October 16, 2011

  • I am the 53%

    There is a movement in this country called the “other 99%” and they are protesting the “1%” that they think rule the country.  In response, there has been a movement called “I am the 53%.” 

    This is a movement by the 53% percent who pay income taxes.  It appears that some people feel that we need to tax the “rich” so we can give that money to people who work part-time or do not have jobs at all.

    I was raised poor for the most part in my early years.  My dad then got a job at the Steel Mill and we had more money during my teenage years before my dad lost his job at the Steel Mill.  I paid my own way through college while raising a family.  I am deaf in one ear.  I had to start over again in my 30s and make my way back up.  It was really hard.  But I would hate to take the money of someone else and give it to me.  DearRicky is severely handicapped and he could do my job.  So almost anyone can work these days.

    But some people would say we need to tax the working people to “redistribute money” to those who make less money.

    Should we tax people who make more money and give it to people who do not have money as much money?

                                                      

Comments (183)

  • Oh man, I’m getting some popcorn.  I want to watch what happens with this.

  • How about everyone just gives me their money?

  • What about some people who have just given up on working? Their new jobs is not really helping…

    There are those who truly need help and those who just have a new job called being unemployed indefinitely. 

  • Oh good, I have something to look forward to tonight – reading comments here. :)

  • As part of a country, it is known that we will have people who inherently cannot work. People that had it worse off then YOU. You seem to just assume that everyone who’s getting money from the government are just single moms with a heroin addiction, 5 kids and a new boyfriend every month. OPEN your eyes, there are people dying out there. Do you KNOW how hard it is to get disability these days? Ha. They aren’t just handing it out to anyone. They give it to the people that NEED it, under the circumstance that at some point the person will be able to pay it back. 

  • Well … no! I think that the movement is really all about closing the tax loopholes used by those whose expense accounts would pay all our mortgages. I think that the movement has been hijacked by others who think they are poor and want a hand-out. Not all of the 99% are like that and they do include the 53%.

  • Who deserves to have money? is it a universal right? The money should definitely go to whoever deserves it.

  • No, I’ve never seen how that makes any sense at all.  It is like punishing someone for working and doing good at it.  Even if someone inherits their money, I don’t see how it is their responsibility to support someone else.  We’re not talking a feudal system where people are creating the wealth for their landowner or something. 

    There was a time in my life when I paid no taxes because I got it all back when I filed my taxes.  Obama’s peoples sent me a website to match what my taxes would be under the guise of him becoming president versus what McCain’s plan was.  I paid more taxes under Obama… my family income at that time was under $60,000 with 2 adults and 3 dependent children.  I don’t know how in the hell I was “rich” in Obama’s people’s minds.  (I also live in California where cost of living is higher.  I realize the income would be comfy in different areas of the country.)

    I am okay with welfare on a temporary basis, longer if needed during times of economic crisis.  But I would be more okay with a flat rate where you get no money back.

  • I’m not a percentage, just a person. I’m hurting for money, but I just got a part-time, minimum-wage job. I start in a couple days. I’m excited. That’s just what I needed to get by. If people are complaining, it’s because they’d rather feel entitled than work.

  • @an_acute_angle - Money is deserved by those who earn it. It’s simple, really.

  • No, we should tax those who have money the same as those who have little.  We shouldn’t steal the hard-earned money of tax-payers but should provide incentives for them to use that money in ways that will promote the economy and help others who do not have as much.  I realize that not everybody agrees but if they have the money and want to give more, there is nothing stopping them from doing so.

  • That’s a nice economy you’ve got there.  It would be a shame if sssssssomething…happened to it.

  • I feel the same about this as I do about welfare. There isn’t a great way to weed out the people who really do need the help from those who are just taking advantage of the system. I honestly do think that people who lead good lives sometimes get the raw end of the deal. These are the people we should help. This is what welfare was set up to do. We get taxed and a portion of it goes into the federal budget and is allotted for helping struggling families who can’t feed their children. A great solution (drug testing welfare candidates) was put in place in a few Southern states. Taxing “richer” people and redistributing the money to “poorer” people does not make the “poorer” people less poor. It gives them free money… my money, that I’ve worked hard for. If I’m honestly going to be taxed to help the “poorer” people, the government better have a pretty good damn way of figuring out who actually is deserving of my money (=my time and my effort). 

    Another thing I’d like to point out is that while some people are in this movement for the “right” reasons, let’s all ask ourselves: If you were on the other side, considered one of the “richer,” would you honestly be thrilled to give up a larger portion of your income so that others can benefit? My guess is probably not (unless you’re a really philanthropic person). My point is that American’s come off as greedy to world nations because WE ARE GREEDY. We want better than our parents had without having half the work ethic and drive our parents had.

  • @grammarboy - what dose earn mean? is their more than one meaning?

  • You make it sound like the 99% movement wants to rob wealthy people at gunpoint so we can buy iPhones. Most people want to work their own way through life. But a progressive tax rate helps promote upward mobility, which is what our American Dream is supposed to be all about. Upward mobility is near an all-time low since the Great Depression. And currently the top 1% pay less percentage of their taxes than the next 9%, and barely more than the other 90%.

    Corporation profits are at an all-time high, yet so is unemployment. My question is, why isn’t EVERYONE more upset by this?

  • Nah, we should use tax money to bail out irresponsible corporations under the guise of being “too big to fail”.

  • You wanna know what I really think? I think you should focus on getting save the boobs running ;)

  • You make it sound as if you are the only one who works hard, or as if people who find the current distribution outrageously unfair are a bunch of lazy asses who don’t want to work. If you want to take a position, shouldn’t you get your facts right?

  • The movement is about the American people who are tired of corporate greed, abd big corporations being bffs with the big government and even though they are saying they don’t want capitalism, they don’t understand capitalism. capitalism is two private individuals exchanging something with no interference from the government. God. I’m Finnish and I understand this crap. And let me go ahead and put it out there, that if I was in the u.s., I’d be occupying right along with the 99%. [:

  • Taking wealth from people who earn it and giving it to people who do not earn it is the definition of stealing. Stealing is wrong.

  • I like this idea for the most part. Is it really ok that someone who can play a sport or act in a movie be allowed to make millions while we got others who can’t even afford to go to college let alone get a decent job to support themselves? They live in mansions have nothing but the best vehicles and can afford to have health insurance and not have a care in the world because of that. I don’t even want to get started with the corrupted governmental leaders. Who knows what kind of shady things go on behind the curtain…I support taxing everyone by the % of their annual income though. I don’t mean to look upon the rich with envy…I just wish I could live life without worrying about the future for once. 

  • This is a movement by the 53% percent who pay income taxes. 

    NOPE you are wrong as usual when it comes to politics.  Tons of us who consider ourselves in the 99 percent pay plenty of taxes ourselves.

    Damn you keep me busy straightening out the wrong info. you give out in my own blogs, but I’ve got no choice given that you don’t respond to comments.

     This is me sticking my tongue out at you for saying stupid stuff.

  • @CreativeUndertow - LOL yes he does, doesn’t he?  Theo does not give fuck all about what the real facts are.  He is never off of his tea party agenda.

  • @FrenzElectric - I think that the movement has been hijacked by others who think they are poor and want a hand-out. Not all of the 99% are like that and they do include the 53%.

    Nah, it hasn’t been hijacked, Theologian is just making stuff up out of his ass.  Most of us 99 percent are working, paying taxes, and getting out there when we can.  Not all the tax payers can stand out there 24/7 but that doesn’t mean we are the 99 percent, we are the 99 percent, theo pulled this 53 percent out of his ass or somewhere equally odious.

  • I’ve been employed, I’ve been a small business owner, and I’ve been unemployed. There’s little fun in being unemployed. My experience is that those who’ve been employed for a while have no concept of the state of the unemployed.

  • i think you should earn your own money….so I dont agree with taking from the rich and giving to the poor…(btw I am poor, but if I sit around on my booty, money isnt just going to magically come to me.)

  • I don’t pay taxes and i eat like a pig. Dare me !

  • The only thing I’d concede to is an established, legally mandated percentage scale for salaries… 
    When it comes to huge companies… (The complaint is corporate greed, no?)
    Owner can only make X% of profits…
    CEO can only make X% of profits…
    Managers can only make X% of profits…
    Workers must make at least X% or profits…

    **Make similar to the military’s pay scale or something.  That was a pretty fair system of payment.  I do believe there is a huge issue with greed in large companies.  Of course I have no idea how to figure out the percentages or how to ensure it is properly adhered to.  But I do believe this would help to increase the living wages for people.  Think of how much Pizza Hut makes and most of its employees are paid what?  Minimum Wage probably. 

  • It used to be that when you do great work, you get praised and a raise and when you do bad, you get reprimanded. Now, it’s almost like the opposite. We’re not letting anybody fail. Those who do bad work are getting off the hook. Those who do great work aren’t being recognized.

    What happened to sheer talent being rewarded? Now it’s like if you know the right people, it doesn’t matter if you can’t count up to ten, you’re set for life.

    That’s part of the gist of the protest. They’re getting a bad rep for being disorganized, lazy and whining. Well, they’re disorganized. That’s what happens in any large group. From what I saw in the 53% picture meme, they think the protesters (the 99%) are lazy and that they should stop whining. They just don’t get it.

    Most of these people did right by the system. They followed the rules, and yet they still got shafted. That’s what the movement is about.

  • Also, Dan, there are two noteworthy blogs of the top 1%, a select few that stand with the 99%: http://westandwiththe99percent.tumblr.com/

    Here’s also an anti-53 percent blog: http://actuallyyourethe47percent.tumblr.com/

  • Yeah I dont have time to occupy a tent in LA for days on end, I have a family to support.

  • the people that need help and get help should have some of their wages garnished once they find a job again just like how credit card companies garnish partial wages from the person when they get a job. nothing is free. pay it back when they can.

  • That’s cool that this guy runs a business. I’m impressed that he takes risks to create a better life for himself and his family. So are most of the 99%. 

    The “We are the 99%” movement isn’t asking for free handouts. We aren’t asking to sit on our asses while that guy (and others like him) work. I am lucky enough work full time for decent wages and am among the 53% who pay income taxes (I also pay federal payroll taxes – as does absolutely everyone who works at all, no matter what income bracket they’re in. The idea that the 53% are the only ones contributing federal taxes while everyone else leaches off of them is an outright lie). I am lucky enough to have decent health insurance. And I still support the 99% movement. 

    The 99% movement wants something very simple – social justice. We want a system where someone doesn’t have to work 70 hours a week to have to try and scrape by with no health insurance (like this misguided soul). We’re tired of a system that produces a concentration of an extraordinary amount of wealth in the top 1% while more and more working poor suffer. The wealthiest are wealthier than they ever have been even as increasing numbers of people struggle to support themselves. We want a system where that doesn’t happen. We want a system where someone who works full time can expect to be able to support themselves (and maybe even a family!), AND have access to affordable, quality healthcare. That’s it, plain and simple. 

  • @an_acute_angle - Earn means whatever your employer or customer or whoever you’re trying to get money from wants it to mean. You exchange your time, services, products, or whatever for money. You can’t just expect people to give it to you.

  • Here I have explained to you why there IS no 53 percent.  http://divajyoti.xanga.com/755864953/53–actually-doing-the-math/

  • The economy is rigged so that the poor cannot have more than a minute chance.  People are also rigged so that they assume too quickly who’s qualified for what.  They’re also so fixated on individual material wealth that they actually believe that direct cooperation at the level at which we compete, with the same technologies and automation systems, cannot possibly lead to the same quality of life that modern millionaires enjoy; when free thinkers see it as inevitable that everyone would.  And all without anyone working more than the equivalent of one full shift per week; unless they so enjoy their work that they want to.

  • I’m a banker.  I’m also a small business owner.  Now I am on 2 months unpaid leave from the bank.  In the Unpaid leave T&C I can’t involve in any business… so I am a full time blogging… 0.00001% for me.

  • Here’s my two cents on the issue…being in the middle class sucks. When my father left our family, in between the time he left and my mother remarried we lived on welfare. I never ate better. I GAINED weight on welfare, we had steak every night. I got enough financial aid to pay for school with almost no loans…that all changed when my mom remarried, and now we make $100,000 a year and can barely afford to pay our house payment and medical bills and car payments…and financial aid? Forget about it. What this country needs is a large middle class, not give only to poor people and not have 99% in the hands of the 1%. If you’re rich you have it amazing in this country, if you’re unemployed and poor you have it okay, and if you’re middle class, every day you get up to work in this economy to work your ass off not to get fired. Eat the rich, eat the poor.

  • No, part of growing up is realizing that you’re responsible for yourself and need to learn how to make an honest living. And how have all these protesters managed to find the time to protest? I wish I had that much time on my hands!

  • I’m not sure the details of what I think should be done. 

    I do know that welfare is needed to an extent.  There should be drug testing.  The gov’t branches that oversee these things, make decisions, etc need to change because they’re inefficient.  There should be a time limit on how long you can draw from welfare as well.  Not to mention there should be different ways to be sure the recipients are doing all they can to get on their own two feet (including relocation assistance if they are just living in a part of the country where they will not be able to get on their own two feet.) 

    We drew from welfare for about 7 or 8 of the 10 months we lived in CA.  We loved it there, where my husband was raised & his family was living.  He had just graduated with an associate’s degree in Virginia & we thought things would go great.  I was pregnant & so couldn’t get a job.  Yep, turns out the job market wasn’t what we expected & getting a job that paid enough for us to get out of his family’s house wasn’t possible at that point.  So we had to move.  It was thanks to another Xangan that during the move, my husband was offered a job just 5 hours from where my parents lived.  So from that our lives have turned around & we’ve not been on assistance since leaving CA. 

    Yes, we need welfare.  However it needs a serious overhaul/makeover.

    I prefer we tax the heck out of the rich (the real rich, not just people who make $99k/yr or less) to pay down the NATIONAL DEBT.

  • Some seem to forget that full time wages sometimes don’t actually support a typical family. 

    I work full time…. and part time…. and do freelance work. When the family I’m living with moves in December I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Rent will be very tough for me to come by as a mother supporting her 2 children on her own financially. 

    I pay taxes on my wages just like everyone else who works. I also qualify for and am receiving food stamps and medical from DSHS. 

    Remember, some people who are working their asses off…. maybe even more than a number of those 99% or 53% or whatever the hell else people call themselves to feel a sense of entitlement…. are the ones who are using that assistance when times get tough. I work pretty darn hard and I’ve given up a lot in the last year or more (my home being one of them). I’m done putting up with people who think everyone using the state is no more than a lazy leech. Pretty recently I was picking up battery cores from one of my customers. He was taking a break having a convo with a tow truck driver who brought a car in. They were carrying on about “damn welfare people” buying frozen pizza and soda with “their” tax money. So as I hauled the industrial size truck batteries oozing acid out to my truck two at a time while they chatted it up. I finished up, asked if they needing anything else, said thank you, and dug away the freshly eaten fabric on my pants (acid) with my fingernail as I walked back to my truck. I thought to myself, “Hmmm, this lazy, good for nothin, food stamps using woman just did those ‘tax payin’ men’s dirty work.” 

    For me it isn’t about making the rich pay more. They found a way to make good incomes… good for them (so long as they aren’t doing it by bad practice), they earned it. It isn’t about giving the poor money (the gov doesn’t actually hand out check that easy in most cases) or throwing us all into categories. It’s about not separating us into little clubs and clicks. We end up taring each other apart when we’re trying to fight for a common cause. I’m on gov assistance and many of these signs, blogs, and comments are insisting that those who use gov aid are lazy slobs. Someone may try to back-peddle and say they only meant those who don’t work by choice or are underemployed. I’m sure for those hell bent on riding their high horses because their hard work actually paid off won’t hear anything I’ve said. The years I dedicated to my children did not earn a high income nor does the grunt job I have now so I’m gonna take the help where it’s allowed. 

    When did this issue become about taking people like me down??? I pay taxes too. 

  • Not at all. I work hard to better myself and my own family. If you don’t like it, I guess you can use your powerful mob to steal from me but don’t claim any moral superiority over me. 

  • I am a single woman with no children.  What pisses me off is I cannot get help with college because I decided not to have children at all while my cousins who had babies out of wed lock and do not work get like 10 thousand dollars back from the government in tax refund for their children.  I think if you put in to the tax system you should get it back.  Screw all the unwed mothers and fathers who sit on their asses and do nothing but bitch that they live in poverty.  I am up to my eye balls in student loans and cannot afford to go back to school because I make more then what they say is “good enough” for one person but really I have to walk to work.  I cannot afford to run my heat in the winter or air in the summer, I sit in the dark all the time unless I am actively using a light for reading or bathing or cooking.  I am tired of those who have to much bitching and I am tired of those who have nothing bitching.  It will never be fair, so what is the use of complaining?  I am done now.  Hugs.

  • Just so we are clear I am not talking about those Mothers and fathers who work there asses off with two to three jobs.  Getting welfare while trying to make it or using it to be able to work is not what I am saying I am talking about those who do not work, nor do they plan too.  I know raising children on your own is difficult, so for all those single parents who are working and getting help, I am not pissed at you cause you are paying into the system that you are getting help from.  I have respect for those who work and work and work and still need help but are not getting it. 

  • @mtk101 - The people who watch sports and go to movies are paying for the millions they make. You don’t have to participate.  No one can say “they shouldn’t be allowed to make that much!” any more than they can say “You shouldn’t be allowed to make X amount for your job”.  

  • The “Robin Hood” is great fodder for stories, but look how well it worked in Communist Russia and China. Stop and consider that in most cases, our elected officials are parasites, taking from all of us and giving to themselves. They aren’t concerned with equality, and neither are the blind fools that think redistribution of “wealth” makes people great. It only promotes mediocrity.

  • Under what conditions does this sale of the
    labor of the proletarians
    to the bourgeoisie take place?

    Labor is a commodity, like any other,

    and its price is therefore determined
    by exactly the same laws that apply
    to other commodities. 

  • I don’t live in your country so I will just sit on the fence for this one…. *shifty eyes*

  • Each side has many valid points and many different motivations. Some people in the 99% genuinely understand the system and want the richer to be taxed more (like Warren Buffet himself supported as the 1%); some just want the excuse to be lazy. The 1% also have varying degrees of understanding and sympathy, so it’s hard to make judgments.

    It’s also easy to identify where Communism can come in.

  • I think the point of the protest is to say everyone should be taxed equally.  A corporation and its execs paying less of a proportion to what working class people pay is a really big difference.  The point is that the money is getting funneled into big corporation and not into other working people like yourself and its because they don’t pay as much taxes as everyone else.  The sacrifice isn’t the same

  • I’m one of the  (fill in the % here) who have just had about enough.  I work hard, pay my taxes dutifully because I personally think that if you use the infrastructure, you should help pay for it.  Two kids in college, racking up tons of debt.  Did we save for them to go?  Yep, but every program was eventually “restructured” and ended up generating a lot of tax money for the state.  Costs went up, they borrowed and I’ve borrowed.  My demand was that they get an “employable” degree.  Both are striving for just such degrees and I seriously doubt that they will find available jobs when they graduate.  I’m angry that it seems like I’m always getting the shaft.  I pay taxes, but I pay more each year.  Everytime in my life I needed the big ticket items (mortgage for example) the interests have skyrocketed.  Nobody’s bailed me out and I don’t expect them to.  But darn it!  If a huge corporation needs a bailout, then turns around and pays out ridiculuous amounts of bonuses for the jackasses who caused the economic problems we have, then my blood boils.  Enough is enough.  No, Mr. Ceo, you aren’t worth a multimillion dollar golden parachute when you ran that company into the ground.  Too big to fail?  Just watch yourself…..Goliath thought he was too big to fall too…..

  • My husband and I are now part of the “1%” also known as the 53%. We lived below the poverty line for the first years of our marriage. When my husband became active duty, and we entered the Middle Class, we lived with literally $25 in our savings acct. for the next 10 years because we wanted to pay off our school loans that were at 16 and 25% interest rates a piece. We owned 1 car for much of that time and lived in homes that were much less desirable than most apartments college students enjoy today. But that was just fine because they were cheap and cheap meant debt reduction.

    I calculated our pay stub the other day and from that alone we forked over 64% of our earnings. So I don’t mind being referred to as the 1% because we’re the 1% that carries the heaviest tax burden while the OWS contributes nothing because they’ve chosen to spend the last 3 plus weeks partying… excuse me….  ”Protesting” their conditions. 

  • Yes, no, maybe, I don’t know, can you repeat the question?

  • When are people going to understand the whole world is fucked up. Stop your damn bitching. Life is cruel. We should be killing off prisoners, homeless, the sick. When will you people open your eyes, the weak will sink the ship. Of course I know the injustice of money distribution, I worked in a warehouse, ate one meals a day. The point is, complaining is for wussies. First we need to kill the unworthy. I put myself in that category. Then we need to make changes, we need to force people to work, control how people spend their money, all at gun point. We need a fascist government, reduce population, make it legal to kill immigrants, unite our country for this agenda, the strong should live, and noone should live paycheck by paycheck, we have to make sure people can enjoy their lives. You want real results, kill off half the prisoners and use that money for something better. Tear down public schools, libraries, force individuals to shop at stores to prevent stores from closing down, legalize marijuana with a high tax, there are many things we can do, we can prevent women from giving birth, we should punish women who have more than two kids. We must force men to stop producing sperm and if a woman has an std.she should wear a label at all times. This is my atheist agenda.

    What is more nutritious, an apple or a carrot. Also, I would appreciate it if someone would tell me if herbalife actually works.

  • Pretty much what @GodlessLiberal - said. Fighting your way out of poverty and finding a job isn’t nearly as easy as you portray it to be. 

  • @bakersdozen2 - I’m not following you here. If you pay 64% of your income on taxes, you’re definitely not a millionaire or a billionaire (the 1%).

  • @TheThinkingPerson - We’re definitely not millionaires but we are definitely in the Top 1% of income earners in the U.S. 

    Based on the Internal Revenue Service’s 2010 database, this is the breakdown:

    Top 1%: $380,354

    Top 5%: $159,619

    Top 10%: $113,799

    Top 25%: $67,280

    Top 50%: >$33,048

    My husband owns 2 companies of which he is a paid employee of both companies.  While we make a bit more than the figure cited for the Top 1% (not much more), we pay the Federal gov’t 6 figures in income tax. We allow for 0 deductions from our monthly draw and usually owe more than we paid in over the year thanks to the alternative minimum tax. In other words, we don’t get a refund check from the Feds. We get some change from our state almost every year.  This usually amounts to roughly $3000 from Va.

  • Well, I am with them on going against the bankers, but seriously, taxing will really not get you anywhere. How about no taxes for everyone? I’m in for that.

    And that Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan will hurt the poor more than the rich. Ron Paul’s 10% flat tax idea will work a whole lot better than that. And if he had his way, no taxes at all.

  • @GodlessLiberal - why aren’t people more upset about this? Because they have no idea what’s going on. 

  • @bakersdozen2 - Dear One, you are NOT part of the 1% being protested!  You are part of the 53%, the “most fortunate” of what’s left of the Middle Class, which is being screwed over by the 1% most of all!   The protest is against the very greedy 1% of Americans who have incomes far above 2 Million $ per year while actually producing NOTHING!

  • @bakersdozen2 - You and Dan really annihilate the meaning of poverty. EVERY couple goes through what you just described. Paying off student loans, having 1 car. WOW

    Have you ever walked the streets of a community that is LITERALLY in poverty? Have you ever talked to the people? Have you ever seen their children wear the same 2 outfits every other day? Have you seen them live off canned food from the food bank? Have you ever seen them in physical pain, but no money for prescriptions? Have you watched their family die being in the middle of cross fire from a drug deal? Have you watched children living in meth labs? Little girls being raped by grown men, and the parents are too afraid to save her. Do have any idea how people consider getting out of that? Most of them, their only way is professional sports. And I’d say that’s a 1/1000 chance.

    Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, it took them four years to rebuild the most impoverished parts of the city and you know why? Because they wanted a tourist attraction. People came by on buses wanting to see the devastation up close. How fucked up is that? 4 years people lived packed in water logged houses with leaky roofs, if one house was destroyed they moved in next door. All because rich folk wanted to experience it up close. Nice.

    I wasn’t raised in poverty. I don’t live in it now. But I have been up close and personal with it and it’s sick.

    http://youtu.be/l0SO_8HUnpc

  • I’m in the same 53% as you.  I grew up with my dad working for GM, my mom working as a bartender, just so we could get by (6 kids).  The goal in the families where I grew up was to have all the kids graduate from high school – the boys to get decent jobs and the girls to find decent husbands.  I broke the mold.  I got out on my own, worked my butt off for less than minimum wage (as a waitress in a gin joint – tips in those places aren’t the best).  I sometimes lived off of bread and peanut butter or in leaner times, crackers and jelly that I could manage to steal from a restaurant if someone took me out to eat.  I worked as a temp and learned a little about computers, worked in commission sales (where my salary was only my commission) and eventually was able to find decent work where I could support myself without having to depend on others for anything.  Once I tried to get general assistance but I was a single female with no kids so I didn’t qualify.  I think that was good because it made me realize that I only had me to count on.  Now, not only am I one of the 53% but I am one of the 5% who pays 80% of the taxes.

    Share the wealth = socialism.  No thanks.  I got mine, let everyone else go get theirs.  I don’t mind helping those who truly can’t.  But not those who truly won’t.  You know them.  They are too good to work for minimum wage, so they’ll milk their unemployment until all of their extensions are gone then get on welfare.  They lie to the unemployment office about the jobs they’ve supposedly applied for.  I see this every day.  I have heard people actually BRAG about how they are milking the system.

    BTW – I lost my job in 2004 and know what it’s like being unemployed.  That’s why I busted my butt to get another job.  I didn’t like being unemployed, or without disposable income.

    My sister is supporting herself with a minimum wage job.  She applied for a grant to go to school and is now taking classes to learn AutoCAD.  There is help out there for those who are willing to work for it.

  • We need tax reform, there are many large corporations like GE and Exxon that actually pay a negative tax rate. I think we need to implement a flat tax and end the loopholes.. I don’t think that the federal government has the right to tax individuals, but we do need to pay taxes, becase we have an obligation to the elderly (social security and medicare.)  Small businesses are amazing for our economy. Link. Good post, btw.

  • THIS is worth the read. If you don’t want to read it, then the following sums up the article:

    “I don’t want you to “get by” working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week.
     If you’re willing to put in that kind of effort, I want you to get
    rich.  I want you to have a comprehensive healthcare plan.  I want you
    vacationing in the Bahamas every couple of years, with your beautiful
    wife and healthy, happy kids.  I want you rewarded for your hard work,
    and I want your exceptional effort to reap exceptional rewards.  I want
    you to accumulate wealth and invest it in Wall Street.  And I want you
    to make more money from those investments.”

  • It’s not about taxing the working people more; it’s about removing the corporate corruption and greed from our government.  You say you’re part of the 53% that pays taxes.  Congratulations; so am I.  I’m also part of the 99% whose voice has been trampled far too long while certain large corporations claim they are ‘too big to fail’ and demand bailouts ‘to increase jobs’ because it will all ‘trickle down.’  Banks claimed they would use bailouts to restructure bad loans and as a result boost the economy.  This is NOT what happened!  CEOs of top corporations and banks, during the bailouts, received bonuses of $200M+ during that year.  Where did this money come from?  Hint: it didn’t grow on a tree.  It came from the taxpayers, from the 53% you speak of.

    If tax reform is a necessary part of our movement, it is a reversal of certain tax cuts given strictly to the 1%…not to the 53%, but to the mere 1% that is already making in excess of $250M/year. 

    We call for an end to the Federal Reserve…this is NOT a new idea…in fact, it’s something that prior to the existence of such was fought by our politicians for years on end! 

    We call for transparent lobbying.  There’s no reason that a large corporate business should have this type of advantage over the average American…including the 53%.

    Simply put, we’ve been lied to for far too long by our politicians who have been effectively ‘bought’ by the corporations, and we will not take any more.

    Don’t take my word for this..any of it.  Do your research.  Find out more, and form your own views.  Then take ACTION, for or against, but make it informed action.

    Lastly, just one small token of thought for you, Dan.  You say you’re the 53%, as am I…but I propose this: odds are, you’re part of the 99% too.

  • o well, one way or the other the money will be redistributed

  • Wow, finally, someone else gets it, too.  The top 1% pay approximately 37% of all collected income tax in the country.  This is the largest single portion collected from any one source.  People need to do their fucking homework.

    Where is all your money going to when you pay taxes, you cry baby fucks?  It’s going to programs YOU DEMAND be active.  Taxes are high because of people like you and your Obama “make everyone poor” mentality

  • “But some people would say we need to tax the working people to “redistribute money” to those who make less money.   Should we tax people who make more money and give it to people who do not have money as much money?”

    It is very unfortunate that some of the 53%, especially those who earn good money by working hard only to see much of it taken away from them in taxes, have missed the point of the 99% protests! 

    There does exist a so-called 1% minority of greedy individuals who have acquired great wealth and power NOT by working hard but by shady dealing with the American public, who hoard their great wealth and invest in nothing other than in the maintenance of their powerful position.  The protests of the disenfranchised is understandable.  The absence of protest from those who are being stolen from the most by unfair tax policies and loopholes — the hardest working upper Middle Class — is bewildering!

  • @FallingSafely -  Not just disability but unemployment.. My boyfriend got laid off (just got a job recently though :) yay) and unemployment waited 6 WEEKS to give him anything even though he did earn that money at his job.. Rent does not wait 6 weeks, bills dont either… But I do understand those lazy people who just dont work the whole time..

    @mtk101 -  I agree somewhat..
    I dont think the celebrities should make as much money as they should.. I dont think ANYONE should (well…. minus out doctors, because they definitley earn their money..) I work my ass off and so does my boyfriend and we are barly on our feet.. Life is hard and I think money should be more evenly (for the people who work of course)

  • I haven’t read a single comment but it would be seriously fucked up if I didn’t receive money (social security) for my condition, schizophrenia. It was impossible to work, and because of the 700 I receive, admittedly not from tax-payers, I have managed to make a full recovery. I didn’t have very bad schizophrenia but when I was sick, there was no way I could work.

    If I go further down this line of reasoning, I could say that for people who aren’t neurotypical like me, that do need help financially, the little help that you receive from the government could eventually change the fucking world. I’ve got so many ideas for businesses and blogs and books and organizations and protests, that it’s crazy. there is a definite positive aspect of the fact that I cannot work because of my illness. And if I was worrying about money I would basically be in hell.

    But considering I recovered from schizophrenia, I am still the 1%

  • no we shouldnt. no one should pay taxes unless we have some authority over how its used. the rich control our money and we have to deal with the consequences. the masses arent educated enough to know this because they grow up in 3rd world like conditions WITHIN the US. the educated have no remorse or understanding because our lives are so different and people are more worried about gay marriage, cussing, and stupid ass traditions that dont mean shit. fuck ya’ll.

  • @Galbsadi - much respect for that knowledge. the current state of our world pisses me off. hopefully more people like u will get together and bring some real change soon

  • um. I believe we do that already.  

    We saw what happens when there is no social safety net, in the early days of the great depression. Should we repeat that?  And if we didn’t have a tax base,  where would school and infrastructure funding come from, just to name two Federal areas of spending? Perhaps we should have no police protection or military or security?   Yeah: Let’s do 9/11 over every day, and let people rumage through stores for what they want without paying. Pretty sure our economy would be better off then.   Where would funding for the EPA and FDA come from, to name just two angencies that are hard to argue against. And Banks. Forget them. Business doesn’t need a source for capital and investment. And, yeah. Illiquid markets would be great.   While we’re at it…let’s get rid of the profit motive. We don’t need any big business in the U.S. — let’s just let them go overseas. And talent shouldn’t be rewarded in the U.S. – let the talent go overseas as well.   That would make America a more equal country. Everyone would be poor.

  • To tax the “rich” or revolution is no solution and it’s wrong and dangerous. For me the best solution is to shut down Wall Street and send to jail those who intentionally created and continue create financial crisis in the World.

  • I’m with you, Dan. I work and have an apartment building on the side to supplement that income. (Working on getting more.) The jobs are out there for most people, those who aren’t willing to work shouldn’t eat.

  • Oh… and in addition to my earlier statement, I also receive daycare assistance for my 2 kids. I pay a small co-pay each month. Even though my daughter is in kinder full time ($50 a month for poor folks like me, $250 for those earning a little more) my daycare costs unassisted while I’m working would come in at around $1150 per month. I only bring home $1400-$1550 per month working 40hrs plus another 2-10hrs in overtime each week. The gas alone to get to school, daycare, and work in my economical car costs me $150 per month. Yes, I chose to have kids (with one man… the man I was with for 8.5 years and married to at the time) but it still seems a little skewed that in the state with the highest minimum wage in the nation I technically couldn’t afford to work if it wasn’t for gov assisted daycare. I’m very close to the income limit. I may have to turn my next raise down (if I ever get one) and while I haven’t received more than $200 in child support over the last 5 months when and if the state ever garnishes his wages I may no longer qualify for the help. I’ll be getting less in child support than I’d be paying out to daycare by a long shot. 

    Some may say to just get a job at a company that has a daycare facility. Have they ever actually looked into that? Lets not even get into how hard it is to just pick and choose where you want to work. It’s a bite size discount. A close friend of mine just had her second child. Both her and her husband work. She works for DSHS (the one’s handing out gov assistance). She works in claims all day running numbers. She had to return to work after her maternity leave only working part time this time around. There is a daycare facility within her building. She can’t afford to put her kids into the state daycare, at her own employer, with the full time wages she was earning there. I’ll note that they have no car payments, no substantial credit card payments, and a mortgage under $700 per month. They also both have degrees. Tell me again how hard work always pays off????

    EDIT: Oh wait, I seemed to have forgotten the college option. I tried that, I was accepted, got my grants in order (full Pell mind you) and began taking my admittance testing after being accepted to a university and community college. They regretted to inform me that a majority of my Pell assistance was actually loans. I don’t trust the job market enough to take out that amount of loans with 2 kids depending on me. You know that great daycare assistance I spoke about earlier? Well, they don’t allow full time students to access it unless they’re working 22hrs per week in addition to full time school and trying to still fit in being a mother unless they already have an associated degree under their belt. An after school job is pretty hard to hold down when daycare facilities close at 6pm and are only open M-F btw. I was LUCKY to find a full time day job that only requires me to work one Saturday a month (one of the Saturday’s my kids are with their dad thankfully). Online universities don’t accept state and federal grants in case you were going to suggest that. I’m glad that the hard work, determination, and planning of some has worked to their benefit. For me that time has not arrived yet. 

  • dan?

    …nevermind. 

  • @onjerusalemhill - interesting you should characterize the wealthy as non-producers and completely miss the fact that over half of my income goes directly to the Federal Government. I fail to see how the fleecing of the American taxpayeris the fault of other tax payers. Btw, as someone pointed out recently, they’ve never received a job from apoor person. Of course millionaires and billionaires contribute to the economy.

    Please go to my blog and watch all 5 clips of Milton Friedmans interview on Donahue.

  • @MagisterTom - everyones willing to work because everyone needs to survive. who doesnt wana eat? thats stupid.

  • yes, and I belong to these lowly scummy disgusting 47%, about whose existance you are as I believe secretly very happy  because you can build yourself up. No one is working hard but you, everyone who doesn’t have a job doesn’t want one. You are just an awesome person and you never “play the victim”. why don’t I just finish school if I can’t pay for it? or simply start my own business thats so freakingly easy, right?

    Of course you don’t want to be thrown into one box with something like me, I understand.

    However if this is an allussion to occupy wallstreet…in this case the message is that we all are not treated fair by a very small percentage of people, who earn so much that the difference bewtween you and me is almost paperthin. I think if anyone should pay for those who are unable to work it’s rather people who “let their money work for them”, instead of actually (like you as I believe ) making their hands dirty with actual work. Their day has also just 24 hours but they make millions while you make thousands. Do you not think there is something wrong? Do you think they deseve it because they stick out so much as good hard working people? 

  • @tru_indo - Many aren’t willing to work, they sit on the government dole for their lives. Too lazy because they feel they are entitled to it.

  • @FallingSafely - I’m 46 years old, so yes I’ve seen pain and poverty up close. My husband worked as a physician in the heart of Appalachia for over 11 years. He’s seen true poverty as well as the type of poverty that is perpetuated and supported by the federal government. There is a huge difference between the two, btw.

    Did you know that the the U.S. government gave millions of dollars to the state of Louisiana and in particular to the city of New Orleans in order to repair and strengthen the levies PRIOR to hurricane Katrina? Did you know that the funding that was sent for this purpose was NOT spent on the needed repairs but was wasted by the party in charge of allocating these funds.
    Do you know what party dominated politics in that area for decades? 

     

  • @CreativeUndertow - I feel the same as you pretty much. I have heard many frequently saying they take pride in the work hard they do and are not lazy, expecting others to take care of them. That burned me. My husband works his butt off to make a better life for his family. His family being me, and our 3 kids. He had 2 from a previous marriage and I had one from a pervious marriage. He works full time and goes to school full time so that he can make a better life for us because right now we have to watch EVERY penny. The kids are on medicaid, he is covered through the VA and I have NO insurance because we can’t afford it. He can get it through his job but he can’t get it JUST for me. He can get it for the family so that the kids don’t need medicaid, but we can’t afford the insurance that is offered. We are struggling financially and we are struggling. We consider ourselves the 99% and we are ANYTHING but lazy. We hardly get to see him at home because of how hard he works. We have been on foodstamps before. We needed it. There are many others who truly need it. There are many, unfortunately, that DO take advantage of the system, but to take it away and punish those that turly do need it, is not the answer. I am also a Christian and in the bible God calls us to take care of each other. If there are people who are doing well out there financially, they should feel led to help those that can’t. There really are those out there that can’t do for themselves. If I had the money some people have, I would be willing to pay higher taxes to offer that help. In fact, I was born and raised in Canada and although the system isn’t perfect, I find it FAR better than the USA. My whole family still lives there, and truth be told, they are all better off financially than my family and not because they work ANY harder than we do. Problem is that people in this country are too wrapped up in what benefits themselves. Not the country as a whole. “The system the way it is, works for me, so who cares about the rest of the world. It’s their problem.” The world would be a much better place if people were concerned about more than themselves and what they get out of it. Assuming that struggling individuals or families are jsut being lazy is very judgemental and that kind of attitude makes me sick. My ex-husband is a republican and bashes all that democrats stand for but has no problem using the programs out there that are being threatened. Medicaid, unemployment money, etc. Which tells me, loud and clear that he is only concerned about what benefits him, rather than the country as a whole. The country IS the people. Not the place. We can’t claim to love America and be all patriotic if we are not going to be concerned about the people that make up this country. Those are just my thoughts.

  • Your quote “we need to tax the “rich” so we can give that money to people who work part-time or do not have jobs at all.” is a very broad and simplictic statement. The rich and the corporations need to be taxed so our infrastructure, both public and private, can continue to be rebuilt. Money that is held is not good for the economy, money in a capitalist republic such as ours has to be kept in circulation. High tax rates for corporations and the rich with the proper tax exemptions and deductions in the income tax structure encourages reinvestment in their companies or their personal source of wealth. If the tax rates are too low there are less incentives for this. A capitalistic country such as ours most have either tax rates to collect revenue to rebuild infrastructure or private money that would be spent on taxes to be spent reinvesting in the private economy. Sitting on high profits benefits noone. Money must be spent or lent, not hoarded. Trillions of dollars are being hoarded right now. Very elementary economics. Our tax codes at one time were structured very carefully in order to balance this. Tax rates are extremely low right now. Capital gains taxes are ridiculously low. Your statement is a very ignorant and bigoted thing to say. Knowing your popularity, I would expect a little higher level of thought from you. 

  • Greed is good. When was the last time altriusm made the farmer raise his corn or an engineer design your iPhone? It is ok, reality–not facts or logical arguments–is the only thing that can keep looters at bay. When they run out of people to loot we can hope they will give society back to the people who built it.

    (If this offends you, I am glad I have done so.)

    @GodlessLiberal - “You make it sound like the 99% movement wants to rob wealthy people at gunpoint so we can buy iPhones.”
    I rather be robbed of my money at gunpoint than the at the hands of the government. The government is no different, in the end it is guns; it is throwing you in jail if you do not cooperate. With the robber, at least he doesn’t try to manufacture my willful cooperation in order to create a sense of legitimacy in his actions.
    I can agree that tax loopholes need to be closed, though. People need to not be able to make money off the connections to friends in Washington.

  • As much as I love politics, I don’t know what to say when it comes to the American tax system. 

  • Fuck Money

  • @FallingSafely - I dont think it’s that stringent to get disability or welfare. Anyone without income on a disability or not and can show proof of that is eligible for social assistance.  However, personally, I am on disability for a private health reason I will not elaborate on but  I am also not on any drugs.  I am quite frugal with my money and I work (not as much as I’d like to). 

  • I guess I am an overlap of working but can’t get ahead and need to be employed.  What percent is that?

    There are roadblocks for everyone not at the top therefore the top should give back in some ways not necessarily in monetary form maybe opportunity-wise.

  • Nope.  I’m the 100%.  I’m the 1 of everyone else in this country.  I’m not better or worse. I’m not a percentile or a number.  I do not seek class warfare or to split this country.  We are one together, but that doesn’t mean what is mine is yours or vice versa.  I would hope the rich would “willingly” give to organizations that help the poor and less well to do, but that is their choice.  It is a choice I would like them to make willingly because made willingly means more than forced giving and redistribution which is what the government/Obama/99percenters would like to do.

  • @bakersdozen2 - And that’s the people of New Orlean’s fault how? But you seem to think poverty is owning one car and living paycheck to paycheck. If you’ve seen it and you still don’t understand it. I’m confused? So you know it exists, but you still don’t care??? 

  • @Parsimony - It is stringent. Why do you think disability lawyers exist. 95% of people will be refused their first time in hopes that the people who are actually sick will try again. I had over 20 doctors saying I was sick, so I got it right away. But I got no back pay whatsoever. And it should have been two years. I didn’t have the energy to fight it. I left it go. I was to ill to worry about how I existed off absolutely nothing for two years. It was over. I was safe. 

  • People are squabbling and losing all love and respect for each other. 

    And the fires are stoked by whom?

  • STOP SQUABBLING. It achieves nothing but hatred.

  • You’re deaf in one ear? Cool. So am I.

  • The fact is, someone has to pay the taxes.  So you can either shift the burden to the top or the bottom.  If you go with the Republican plan, then you’re just raising taxes for yourself.

  • I don’t often comment on this particular blog, but let me say this. I work a minimum-wage job that barely pays my damn bills while corporate bigwigs fly around in private jets to their personal islands. You know how they mostly do it? I’ll tell you how. RIPPING PEOPLE THE FUCK OFF. 

    Wanna know how magazine companies make so much money? At certain stores (FYE, Wherehouse Music, Suncoast, etc)  they offer you “free” magazines then charge your credit card month after month if you don’t cancel. OF COURSE, they don’t TELL you you have to cancel. And these terrible stores make commission on how many people they sucker into this shit. And if you don’t sucker enough people into it, they cut your hours or FIRE YOU! I know, I’ve worked there, and that’s why I QUIT. I’m not going to be responsible for someone getting evicted or getting their lights cut off because they can’t pay their bills due to this unexpected $150 charge on their card.

    Or FYE’s “Backstage Pass”. It’s $20 and you get 10% off whenever you shop. Good deal if you shop there a lot or are making a big purchase. BUT there’s a big poster in the break/stockroom saying, and I quote, “NEVER (in big, bold letters)  tell the customer they will be charged for the card.” So, basically, just charge someone for some shit they probably won’t use again and hope they don’t look at the receipt. Then, if they do, you have to void it and the manager gets pissed at YOU!

    I’m sure this sort of underhandedness , not necessarily with magazines, goes on in so many other places. This amount of corporate greed is disgusting. I pay my taxes, goddamnit, but these big CEO’s just sit in their offices making bank off the “plebeian” public. I’m sick of it and I support OWS wholeheartedly.

  • So let me get this straight. This “53%” is upset because those who have it the hardest, and are getting screwed the worst, don’t have to pay income tax on top of it? That’s just stupid. The top 1% in this country accounts for nearly 40% of the wealth and 25% of the income. Someone tell me, in what universe is that acceptable, and why?

    The conservative argument, here, seems to be that we’re taking money from people who earned it, and giving it to people who didn’t. But it’s hard to determine how much anyone has really earned. For a long time, for the most part, we’ve been letting the wealthy determine how to distribute earnings between themselves and everyone beneath them. It’s not surprising that they would take more than they deserve, most people would. But when they take so much more that those at the lowest level are unable to make a decent living, when disparity is as severe as it is right now, when one’s chance at moving up in this ridiculous heirarchy has little, if anything, to do with intelligence and determination, what we have is an oppressive aristocracy, and that needs to be changed.

    It wasn’t difficult to see the Wall Street protests coming. I’ve been comparing the conditions in this country to the conditions preceeding the French Revolution for years. The only difference is, there weren’t so many peasants in France who were dumb enough to sympathize with the monarchy. Yes, I am calling anyone who objects to the Wall Street protests dumber than an illiterate 18th century French peasant.

  • @mtk101 - just because the rich people have money doesn’t mean that they don’t worry about the future. chances are they are just as worried as we.

    “I like this idea for the most part. Is it really ok that someone who can play a sport or act in a movie be allowed to make millions while we got others who can’t even afford to go to college let alone get a decent job to support themselves? They live in mansions have nothing but the best vehicles and can afford to have health insurance and not have a care in the world because of that. I don’t even want to get started with the corrupted governmental leaders. Who knows what kind of shady things go on behind the curtain…I support taxing everyone by the % of their annual income though. I don’t mean to look upon the rich with envy…I just wish I could live life without worrying about the future for once. ”

  • This is just you being an asshole because you don’t understand that there’s more than your experience.  You aren’t worth anymore and stop demoralizing these people.

    Everyone should have a job.  I don’t have one, and I live off your taxes :P because other people decided to trash me out, baby.  It’s not that I can’t work, it’s that no one will hire me–how clever of them.  And this is a problem that people need to get over.  I was getting a pension from the military because for some reason, I started disassociating really badly.  I have been uber abused by humans this lifetime.  It changed my brain into seeking extremes.  You should see my writing.  Is one one if another is one and if one is one then one will be one no matter?

    Japan doesn’t let anyone be homeless.  to keep them from trashing me out, I have to have “forced” employment.  On my own, when people compete with me, they destroy me in ways that make living impossible.  I’m trying to get in on their good or anything else vile.

    The government should just hand jobs out to invalids like Ricky and myself.  I have issues in that I’m very in the moment at work, so I need something that’s reptitive, that you can’t forget. And i need to be around people that aren’t competing with me. I’m missing executive functiosn. And I can’t interact with people. A factory would work for me, and the government has to make sure that I get enough hours.  That’s another trick.  People like you use me at work to say that I don’t deserve.  Mise en place.

  • They keep putting a rose in my selections. NEVER!

  • I’m trying to get a job at RT but they’re not interested.  Sure, DearRicky do your job, so can he have it?

    Get that damn rose away from me.

  • Let me ask you the question since you incited me:

    What if your children became disabled?  Would you want them digging through trash for money with no decent future as they can’t earn anything?

    What if you were starving on the street?  Would you want it then?  What if your business had to go bankrupt?  The government bails you out then.

  • Either you give us money, or we rape your kids in labor camps because that’s what it’ll translate into.  The fact that you were successful means that your kids can’t be.

  • I’d enjoy seeing you in one, Dan, along with most Americans ;)

  • @GodlessLiberal - Well said. As usual, theotard fails.

  • I hate all people, but I especially hate anything familiar. 

    I’d love to hear them all scream when they have no futures.

  • I’m trying to be an enemy of America though since that’s what they paint me as.

  • @GreenyMcCreeper - You leave that economy alone, creeper!

  • i have enough on my plate just dealing with my own life and how to make it in this world. i do not have the time or energy to focus on jealousy or politics of the rich. if i want to have more money, i can use my head to come up with ideas.

  • @MagisterTom - as long as the government or anyone hands out freebies, ppl are gona take it. i see your point tho. hope u see mine too.

  • @Colorsofthenight - im with u. 

  •  This just permits people to be lazy and not take any responsiblity for themselves.

  • The United States taxes “rich people” more than any other country except Italy.  In political/academic terms, we have the 2nd most progressive tax system in the world.  As far as I can tell, Italy is doing worse than us;

  • It’s the economy now out of whack and the collapse of the Middle Class which is threatening the social services we all want!  What correction is needed? Rescinding the Bush tax cuts for starters!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JTzMqm2TwgE

  • It’s about fascism…the control of government, thus the people, by corporation.  That’s the bottom line of the whole damn matter.   The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act opened the doors wide open for corruption.  

    The mantra of redistribution is a faux news parroting point.  

  • @Colorsofthenight - Let me ask you the question since you incited me: What if your children became disabled?  Would you want them digging through trash for money with no decent future as they can’t earn anything?

    Theo doesn’t respond to questions on his blog. Come see me. 

  • @s0ciallyawkward - @darkoozeripple - agreed. come see me. http://divajyoti.xanga.com/755864953/53–actually-doing-the-math/

  • @moonfern - VERY well said! come see me. @onjerusalemhill - excellent point, come see me. @theflowerstem - right, please come see me.

    http://divajyoti.xanga.com/755864953/53–actually-doing-the-math/

  • @Burghess - That comment rocked! I’m sorry to hear you are having tough times and I wish you the very best for the future.

  • @RDRRain23 - Not really. If they got money and are struggling, then all they have to do is lower the cost of their living. Live in a smaller house only own 1 maybe 2 vehicles etc…

  • @darkoozeripple - Agreed

  • I think that any human being should be 100%

  • @FallingSafely - EXACTLY! I can’t tell you how long I fought with a friend over that! I don’t know where people get the idea that we “hand money out”. There’s always a system and a checking and a long process you have to go through to get any aid! 

    Another thing I’ve noticed, the people who assume it’s only lazy people who want government help are ALWAYS THE PEOPLE WHO GET BY EASILY!

  • I see so many good arguments for both sides. :/  

    We need a compromise.

  • I kinda think so. I mean…let’s say taxes were…idk 50% of your income. Let’s say you make 10 million a year, you’d be fine living off of 5. If you make 30,000 a year…you’d be seriously effed. I think if you are making mad money then you should pay more in taxes. OR A LEAST NOT GET CRAZY TAX BREAKS. Kthnx.

    On that same note, I don’t think that tax money should just be handed to someone else. I think you should have to prove you are NOT on drugs, and are trying to get a job if you are able.

  • I was very happy those kids spoke their mind over the weekend. I agree with Thomas Jefferson a litle rebellion is a good thing. And apparently working people heard them around the world. I was not too happy about what happened in Italy though…that was sad.

  • Tax on the upper earners was higher in the 1990s.  The economy was very good at that time.  Tax on the upper earners was very high in the late 1950s – early 1960s, up to 90%.  That is when many of the schools, highways, bridges, and airports were built.  Since 2000, all of those things this country built have been allowed to decay including wages and jobs, I have seen this happen.  I believe the two are related.

  • http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

  • you  don’t really understand the complex nature of the protests .turn off rush for week and then look up the word greedy. after doing that ask if its earning money to let  children  in other countries,working slave  factories to make shoes  then turn around and sell them at a tremendous profit… no you really don’t know what goes on in the world ,,it isn’t at all that simple .your expressed idea has little meaning in the context of a profound reality ,i suggest you study the reality a little more if you have any hope of making the wold better ,if you like it like it is, i am sorry ,

    peace

  • Again you have deliberately twisted the issue and asked the wrong question.  Are you really that stupid?  Or do you just enjoy provoking argumentative discussion.

    The question is should millionaires be taxed at a lower rate than their secretaries?

  • @FallingSafely - The “Poverty Level” as defined by Federal Poverty Guidelines is different than “poverty” as you define it.

    http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml

    What people consider poverty in Sri Lanka is vastly different from what you’ve described as “poverty” in your comment.
    If you care to reread my initial comment, I stated that we lived below the Poverty Line for the first few years of marriage. It’s not an arbitrary term. That was simply a fact based on government statistics during the mid to late 80′s. I have no intention of getting into a who can “out poverty” who on this post. 


    “And that’s the people of New Orlean’s fault how?”

    I thought I made it clear that the politicians who fleece the tax payers and then misappropriate the confiscated funds are to blame. And yes, this does tie into the whole OWS nonsense. I’ve demonstrated that you don’t have to be a millionaire in order to be considered the “1%” (again not an arbitrary term). In fact, the top 1% pay 40% of the tax burden. There are many contributing factors to poverty in America. Single parenthood is one of them. Politicians who create a dependent class is another factor. 

    The bottom line is these protestors are blaming the wrong institutions. I have no interest in paying their school loans; or for their college education or for their healthcare (anymore than I already do, that is).   I DO have every intention of resisting their list “Demands”.

    http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/

  • @bakersdozen2 - Yes I know the differences in the two poverties. But the “actual” poverty still exists? The one I described. You don’t care about those people? You have no remorse for them? While you struck it lucky in business, and you’ve never actually experienced poverty, you have absolutely no want to help these people at all? You’d rather sit back and hoard money, while gangs take their next victim? Because if we look at the big picture of this. PEOPLE ARE POOR, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE RICH. We quite obviously cannot stretch money out there that doesn’t exist. Bill Gates has promised to donate 90% of his earnings. And the Kardashian fund is spent on private Jets, colored pink.  

  • @FallingSafely - You shouldn’t presume to know me or assume what I do or do not care for…. OR how I choose to dispense charity. You keep trying to paint me as not caring for the poor Lol. You have no clue what we do with the money the government allows us to keep. 

    “PEOPLE ARE POOR, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE RICH. We quite obviously cannot stretch money out there that doesn’t exist.”

    The Free Market economy is not a zero sum game. The “wealthy” invest in the economy (that is if they want to continue being wealthy)….. only stupid, people who are dismal investors hoard money. 

    The wealthy create jobs for their own companies. They invest in factories and machinery which in turn create jobs for other companies. Bill Gates does more for the economy by reinvesting his money than he does by simply donating it. Talk about “Dead End Cash”…. Steve Jobs created personal wealth by marketing a successful product which in turn created jobs….. how do you think Apple employees would have gotten paid if it weren’t for Steve Jobs wealth and success????? 

    And other Americans can “Strike it rich” too, as you so presumptuously call it.  Anyone in America is welcome to take the same steps as my husband did to create “wealth”….. All it takes is 4 years of High School; 4 years of college; 4 years of Medical school and 4 years of Residency working 80-100 hrs/week making less than minimum wage. And after Residency all you have to do is continue to work the same brutal hours paying back the (in todays dollars $200,000 +) loans borrowed for education. 

    Striking it rich is soooo easy… it’s just like magic!!  

  • @mtk101 - perhaps they own a business. when i say they do worry, its about other things like the future of their business. will they be marked as obsolete by new technology? is competition going to swoop in and capture their clientel? finding a balance with paying employees labor, rent, investors/loans, etc. they may not necesarily worry about money, but they worry.

  • @RDRRain23 - Ahh yea owning a buisness is the definition of stress. I was aiming more towards athletes and movie stars who get guarantee money whether they play or if their movie is successful.

  • @mtk101 - i would bet that athletes worry about getting injured and if their career could end in one bad play. and movie stars get to worry the entire time before they become famous.

  • @bakersdozen2 - I’ll address various points of yours in a moment, but first, I just have to ask…you’ve talked a lot about what your husband has done, and his success. What about yourself? Your husband went to college for all those years, and worked all those hours, but he isn’t the one making these arguments (though I’m sure he probably does share your sentiments, which, like I said, I will address), you are. So…what did YOU do?

  • @DivaJyoti - you have once again affirmed my opinion that the most intolerant group of people on the planet is the urban left. 

  • @Maverick83 -  my first thought was, “None of your business”. Ten Dollars 4 ways tried this tactic recently and I said just that (in so many words). But I’ll bite this time.

    My husband and I have been married for 26 years. I’ve had 13 children and educated them by myself though not without constantly leaning on The Lord for His help. From the time my oldest was 5 until now ( my youngest is 6,) we’ve paid into a public school system we’ve never used. My oldest is now in Medical school and with God’s help will move on to clinicals by May. The next 4 children attend UVA. 3 of the 4 have a GPA greater than 3.4 which is not bad considering the school and the fact that 2 are Pre-med. Btw, these children are working as they go to school. My one daughter just got a job working at the UVA emergency room as a scribe. Out of hundreds of applicants, 12 were picked. My kids wouldn’t have time to waste with this OWS nonsense because they’re too busy taking responsibility for their loves.

    The next child, a son, is in Iraq and is due to come home in 6 weeks (Lord willing). One daughter is at community college and is earning a 4.0. The rest of my 6 kids are still at home and I’m still teaching them by myself. ..

    My children are my resume and what I’m most proud of and thankful for. But if I understand your question, you want to know if I participated in the economy or was part of “the work force”…..

    Yes, I did that too while educating my kids. For many years I worked for a company as the secretary and book keeper. This had a matching IRA program. At one point it had grown to a nice little nest, but I’ve had to liquidate a large portion of it because the AMT set our tax burden above what even our standard 0 deduction allowed for. So yes, I was a working member of the larger economic society.

    And we’ve used quite a bit of money from our IRA to pay the Feds over and above the 0 deduction, 6 figure tax with drawals we have taken out of our paycheck every year.

    Now Please explain to me how we (the 1%) are taking advantage of the poor? Explain to me how we don’t pay ” our fair share? We worked for our money

  • No, we should not. Period.

    Giving money to people who haven’t earned it (and by “earned” I mean worked for it, not “deserve” it) is the job of privately funded charities, not the government. The government’s job is to protect the individual and property rights of it’s people- that’s it.

  • Rich people should pay taxes with far less breaks because they’re not special… And I’d love it if most rich people would stop crying like a bunch of babies about not being as spoiled as they once were. People caught up and now the 1% is at risk of paying more taxes… GOOD! Share the wealth.

  • Honestly if I had my way tax distribution money should only go to those that are so severely handicapped that they cannot fend for themselves or contribute to society.  And if we had to give to the welfare free loaders, that there would be a better cap off to how long they are helped so that they are encouraged to find some sort of employment that will work for how they live.  If a poor woman who is an at home mom of 3 kids suddenly loses her bread winning spouse, I’m fine with helping her, but only for a limited time so that she has to find a way to help herself.  All adults have choices in life.  If you have a mess of kids just so you can live on the government tit…I don’t have much sympathy for you.  If you however fall into an unexpected and/or tragic situation…that is another matter entirely.

    I grew up very poor myself….sometimes I was homeless.  But my mother did everything she could to try and help us without asking for a handout that she could have easily gotten.  I’ve always tried to honor her ability to help herself before she took.

  • @ctaretz - I think you should share more of your income as well. Why? 

    …… Because I think you should. 

  • @bakersdozen2 - Fair enough. I was merely trying to gauge the legitimacy of your self-righteousness. (And I appreciate your responding, although while it may be “none of my business”, I feel it’s relevant, for that purpose: to establish how willing or unwilling you are to benefit off of someone else’s hard work, while decrying the poor for wanting to. Granted, if you had been, the situation is still different, being that you’re married, and your husband would be providing to you it willingly, but on principle, it would be no different.)

    Now, I know you worked for your money. From the way it sounds, you may be among those who are not actually responsible for the problem, and so you have my sympathy, but understand that as far as I’m concerned, if everything you say is true, you’re an exception. Unfortunately, when enough of your fellow “1%” have done what they’ve done, to create this problem, you all get lumped in together, in public opinion. If it were up to me (and plenty of these 99%ers, I’m sure) I’d say specifically go after the ones that have caused the problem. What have they done, exactly? Well…

    First, I stand by my statement that collectively, the richest have taken more than their fair share, to begin with. That 1% of the people have not made a 40% contribution, could not possibly have contributed 40%, and do not deserve that large a share of the wealth. Nor the nearly 25% of the income. You and your husband are a rare combination. Being at the bottom of that 1%, and having worked so hard for it.

    Second, a lot of the people you’re defending (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and plenty of other “job creators”…biggest. lie. ever.) kill jobs, rather than create them, by outsourcing to countries with a horrendous standard of human rights, for cheap labor. And even if they hadn’t…who ever got a job from a poor person, you ask? Directly? No one. But the poor and middle class are the real job creators. What business owner ever said, “Let’s hire more people than we need, for the sake of the economy!”? Jobs are created by demand, and demand is created when people actually have money to spend. I’m not saying the successful don’t deserve more than the rest of us, for their exceptional accomplishments. But the sentiment you’re expressing is precisely the problem. They get full of themselves, and forget that they have an interdependent relationship with the middle and lower class consumers. In doing so, they overestimate what they’re worth, and what they’ve earned. No, Apple employees wouldn’t have gotten paid if not for Jobs’s wealth and success. (And there would’ve been more of them if he hadn’t exploited foreign labor.) But he wouldn’t have amassed that wealth, or had any success to speak of, if nobody had been able to purchase his products.

    Finally, the amount your husband had to do, to get where he is, is ridiculous. He deserves to be commended for accomplishing it, and yes, deserves his earnings. But it seems to me that, now that you’re out of that situation, you’ve lost your sympathy for those who are still in it, or those who are even worse off. (Yeah, everyone is free to go to college. Provided they get accepted, and can afford it, and even then it’s something of a gamble.) We’ve all been through rough times, but none of the difficulties I’ve faced have made me so bitter as to wish those difficulties on others. I don’t care what I’ve been through “in my day”. We should strive for improvement, so that future generations aren’t subjected to the problems we’ve faced.

    And regardless of how much you may have earned what you have, despite everything you’ve been through for it, you do have it easier, and have been more fortunate, than a lot of the people you’re complaining about.

  • @bakersdozen2 - I do, every paycheck… With no breaks!

    And if I was rich, I’d be more than happy to share the wealth without acting like someone spoiled, overgrown 2 year old.

    “Mine! NO you can’t have none! Mine!”

  • @Maverick83 - I appreciate your reasoned response. All too often these discussion escalate needlessly.

    Having said that our situation of being the bottom 1% is the rule, not the exception. The fact remains most of the 1% are not uber wealthy corporate moguls like Jobs and Gates. Though I have to say, I do not begrudge Buffet his billions. If he can provide a legitimate and legal way to contribute to the economy, more power to him. If he chooses to voluntary contribute more taxes than is required, I think he should. 

    “What business owner ever said, “Let’s hire more people than we need, for the sake of the economy!”? Jobs are created by demand, and demand is created when people actually have money to spend.”

    No doubt, private industry is not a charity nor should it be but jobs are what provide long term purchasing power which in turn supports supply and demand. Corporations provide jobs, produce goods and services and these factors fuel demand. The consumer needs to be employed if they’re going to contribute to the economy long term.
    The one commenter had mentioned Gates giving away 90% of his profits. I referred to this as Dead Cash. While it might temporarily fuel supply and demand it doesn’t sustain it. The middle class is better off if he uses that money to invest in companies or innovation within his own company because it would necessarily create jobs. We actually want people like Steve Jobs (RIP) using his gifts and reinvesting his profits because guys like him have had an incredible track record of not only meeting demands but also anticipating them. 
    Bill Gates very generous offer to give 90% of his profits away is misplaced charity. That money will eventually be consumed (however quickly, it depends) but if he creates jobs, he drives the system which will continue. 

    Finally, I don’t despise the poor. And I never felt a lack of want while we were going through that period of time. We didn’t have luxuries like television but we made our own fun…… quite literally   ;)

  • First of all I think that lack of wisdom to find solution is revolution, second: No Wall Street – No Occupy Wall Street Movement, and third: to tax the “rich” is no solution and it’s wrong and dangerous, because we are not 1% or 53% we are 100%. Someone playing dangerous game with numbers to divide society. For me the best solution is to shut down the Wall Street and send to jail those who intentionally created and continue create financial crisis in the World. 

  • @ctaretz - Oh I get it… you pay enough in taxes but others do not. You don’t get breaks but others do. You can complain about others paying less than you think they should but when Americans protest the Feds taking over 60% of their income, it’s “whining”

    You don’t get “breaks” but others do.

    Child tax credits? They’re phased out as individual income increases. 

    Do you or would you benefit from that break?

    Charitable giving? That gets phased out as well as income increases? Would you be benefiting from that?

    What about that refund check that Bush sent out to tax payers?  Did you get that?

    Yeah…. we don’t get the same breaks you do that is FOR SURE. And don’t tell me it’s none of my business when you’re demanding we give more of our income over to this wasteful government and call it whining. 

  • I wonder if people realize that our government, our laws, in no way allow for the taxation of ANY people (1%, 99%, 53%, whatever).  Taxation was brought about as a temporary solution to finance the government during the Civil War.  It was to be dropped as soon as the war debt was paid.  Our laws still only allow limited taxation, not the government bull that we are allowing to happen now.

    Secondly, welfare was never meant to last for decades either.  Welfare was a temporary solution to the Great Depression.

    Why do we not just dissolve all of these “temporary” solutions and leave capitalism alone?

  • @bakersdozen2 - That’s right keep crying, “Wahhhh! Wahhh!”

  • @ctaretz - Oh I will….. And I bet my crying is more coherent than yours.   ;)

  • @bakersdozen2 - Very coherent indeed, I wish I was as clear typing from my ass as you are. . You know damn well the wealthy get way more breaks. 600 dollar stimulus is one of your arguments? What the hell is that? And once, never a stimulus like that again… Lol

  • @ctaretz - If I member correctly, you do call yourself a Believer in Christ. Is that right?  Don’t expect me to go toe to toe with you on personal insults because it’s wrong on many levels not the least of which our mandate as Christians.

    Here are the facts: We claim 0 deductions on our W-2 each and every year. The combination of Federal, State, FICA-SS and FICA-Med that is withdrawn from our pay check exceeds 64% of our income.
    When we file our 1099 at the beginning of the year, we don’t get a refund check back in spite of having 13 children or a 10% tithe plus other charitable giving. If we didn’t get the mortgage interest rate deduction we would have to pay even more than we already do. And the Democrats have been gunning to repeal that for years. Did I mention that this is actual work we do? This is not money we earn through interest on dividends a la Warren Buffet. 

    So how does our paying 64% with NO BREAKS translate into not paying our fair share.It’s more than the 99% pay both in total and as a percentage. 

    Now you can continue with your rude behavior. Call it whining if you’d like because at this point it only reveals your lack of knowledge on the subject and your utter lack of Christian charity.

  • @bakersdozen2 - 1. You got flip with me first! What’s with the wealthy and their sense of entitlement? Did you think I was gonna let you get smart without dishing it out as well? You’re the only person that can be an ass, no one else though, that’s just unacceptable.

    2. of course you’re going to defend your argument with “facts”, facts that back up your argument that is. Forget all the other stuff… lol

    3. I believe I was talking about the rich… Are you actually rich?

    and…

    4. My being a believer has got nothing to do with you. Are you legalistic? Judge much? Are you still crying?

    Peace out, I’ll keep you in my prayers.

  • @ctaretz - “

    What’s with the wealthy and their sense of entitlement?”
    I don’t think pointing out your double standard qualifies as a personal insult. Here, I’ll do it again.  Do you feel you’re entitled to the money you earn? Well, you’ve certainly proven that you do. 

    And no, pointing these things out is not a personal insult. 

    “Did you think If was gonna letra you get smart witout dishing it out as well? You’re the only person that can be and ass, no one else though, that’s just unacceptable.”

    You don’t “Let me” do anything. I am a free agent as are you.  But since you’re willing to pray for me (and I thank you for that), would you mind pointing out where I personally insulted you in any of my comments here or anywhere else? 

  • @bakersdozen2 - Your perception is one of a spoiled crying baby, and I made corrections already. Droid phones can be a pain in the ass. You should know about smart phones, being rich and all..

    Lol, You’re a joke and real easy to bate.

    I’ve grown tired of you now though, so have a nice day.

    God’s blessings.

  • @bakersdozen2 - Well you finally answered but I figured as much.

    You, yourself are welfare recipient of sorts (from your Husbands “hard work”) and live a life of privilage and wealth not from your own labors but from someone elses. Strange then that you are so nasty and hateful and callous to those who aren’t as fortunate to have married as well as you did.

    For someone so pretty, you are one ugly ugly person.

  • @tendollar4ways - No, T$4W… no one considers your pension fund a charity case. You have to earn your own way like everyone else so stop trying to couch your personal interest as concern for the poor. If you work hard enough you can put extra money in an IRA like I did with the money I earned.  

    You can also claim 0 deductions on your W-2 and fill out the addendum on your 1040 to volunteer more of your money (in addition to the 15% you already pay). Sorry pal your motives are as transparent as your paper thin reasoning skills. :D

    You and @ctaretz seem to have a lot in common. 

  • @ctaretz - Really?  Lol

    I’ve had 13 babies. I’m kind of an expert on their behavior. And I have noticed that they pitch a fit when they want a toy they can’t have. They never seem satisfied with what they have. They always want the other kid’s toys.
    Sound familiar?  :P

  • @FallingSafely - That is not what I got from his post at all… While some people do need the help… not everyone who recieves it does. When I really needed it I could not get it… I was laid off for a yr and while I recieved unemployment for a portion of that year… I could not get help in regards to food or health for my kids. I tried… 240.00 per week for a mom of two kids is hardly enough to pay rent let alone anything else. It is sad and I understand your underlying meaning… He did not lay into anyone who does really need it. The people that abuse the system give everyone else in the system a bad name. Its the same as everything else. It takes just a few to ruin it for the others, so to speak.

    In regards to the 99%/occupy wallstreet… While I think that some of the leaders really have thought it out… not everyone understand what it truly is and need to have it explained. Some people like always just jumped on the bandwagon, so to speak and do not comprehend what it is… and when these particular people make comments it gives the whole movement a bad image. I honestly believe that people need ot be taxed accross the board a fair percentage that is equal… If I in the working middle class get taxed this percentage, so to should the rich. While I DO NOT support the redistribution of wealth, I understand where so of these people are coming from as to the unfairness of the taxation laws… while its not wallstreet that really controls it, they do have a clear tie with industry and government that makes people angry, but then they forget that wallstreet is fueled by companies and said companies worth otherwise why have wallstreet. Anyone can buy in… Its just work and some people are not interested in work. If others can better their situation… why can’t we all?

    I like Theo, put my self through college, still paying off those student loans. I have been knocked to the dirt and have not had the best in life, but I worked very hard to pick myself up and dust myself off… I know that opportunities are limited right now, but they are out there. I found a good job and have been able to get back up and on my feet. I even took a bartending job part-time to help pay bills… but that took away my unemployment… so it didn’t really help all that much. I was still in the same boat aaaas I had been on unemployment and still no help. It sucked, but it was what I was dealt. Was I happy about it? Heck no, did I work with it and around it yes. What else could I do? Get bitter? What would that accomplish… nothing. So I stuck to my guns, continued to work my crappy part-time job do what I could, pay what I could, and go from there. At one point I worked two jobs… I would have worked three if I could have found another part-time job… I continued to look for work in my field of expertise… it paid off. I am back to working and I am grateful for it.

    Maybe if everyone where taxed fairly everyone would be happy, but then not everyone is always happy so we would always have someone to raise flags and nay say or protest and petition. Isn’t it great that we have this freedom of speech to do all of this.

  • @bakersdozen2 - Try…28%. Since we are getting nasty as you do constantly I will oblige and do unto you as you do unto others…I earn it unlike yourself who earns it like the welfare momma’s you condemn doing little more than squirting out a kid every year.

  • @tendollar4ways - How much are union dues up to these days?

  • @bakersdozen2 - I am not in a union, I am a saleman..paid on commission. I sell alot, I make more $$$. I don’t sell anyting, I am outta a job.

    Unlike yourself, I appreciate the people who load my trucks, do customer service, ship my orders. If they get sick, die you worthless peice of crap you can be replaced cuz I need mine, mine, mine…me, me, me isn’t how I roll and I think they should be taken care of.

    Love thy neighbor sista. You are a goat farmer.

  • @tendollar4ways - “

    I am not in a union, I am a saleman..paid on commission. I sell alot, I make more $$$.”
    I’m inclined not to believe you, but it’s good to know you make lots of money. It will come in handy next year when you put your money where your mouth is and write a check to the IRS. It’s hard to believe you appreciate anyone but yourself. I’ve been on Xanga for quite some time and noticed your trolling behavior and the way you treat all kinds of people….. and it isn’t nicely. Just a fact, Bro. Your concern for others just does not ring true.

    “Love thy neighbor sista. You are a goat farmer.”

    It’s good to see that you recognize the authority of scripture if not it’s proper application.  :)

     

  • @bakersdozen2 - LOL!!! You want to lecture me on the treatment of others when you think we should leave the poor, sick and old to die so you can get yours?

    The Goat you are farming has red skin and stinks to high hell.

  • @tendollar4ways - Also, You may want to invest in anger management, Ghandi.

  • @bakersdozen2 - You people make me sad more than angry. I am no Ghandi but I ain’t that Goat you tend either.

  • @tendollar4ways - Your right! Goats are far more clever

  • @bakersdozen2 - Agreed, and I appreciate yours, as well. I think there’s one thing we can agree on, that it’s sad that we find ourselves taking special notice of, and appreciating a civil discussion. (I also apologize because it looks like answering my question drew a response you were trying to avoid.)

    I can respect that, but if that is the case, then I still believe those who use such dishonest and destructive means (outsourcing, for example) should be held responsible and have to pay for it.

    I’m not getting it. How does investing create jobs? It’s adding money to a company and people who already have plenty. I think a lot of the problem is that so much money is circulating exclusively among the wealthy, in such a manner. And when companies are asked why they aren’t hiring, it’s not a lack of investing or innovation, it’s a lack of demand. That means people aren’t spending enough, because they don’t have enough.

    Anyway, regardless of any of this, there are a few things I firmly believe, that motivate my stance:

    -Nobody, no matter what their problem, even if they’re just lazy, should have to live on the streets or starve. If they’re lazy, they certainly don’t deserve luxuries, no iPhone, no big house, no fancy car, etc. Those should have to be earned. But they should have the basics.

    -We produce enough, in this country, to supply everyone with those basics, and without accumulating massive debt, believe it or not! And there is no way that doing so would discourage people from working. The allure of luxuries is strong enough to create and maintain an ample workforce.

    -The simple fact that there are people without food and shelter, and that there are people working for less than a living wage, stands as proof that somewhere, some people are taking more than they’ve earned.

    -The top 1% control almost 40% of the wealth. I do not believe there is any way 1% of any population is even capable of contributing 40% of that population’s needs. Like I said, someone, somewhere, is taking too much. I can either believe it’s the people who are struggling to make a half-decent living, or that it’s millionaires/billionaires (including politicians). I’m going with the latter.

    -The economy cannot be blamed on the poor. The amount of money that is controlled by or directed at them is simply not enough to have an impact.

  • There’s such thing as charities. How about the 1% can donate their income to charities? I think this will be more well worth it.

  • @bakersdozen2 - You have 13 kids and I hope one of them doesn’t end up with some sort of disability. That would just suck for them. After you and your husband die, who’s going to take care of them? Surely not the government.

    While were bragging. I have three brothers. One is a civil engineer for the army. He’s 25 and makes 80,000 a year. The other is a cop, he’s also in the reserves. My oldest brother is retired from the air force and now sells real estate. They have all been across seas. My mother has her doctorate degree in children psychology. My father is now retired, but still works. My step father earns over 100,000 grand a year working with a local company.

    I am disabled. I got the short end of the stick. I live off 727.00 a month in the bare minimal SSDI I could get hold of before I was deemed disabled. We were denied our cost of living increase in January, because there wasn’t enough money. I don’t get food stamps. I don’t get any other assistance. I live in a shitty one bedroom efficiency apartment and I have to get permission from a fucking doctor before I’m allowed to set foot in a place of employment. I have schizophrenia. I am 24. I watched all my friends graduate from college, while I dropped out and my health depleted. I watched them go off to Vet school and get graduate degrees, while I lived in hospitals. I watch them buy fancy cars, while I can’t even afford a shitty one. I watched my brothers live happy lives and buy beautiful houses, while I’m stuck here. I make sure my dog has food before I do. And I never complain. I never ever fucking complain. I tell people how happy I am. But I can’t even drive to get my own groceries that usually consist of shit. I live off 727.00 a month and my family won’t help me. And I don’t take charity. I hope you remember that while you’re relaxing in your jacuzzi tub.

  • @FallingSafely - “

    I have schizophrenia. I am 24.”
    This speaks to me more than anything you’ve said so far. Is this your disability? That truly is a disability. I see you’re taking medication. You wouldn’t be as connected to reality if you weren’t. I have several family members who suffer from this. Taking medication is the only way to handle the reality of schizophrenia. 

    Yes, we all have our medical realities. In a family of 15, we have them just like any other family, but I’m not going to elaborate about it here. I’ve given way too many specifics about our family and they’ve been mischaracterized by the usual suspect(s). 

    You should take charity from private organizations. It’s nothing to be ashamed. You’re willing to treat your schizophrenia and that right there is a very significant break through for this disorder. 

  • @RDRRain23 - Athletes still get paid what they where promised in their contracts…so if that rare day comes then they’d have plenty of time to find a new job. They went to college so they do have a degree most likely degree to fall on. As for the movie stars. I’m well aware of the fact that it can be really stressful to finally make it big in that business as well. 

  • thats not really what the capaign is about  rich people pay about 12% tax while the middle class pays about 33% tax  the idea is that the middle class is getting screwed hard and that the rich have more money so they should pay a larger percent  in my opinion i think everyone ahould pay aan equal percentage  for example: whether you make 7$ an hour or 200$ an hour everyone should be paying 33% or 12% or whatever % you want but it should be standard  

  • I didn’t realize that the whole Occupy Wall Street movement was claiming income taxes needed to be higher – they’re protesting bankers, wealthy capitalists, etc., who make most of their money through capital gains, if I understand correctly.

    How is this not a straw-man?

  • This is pure communism ideal those 99% are pushing. I mean I know the word gets thrown around a lot but literally, sounds like someone just picked up a marx book.

  • As usual, I am on the fence about both sides. Seems to me like some of the people in the 99% were fine until this economy went to hell and it affected THEM. NOW they want to make a rattle of it all, but the truth is, it’s always been hard on someone else…on millions of other people. So of course, there is a part of me that is a bit iffy about it. Why is it that people only really care about things when it happens to them? Anyway, but also with the whole 1% thing. I go to college with a lot of 1% (spoiled brat types, unfortunately) and believe me I personally wouldn’t want a hand out from any of them. But I bet if suddenly everything went wrong for them and they lost all their money (well their parents did) then they would be doing the same thing the 99% are doing. I don’t want any type of handout, I actually LIKE working for my money fair and square. I think people should start worrying about FIXING the problem for the country instead of just for themselves. But hey, I have  been accused of being a bit insensitive.

  • Dear christ.  I’m so tired of fucking petitions and people marching hither and thither.  Can the alleged 99% get their shit together?  I’ve been hearing about the occupation for weeks, but none of the people spreading the message really know what they’re talking about.  It’s such bullshit that they’re even claiming to “fight for the cause”.  Yes, something needs to change, but either come up with a plausible solution that you can do yourself and then do something about it, or keep your mouth shut and stay home.  Because right now, all I see is a bunch of people getting together and bitching about the same thing, only louder.  And you know what your mother always told you: Just because you’re loud, it doesn’t make you right.

  • No, we shouldn’t add extra taxes to the rich even for people like myself who actually CANNOT work, for reasons I’d rather not go into right now (purely a time issue, I feel no shame for collecting SSI after working all my life & paying taxes) HOWEVER, I think we should look long and hard at all the tax breaks, loopholes etc. that benefit only the rich. If for no other reason than to avoid history repeating itself. The disparity between the haves and have nots is growing almost daily. Does anyone remember reading about the French Revolution?  The entire reason for the revolution is exactly the same. The Royalty/Rich got richer while the masses starved and lived in unsafe, unsanitary conditions.  At least some thought must be given to finding a way to create a fairness in the tax code before people start losing their heads. Literally.

  • I think this has been blown out of poportion.  I work 50+ hours a week and still can barely make ends meet.  I do not complain about paying taxes as it does fun our public schools, our road systems, our parks, the libraries, the police and fire departments and many more programs that I am thankful that we have.  I do have a problem with someone who makes a million dollars a year not having to pay more taxes than I do.  I do believe that everyone should have to pay taxes and they should be based on how much you make.  If I am only making 35,000 a year then I expect to pay less taxes than someone who makes 100,000 a year, as well as I expect to pay more taxes than someone making 20,000 a year. 

    I’m not for giving the money to those who do not work, but it is a fine line between those who do not want to work and those who can not work.  My father was a parapalegic who would have given anything to be able to go back to his back breaking construction job that he had before the accident.  He could not even take a shower on his own so yes, he did get disability payments (a whopping 1,100 a month to live off of – rent, food, medications, lights, water, phone, and all else that he needed.  He did not receive any food stamps or medicaid/medicare.  He was forced to juggle his 1,100 a month to pay for everything and as an epileptic, he had to pay for his own anti seizure medicine as well out of this money.)  So should we lump all that do not work in one category and say that they are making everyone else support them – no.  My father worked good jobs where he made $20 an hour (and this was 15 years ago, so the comparison today would be much more.  But due to an accident, he had to live off of what he had paid in in disabiliy after the ripe old age of 35.  And yes, he wanted to work but could not.  No one will hire someone who can not walk and only has the use of one arm who might have a seizure on the job at any point.  Also, what about those who are severely mentally retarded or the family members who have to take care of them.  Should they be punished for not working as well?

  • No. Those with should give freely and those without should work. Don’t have a job? Then finding a job is your job.

  • @ixcrisxi - Actually, the welfare drug testing has already been done in Detroit years ago before southern states were doing it. It turned out that it had little to no benefit, and wasted tax payers money. Most people’s views about welfare are misguided. It’s very hard to get on, and I’m willing to bet that there are a lot less abusers in the system than the average person thinks. Not only that, but it’s also hard to get off of welfare. For example, if you are able to land a part time job and still get partial benefits, you end up with less money than if you just stay on your benefits and get no job ever. I think a lot of people would love to get out, but even if you get a full time job paying minimum wage with barely any benefits, it’s entirely understandable why a lot of people will end up worse off due to a lot of variables. Also, I agree that a lot of the world views us as greedy. However, this generation of young people (while true they may lack work ethic and such) actually has is harder than their parents. This generation is making up for an older generations irresponsible spending and current living. It also doesn’t help that social security kind of sucks, and of course, current generation pays for it. People are so quick to send their children out in a world were rents are high, jobs are either low or many people apply for them at once, college tuition is ridiculously high and they all need loans and then default, and expect their children not to get eaten alive. If you also consider the fact that a lot of jobs our parents had were manual labor, compared to the current job state where you need at least a certification for a slew of jobs out there, you shouldn’t be so quick to assume things. I mean, sure, if you want to work at McDonalds for the rest of your life, be my guest. But in a lot of states right now, you can’t live off that (especially since a lot of places cut your hours so they don’t need to give you benefits.) I’m sorry for the long response, but I just feel that the more people know about the actual causes and effects about current issues rather than just saying wow, this sucks, the better. You know? 

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