The beauty of capitalism in pictures.

Ahh, yes. The ole "you remember something that I don't, and that makes you creepy." Instead of, you know, speaking to my ability to have a strong memory, especially when it's so easy to do so when said history is compounded with idiocy.

I was (and generally still am) a strong trader around here, so it behooves me to remember who I should and should not deal with. And after the fantastic meltdown you had at the time, I logged it away as a future thumbprint, labeled simply as "this guy is a damned baby, don't deal with him anymore." I'm sorry you lack the mental capacity to do as much, and then flame that inability back toward me, citing my ability as a shortcoming. It is like a one armed man criticizing someone who uses both hands to catch a damned fly ball.

Being someone so high and mighty about his master's degree, and then managing to not use "you're" correctly in the midst of a post more than once makes me question a lot of things. Like, perhaps, your coursework might be on a series of cassette tapes, and you get to print out your diploma when you're done.

Ah, notice the usage of your and you're up there. Learning! The more you know.

Instead of more Glenn Beck posturing, ask a mod to check the IP addresses. You know what those are, right? They can put an end to your delusions within seconds. I'd be delighted to find out I'm actually two people, actually. Make my dreams come true. You have the power.

In the meantime, since I have a better grasp on which one us knows he's a prick versus never assuming as much, I believe I shall not pollute this thread further. With off topic ramblings, I mean. I fully intend to poison it with more librul propaganda.
 
Thanks for the background Msut and Strell. I love learning about these fools.

Haha Jputa, you fucking hypocrite. You don't even know how to make a deal. The gaming industry is fairly priced yet you still pirate games. WTF is your problem man?
 
While we're on the subject (given some of the recent posts in here), I want to make it absolutely clear that while I will disagree with people strongly, it would take a lot for me to actually install genuine distaste for them in my head. I'm more of the opinion that my actions and thoughts and preferences won't - as defeatist as it sounds - honestly affect my social outcome. Yeah, maybe I can vote to get a Democrat into the White House, and maybe I can voice concern over Prop 8 and whatnot, but that's almost zero times when there will be an immediate result present in my life.

Which is to say, even given some viewpoints here that I disagree with, alongside social and political constructs I'd love to see demolished, I can't foresee a time where I'd be troubled by what some of you guys post. Or, were we face to face, say. It would take a lot for me to start wasting energy to dislike someone on here, and an Earth shattering amount to hate them.

You guys seem ok for the most part. That's all I can ask for, and thankfully that seems to be what I've got.

Ok, now that that is done, let's go back to insulting each other's collective intelligence.

You Republicans are so dumb, you think Al Queda funds the War on Christmas.
 
[quote name='Strell']Ahh, yes. The ole "you remember something that I don't, and that makes you creepy." Instead of, you know, speaking to my ability to have a strong memory, especially when it's so easy to do so when said history is compounded with idiocy.

I was (and generally still am) a strong trader around here, so it behooves me to remember who I should and should not deal with. And after the fantastic meltdown you had at the time, I logged it away as a future thumbprint, labeled simply as "this guy is a damned baby, don't deal with him anymore." I'm sorry you lack the mental capacity to do as much, and then flame that inability back toward me, citing my ability as a shortcoming. It is like a one armed man criticizing someone who uses both hands to catch a damned fly ball.

Being someone so high and mighty about his master's degree, and then managing to not use "you're" correctly in the midst of a post more than once makes me question a lot of things. Like, perhaps, your coursework might be on a series of cassette tapes, and you get to print out your diploma when you're done.

Ah, notice the usage of your and you're up there. Learning! The more you know.

Instead of more Glenn Beck posturing, ask a mod to check the IP addresses. You know what those are, right? They can put an end to your delusions within seconds. I'd be delighted to find out I'm actually two people, actually. Make my dreams come true. You have the power.

In the meantime, since I have a better grasp on which one us knows he's a prick versus never assuming as much, I believe I shall not pollute this thread further. With off topic ramblings, I mean. I fully intend to poison it with more librul propaganda.[/QUOTE]

I have seen more than a few spelling mistakes on your part, so please forgive me if I practice a little bit of a casualness to my spelling while I am talking to a babbling hateful idiot like yourself on a video game message board, I didn't know I was being graded. What is "librul propaganda"? I would love to know what you've accomplished with your life that you're (see I did know the difference) putting me down because I mentioned I was going back for a higher degree. I'm sure you make 100K a year writing Mario fanfic.

You're (see!) so petty and whiny, that you have to constantly insult me and use your alias to find things from my past, then actually support your radical liberal BS. Funny you mentioning you want me banned for standing up to you, it's like the liberal inability to get ratings and the fairness doctrine eh? If I dare try to defend myself or call you out for what you are, you'll( I do know contractions) bring up your anti-religion hate speech. It's pretty clear that you're (see!) an aquired taste that nobody here appreciates. You only appeal to 6 year olds with half the crap I see you post. You change the subject and make personal attacks instead of talking about the issues.

Let's make a seperate thread about all the stupid shit I do, and why don't you reply with your socialist views. We can go back and forth all day if you really want to, I think you really do, I am sure you have already looked for an example of me coming out of nowhere and attacking you but you can't find one, I have no interest in you at all, this was between me and msut before you chimed in. All I do is call out uninformed liberal on here, the fact that you are the poster boy for angry uninformed liberals and you hate the fact that I stand up to you, stop whining and beat me with your viewpoint, stop looking for dirt on me, it's not the grown man thing to do.
 
[quote name='camoor']Thanks for the background Msut and Strell. I love learning about these fools.

Haha Jputa, you fucking hypocrite. You don't even know how to make a deal. The gaming industry is fairly priced yet you still pirate games. WTF is your problem man?[/QUOTE]


No, you must be msut. I had it all wrong. My problem...man, is that once I made a post about a disc of games someone burned for me, and that my friend is because I once smoked some blow with Obama. It was 5+ years ago, get over it. Now me and Obama bid on stuff on ebay and not pay for it, and make posts about it. Ok that was more recent :) Truth is, I admit I fucked up, but I'm not going to apologize to you or anyone else about it. I am sure everyone has made a mistake in there life, maybe even demanded more in a trade. And please be honest and tell me the four games and the condition of them. I will know based on the titles whether I even collect for those systems or wanted those games. Kinda odd that I pirate games, yet here I was trading or buying from people as my feedback shows. And it only took me 8 years to get caught selling all my bootlegs, right wink wink. The fact that you feel compelled to throw the first stone shows that you are either infalliable or have so many mistakes that you will attack someone else than admit your faults. And I do not know what this how to do with the beauty of capitalism, except as a platform for attacks by strell.
 
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[quote name='elprincipe']You've taken the words out of my mouth. Strell does have a unique way of expressing himself and has strong opinions about things, quite a few of which I disagree with, and seems like a smart guy capable of intelligent discussion. The mere fact that he wrote a multi-paragraph post here is proof enough he's not msut.[/QUOTE]

Well at least we can all agree on msut, whether or not he is his own person, or another personallity of strell will have to wait, yes msut is definately not "a smart guy capable of intelligent discussion", thank you elprincipe, we may be Republican and Democrat, but we can cross the aisle and agree on that.
 
Where's the goddamned argument here, folks?

Anyone who decries "left" as "socialist" without offering up any deeper insight or analysis, assuming the relationship to be self evident, as you do puta - well, you're simply showing yourself incapable of finishing graduate school. I've seen the attrition rate from entering cohorts to graduation day. I am highly suspect that you have the intellectual acumen to last a single year in graduate school. Be prepared to be the 40% who drops out before the end of the first year because you were caught off guard that this was 60+ hours a week of work, and not "college part 2: electric boogaloo."
 
The Crotch uses italics. Another one of my many aliases?

Just who in the hell am I? Who do I think I am? Running around in Canada. That's how you know it's true - Strell proclaims to be in Texas, which - according to most Americans - is the farthest place south in the entire world, and perhaps even the entire galaxy.

What if all of CAG is nothing but me? What if I am everyone? How would I know? How would anyone know? If Descartes were alive today, I'd point him to this conundrum, and ask that he knock off all that mathematics shit.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Where's the goddamned argument here, folks?

Anyone who decries "left" as "socialist" without offering up any deeper insight or analysis, assuming the relationship to be self evident, as you do puta - well, you're simply showing yourself incapable of finishing graduate school. I've seen the attrition rate from entering cohorts to graduation day. I am highly suspect that you have the intellectual acumen to last a single year in graduate school. Be prepared to be the 40% who drops out before the end of the first year because you were caught off guard that this was 60+ hours a week of work, and not "college part 2: electric boogaloo."[/QUOTE]


Don't worry about me, I will have my degree by the end of the school year with a couple summer classes. There was some debate going on until everyone ganged up on me, the little Marxists in here thought it better than trying to explain themselves. What the hell does my ebay suspension have to do with the topic huh? Check out some the posts before all the personal attacks against me, I was trying to understand why many on here were in favor of socialism and why the system isn't more successful. It's only when strell/msut started bringing up hisright wing anti religion conspiracy crap that I called him the Marxist bleeding heart liberal pussy that he is.
 
[quote name='jputahraptor']Truth is, I admit I fucked up, but I'm not going to apologize to you or anyone else about it.[/QUOTE]

Lemme guess - you want to grow up to be a Wall Street investment banker.
 
[quote name='camoor']Lemme guess - you want to grow up to be a Wall Street investment banker.[/QUOTE]

Seems like a good fit!

Hope he isn't considering a Ph D. People with his views and attitudes would get eaten alive in academia.
 
[quote name='jputahraptor']I didn't say this last part, don't quote others without seperating them by name.


I don't know what I did wrong, it quoted my replies with his, my replies start with a word in CAPS.[/QUOTE]

I don't see how this relates to Wal-Mart poisoning water supplies by mishandling pesticides and fertilizers. I'll check post 172 next.
 
This thread went well.

New topic - Wal-Mart will kill you and your family so long as it's cheaper than or more profitable than the alternative. Go.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/our-work/wal-mart/

Will that work?[/QUOTE]

Okay, I went back and checked this out... so, a company was doing something illegal, was caught, paid the fine and fixed the problem?

Meanwhile, I didn't see anywhere where the drinking water had actually been tested to see if the potential pollutants had actually effected the water supply.

I didn't see where anyone was storing the products outdoors out of evil - just convenience/ignorance (ignorance, in this case, being a lack of relevant information in regards to the subject).

I can't help but wonder how many individuals store these same products outdoors - and use them on their own lawns and gardens (isn't that what they're intended for? What happens when it rains on your lawn?) within these communities... obviously, someone uses them, thus the local stores carry them...

Anywhoo, company did bad, paid remittance, fixed the error and life went on. What would you propose be done differently?
 
I guess this is the appropriate reply.

[quote name='jputahraptor']I acknowledge that their are companies out there that have done activities such as this, but it that representive of all the corporation that don't do anything illegal or damaging to the enviornment. If all 500 companies on the Fortune 500 were polluting the Earth I'm pretty sure we'd all be dead. I'm not justifying Wal-Mart but I'm also not going to lump companies that don't have these practices or companies that donate money to charties if only to look good or get write-offs, things that wouldn't happen if the government had the keys. Maybe the gov. can stop wasting so many millions taking pictures of outer space to give companies and individuals more incentives and tax breaks to outfit their homes and businesses with more eco-friendly technology that the gov. doesn't dream up or produce. [/QUOTE]

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/full_list/

1. Exxon Mobil. Other than the obvious Exxon Valdez, do I need to point out their continuing contribution to environmental damage?

2. Wal-Mart Stores. Oh, right. That whole poisoning local water supplies thing.

3. Chevron. See Exxon Mobil and see suppression of large format NiMH battery technology which would allow electric cars to become popular and usable.

4. Conoco Phillips. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConocoPhillips "The suit claimed that a number of foreign oil companies colluded with the Georgia government to induce authorities to approve a $3 billion pipeline without properly evaluating environmental impact." Of course, this also blackens the eye of former socialist republic.

5. General Electric. http://www.corpwatch.org/section.php?id=16

"GE was convicted of bribing the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority."

"Retirees say the company has used accounting gimmicks and other means to reduce their pensions."

6. General Motors. Umm, bailout?

7. Ford Motor. Crappy car company that consistently lags behind the times. They'll the last company to make electric cars.

8. AT&T. http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/analysis/2239128/driving-ambition

"Earlier this month, AT&T made a major announcement: It will invest more than a half-billion dollars over the next decade to purchase more than 15,000 alternative-fueled vehicles, 8,000 vans powered by compressed natural gas, and another 7,100 hybrid passenger cars."

Half a billion sounds like a lot of money except they made 12.8 billion profit last year and choosing to buy 8,000 vans running on natural gas doesn't strike me as a huge leap forward.

They're not as bad as an Exxon, but their business is moving data, not fuel.

9. Hewlett-Packard. http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_9686168

Oddly enough, they're ninth place in the Guide to Greener Electronics, too.

10. Valero Energy. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-21-092.asp The last two were pretty weak, but we're back in top form with them.

Do you want me to go through the rest of the 1000?

[quote name='jputahraptor'] After all, companies out there have also created solar panels, more enviornment friendly vehicles, and other means of limiting our damage to the enviornment. [/QUOTE]

http://heroesofcapitalism.blogspot.com/2009/04/daryl-chapin-calvin-fuller-and-gerald.html I'll give you some credit. Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin were Bell Labs and supposedly didn't receive government funding in the 50s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 Who killed the electric car?
GM.

On the other hand, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Motors. Tesla Motors "was producing about 25 cars per week". Wow! 25 whole cars? Wow! The US sold over 7 million cars in 2008. That's at least 134,000 cars per week. That is about 1 drop of electric car per gallon of gas car.

In terms of a vague idea that some person or company has an idea or a method of reducing damages to the environment, yes. In terms of when said idea or method is implemented, it usually happens after a company is caught and heavily fined by a government.

[quote name='jputahraptor']More has been done by creative individuals and companies than would ever happen in an inefficient government that waste's millions a year, surely even you aren't oblivious to that. [/QUOTE]

That is a tough call. Some people really excel. Aside from Oliver Queen's archery skill, that excellence usually isn't the result of that person living on a desert island away all human contact. Usually, that person can thank an inefficient government in the form of taxes for taking care of minor things to allow said person to focus on whatever he or she excels at.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']Okay, I went back and checked this out... so, a company was doing something illegal, was caught, paid the fine and fixed the problem?

Meanwhile, I didn't see anywhere where the drinking water had actually been tested to see if the potential pollutants had actually effected the water supply.

I didn't see where anyone was storing the products outdoors out of evil - just convenience/ignorance (ignorance, in this case, being a lack of relevant information in regards to the subject).

I can't help but wonder how many individuals store these same products outdoors - and use them on their own lawns and gardens (isn't that what they're intended for? What happens when it rains on your lawn?) within these communities... obviously, someone uses them, thus the local stores carry them...[/QUOTE]

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/08/21/news/nh1328269.txt

"Roemer Nursery is basing its claims of water contamination after a series of dye tests in 2008, according to the lawsuit.

In one case, a dye pack was deposited in Wal-Mart Shopping Plaza's de-watering system and the dye later emerged in the front irrigation pond at Roemer Nursery.

The Wal-Mart in Madison Township has had other cases of water contamination."

[quote name='UncleBob'] Anywhoo, company did bad, paid remittance, fixed the error and life went on. What would you propose be done differently?[/QUOTE]

I guess nothing can be done. Paying a fine fixes everything. Not fucking up in the first place seems to be out of the question.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']Okay, I went back and checked this out... so, a company was doing something illegal, was caught, paid the fine and fixed the problem?[/QUOTE]

Couldn't this have been applied to ACORN? In fact, wasn't that the deal? That regulation and oversight caught them being idiots, and necessary measures were taken? Cuz if we've established we're good with making amends after the fact, then that almost effectively says that there's never any time you could hold someone accountable, since they "always could" fix it "in the future."

I'll be honest - I don't know much about ACORN, other than I need to capitalize all its letters and it might have helped facility the fallen angel Lucifer, Who is the dark lord Satan.
 
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1) Conflating the societal change stemming from the industrial revolution for the inherent success of capitalism over other government/economic forms is such a frustratingly common mistake.

2) Confusing "business" for "capitalist" is overly simplistic; large, successful international companies evolve in the global economy from nations that are democratic socialist countries. I love me some Ikea and wish I had a Volkswagen (still ;)) - but those two companies didn't come from "capitalist" countries. Both have had remarkable impacts on product design, delivery, and business organization.

3) When presented with evidence, in posts 162 and 172 puta's entire refutation can be summed up as "ehh, that's not all businesses." It's a poor refutation that shows a lack of knowledge, a lack of effort, an unwillingness to challenge the content of FoC's original post, and is a logical fallacy. It's a commonly used, but abysmally poor hueristic device that dances around the original claim and disguises itself as a genuine retort.

4) Let's not forget the recent Pfizer settlement (for off-label marketing); let's not forget the economic scandals of recent years including Global Crossings, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia Communications, and Enron; let's not forget the invasion of the public sector by private interests, such as Blackwater/"Xe", Corrections Corporation of America, Kellogg, Brown, & Root, and Halliburton.

I'm not saying all this to say "capitalism bad/socialism good." Just to say, instead, that your worldview is myopically underdeveloped and that you argue about a tenth as well as you think you do. You lack substance and evidence in virtually everything you post in the vs forum - you're not maligned because of what your worldview is - elprincipe, while not a Republican, is one of the more well read contrarians (to most of us) in the vs forum. He's not maligned because he does his work. You are maligned because you're really bad at what you do and refuse to recognize that.
 
[quote name='Strell']Couldn't this have been applied to ACORN? In fact, wasn't that the deal? That regulation and oversight caught them being idiots, and necessary measures were taken? Cuz if we've established we're good with making amends after the fact, then that almost effectively says that there's never any time you could hold someone accountable, since they "always could" fix it "in the future."

I'll be honest - I don't know much about ACORN, other than I need to capitalize all its letters and it might have helped facility the fallen angel Lucifer, Who is the dark lord Satan.[/QUOTE]

And I like to think we can both agree that neither ACORN or Walmart should receive taxpayer funds...
 
I want to wave the capitalist flag. I'm an active participant of the capitalist process. I think I can learn the necessary skills to improve my economic lot in life without the direct help of government. However, let's not pretend capitalism is some holy virgin. We have access to google.
 
Why are you guys still acting like you can't improve your lot in life in a socialist country? Do doctors in Sweden make the same as entry-level factory workers?
 
[quote name='depascal22']Why are you guys still acting like you can't improve your lot in life in a socialist country? Do doctors in Sweden make the same as entry-level factory workers?[/QUOTE]

Agreed. The lower class is better off, the middle class is relatively unaffected, there's basically just more limits on the upper class and how much wealth they can build.

It's still a class based society with jobs requiring more skill/education paying MUCH more than those that don't. You'll just lose more of your income to taxes the further up the income bracket you go than in the US. With the trade off being free health care etc.
 
And free university. Four years of secondary education is a humongous benefit that can't be overlooked. Even if you just go to a technical school, it's paid for.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Agreed. The lower class is better off, the middle class is relatively unaffected, there's basically just more limits on the upper class and how much wealth they can build.

It's still a class based society with jobs requiring more skill/education paying MUCH more than those that don't. You'll just lose more of your income to taxes the further up the income bracket you go than in the US. With the trade off being free health care etc.[/QUOTE]

You don't need to go as far as Sweden.

But the American system is pure insanity. Less taxes (via special deductions, loopholes, etc) the higher you go? Insanity.
 
But this is America, damnit! We love the rich so much that we shower them with affection, envy, and lust and then let them pay less taxes on top of it.
 
If puta truly wanted the discussion and debate he so ardently asked for after the thread became about him, well, he certainly showed his true colors by failing to properly post in this thread once it stopped centering around the hilariously inept connection between theoretically ideal capitalism and how he practices bartering.

Lesson learned: talk smack about some sniveling prat, get participation. Make it about a topic once again (and ask for supporting evidence in his posts, not just theoretically idealist pandering), and he refuses to post.

Poor form, sport-o.
 
[quote name='depascal22']But this is America, damnit! We love the rich so much that we shower them with affection, envy, and lust and then let them pay less taxes on top of it.[/QUOTE]

You have a funny definition of "less".
tax1.jpg

Source: http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr151.pdf
 
There's the issue of averages being pulled up due to outliers, which is unique to only the top 20% (outliers in the middle groups don't exist, because that puts them in other quintiles ;)).

Then there's the issue of (1) raw numbers versus (2) proportions/percentages/rates, and which is a more accurate proxy.

Then there's the sourcing and methodology from work prepared by an agenda-driven think tank. If you don't believe Michael Moore movies, what makes you think that The Tax Foundation provides information that is beyond deserving scrutiny for the very same reasons as Moore's claims?

Some days I hate the internet and the alleged intelligence people think they can channel from it. Being able to use google doesn't make you a fucking expert. Damn.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']Really, UncleBob? Do you expect me to believe somebody making $100K is paying $82K in taxes? What is the average income of the top 20%? 100K? 200K? 500K? 7M? 2B?[/QUOTE]

Likewise, people with an income of $0 probably aren't paying $4,300 in taxes.

Weird how averages work.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Some days I hate the internet and the alleged intelligence people think they can channel from it. Being able to use google doesn't make you a fucking expert. Damn.[/QUOTE]

Thankfully, it doesn't take a fucking expert to be able to look at two numbers and tell which one is "less".
 
Indeed. It takes a google image search, fifteen seconds, and no self-concept of dignity, scrutiny, or self-respect.

I FOUND ME A CONTRARY PICTURE, AND C&P IS EASIER THAN THINKING.
 
I'll have you know, it wasn't a google image search - in fact, the chart is actually part of a PDF file that I made into an image all by myself. :D :D :D.

So, Myke, do you wish to provide proof that the rich pay less in taxes? Show me your charts.
 
'less' can mean a number of things - a lower raw number, a lower proportion, a lower rate, etc. since 'less' can mean a variety of things, each of which varies in terms of what the wealthy pay compared to the rest (higher raw numbers, lower proportions), you're asking a silly and misguided question, really.
 
Why should we be looking at percentages?

When we look at the income of individuals, we don't say "Man, he makes 200% more than me!" - we look at the raw numbers. When we look at the prices paid for houses or cars, we don't say the rich spends an average of 30% more on their car than the poor - we say he bought a $100,000 car (and paid in cash!).

But... if you must look at percentages - what percentage of total Federal income tax is paid for by the top 1% of earners? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Now, you may be able to come up with all kinds of reasons you feel the percent they pay is justified - but you're missing out on something important. What's scary about that - a mere 138,893,908 personal income returns were filed in 2007 [http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=102886,00.html]. The top 1% being 1,388,939 people. Let's say that about half those people say "Screw it" and just leave. You may laugh at this idea, but look at New York [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/tax_refugees_staging_escape_from_qb4pItQ71UXIc0i6cd3UpK] and similar places with the US. They decided to "milk the rich", so the rich packed up their toys and moved - and now the state is losing money and productive citizens.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Yes, I'm sure New York is really hurting for members of the Creative Class because rich = productive.[/QUOTE]

By productive, of course, I mean "They have an income that can be taxed to pay for all the things the government wants to provide." Poor people don't pay enough in taxes for all the welfare programs you want. If they could, they wouldn't need welfare.
 
[quote name='UncleBob'] They decided to "milk the rich", so the rich packed up their toys and moved - and now the state is losing money and productive citizens.[/QUOTE]

None of this seems...odd? In a "the rich are rigging the system" kind of way?
 
[quote name='Strell']None of this seems...odd? In a "the rich are rigging the system" kind of way?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I get what you're aiming for... I could take a guess, but I don't want to put words in your mouth...
 
The rich can leave if they're taxed more, they can leave if they're taxed less, they can do whatever they want, they're rich.

What arbitrary number are you looking for?
 
[quote name='UncleBob']I'm not sure I get what you're aiming for... I could take a guess, but I don't want to put words in your mouth...[/QUOTE]

SpazX pretty much nailed it, but the larger point I'd go for is that you have a bunch of people who gamed the system to begin with, making loads off the backs of peons, and then they turn around and throw a tantrum when they are expected to pay up their due.

You don't get to abuse the system and then get pissy when it was set up in such a way that you were able to get away with such shenanigans. Kill the golden goose, bite the hand that feeds, etc.

Except it's not quite that because in those scenarios, you do something stupid and end up hurting yourself. These doods, instead, are so far entrenched with offshore accounts and loophole lawyers that it doesn't even matter.

Taxes, these days, have basically become a warped reverse country club - all the rich people stay out, having trapped in a bunch of the underclass to foot the bill for their fancy golf greens. They feel that taxes are below or beneath them.

I was up all night so I don't know if I'm making sense or not. Generally I choose not to do so, but this time I might not be simply due to the blur. What account am I typing this from? I can't keep all my aliases straight up ins this here website.
 
"pay up their due" - That's an interesting choice of words. In 2005 (quickest Google result, this one's for you, Myke!) the top 1% of earners paid 33.7% of all Federal income taxes, while only making 16.5% of all income. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% (of those who filed taxes) paid in a mere 3.6% while making 13.9% of all income. I'd be interested in your suggestions as to what would be the "fair due" of the top 1%.

It seems to me, it's more of a case of not liking the house rules, so deciding to leave the house.

And Spaz does make a good point. The rich and well-to-do are the ones who can afford to move (out of state or out of the country). Keep milking them and see how long they stick around to pay for all these nice social services.
 
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