*0?