OT thread America

[bleedspeed]

Who do you blame for the tax breaks for the wealthy? I look at career politicians as the ones to blame. The usual suspects you know. Biden is part of that crew and I don't know why Trump hides his tax records. He didn't make the
taxes laws.

Then again the top 5% are the only ones that actually pay their share or more. So do they pay their share?

The Lyft driver pointed out how everyone comes in with the newest iPhone and trendy luxury fashion wear. Stuff I don't buy for myself or kids. For most, it is a priority issue. I think the system surely needs an overhaul.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Who do you blame for the tax breaks for the wealthy? I look at career politicians as the ones to blame. The usual suspects you know. Biden is part of that crew and I don't know why Trump hides his tax records. He didn't make the
taxes laws.

Then again the top 5% are the only ones that actually pay their share or more. So do they pay their share?

The Lyft driver pointed out how everyone comes in with the newest iPhone and trendy luxury fashion wear. Stuff I don't buy for myself or kids. For most, it is a priority issue. I think the system surely needs an overhaul.

Of course. Many politicians are rich and connected. They've long been that way.

There's a good chance Trump hides his tax records for reasons beyond anything illegal. He's been a blowhard his entire life. He's a master at it. It's his brand. Maybe he doesn't want to reveal his true wealth? Maybe he wants to troll the Dems? There could be many reasons.

I'm not in the top 5%. I feel like I pay my fair share of taxes.

[bleedspeed]

Poking the Bear. DeSantis is not your average Joe. Served in Navy, Graduated from Yale, and Law degree from Harvard. Looks like a he Biden administration is starting to worry about him. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of Make America Florida flags in our future. Who is next up for Democrats? The people that I saw as hopeful in the debates have faded.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-responds-to-biden-i-am-standing-in-your-way-from-taking-peoples-freedoms-do-your-job

[Monster]

Who do you blame for the tax breaks for the wealthy? I look at career politicians as the ones to blame. The usual suspects you know. Biden is part of that crew and I don't know why Trump hides his tax records. He didn't make the
taxes laws.

Then again the top 5% are the only ones that actually pay their share or more. So do they pay their share?

The Lyft driver pointed out how everyone comes in with the newest iPhone and trendy luxury fashion wear. Stuff I don't buy for myself or kids. For most, it is a priority issue. I think the system surely needs an overhaul.

"Everyone"? Enough to be frustrated about I can absolutely believe but I can't help but be skeptical about someone saying it like most people walking in trying to get assistance that have these items. Also if someone has a gym membership and actually uses it I probably don't care how they got it. Lol Maybe the person you talked to is right but I just have to say I feel a bit skeptical. People do struggle with priorities and handling their money...but that's not just an issue in one class of people.

Also I get where the person is coming from to some extent probably being a little grumpy with how much they make for doing their job that probably requires a degree. The Public school system here is currently hiring custodians for less than an dollar an hour under what I make now and I am a State worker in a position that requires a college degree and some experience. Having said that I make enough money at my job to live well and the benefits are pretty good although I pay more in to get them. It's not a surprise that there is quite a bit of turnover in these positions and it seems to me pay is probably one of the factors.

[bleedspeed]

"Everyone"? Enough to be frustrated about I can absolutely believe but I can't help but be skeptical about someone saying it like most people walking in trying to get assistance that have these items. Also if someone has a gym membership and actually uses it I probably don't care how they got it. Lol Maybe the person you talked to is right but I just have to say I feel a bit skeptical. People do struggle with priorities and handling their money...but that's not just an issue in one class of people.

I get you are a defender. I guess when I see a hard-working proud Cuban immigrant that cares for her mother while working 2 jobs I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her character checked out to me.

Another funny story was she had a midwest girl come down and get in her car to want to go to the clubs. She was talking to her and she was going alone. She told her how much of a bad idea it is and how you get a block away from the clubs and it is sketchy as hell. She ended up giving her a free ride back to her hotel.

Wasn't there a cab driver confessions show? She could have been on it.

[bleedspeed]

I'm not in the top 5%. I feel like I pay my fair share of taxes.

Had to look up the top 5%. 309k in 2018.

https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's always dangerous when we take random anecdotes from strangers as truth.

Things like "everyone" and "more than half are just lazy"... that's kinda how/why we're in this mess in the first place, right? It might even be part of the reason this thread originated.

Too bad we can't ask for more details from the woman. For example, your stat about the top 5% rang very false to me. I could have taken it as gospel because you seem like a nice enough guy. But I'd prefer to see actual proof...


[Note: It's also interesting to note that the gap from a 10%er to 5%er is $161k... but that person who's wealthier than 90% of other Americans is only $158k from being destitute making $0. I'm doing just fine. I'm definitely doing better than the vast majority of people... but I also joke/opine that I'm closer to abject poverty than being "rich."]

[Monster]

It's always dangerous when we take random anecdotes from strangers as truth.

Things like "everyone" and "more than half are just lazy"... that's kinda how/why we're in this mess in the first place, right? It might even be part of the reason this thread originated.

Too bad we can't ask for more details from the woman. For example, your stat about the top 5% rang very false to me. I could have taken it as gospel because you seem like a nice enough guy. But I'd prefer to see actual proof...


[Note: It's also interesting to note that the gap from a 10%er to 5%er is $161k... but that person who's wealthier than 90% of other Americans is only $158k from being destitute making $0. I'm doing just fine. I'm definitely doing better than the vast majority of people... but I also joke/opine that I'm closer to abject poverty than being "rich."]

A friend of mine who is a psychologist says she believes that there are no simply "lazy" people. She says there is way too much nuance to a person to simply call someone lazy. I tend to agree although there are probably some lazy people out there but using that term in general can be ...well...lazy. ;)

As Abe points out language matters. I have friends that are communications professionals rhetoric teachers etc and they rightly get into how language is a big deal. I also try and point out that while people should do better with their language we need to have some understanding with each other that we are not always going to say the right things and we need to be open to understanding each other despite not using the correct language. Im pretty sure nobody gets it right all the time. Abe also brings up sometimes where language is used as a weapon with individuals or entities intentionally saying things that mislead people and as I think he was getting at one of the outcomes is polarization.

[bleedspeed]

It is basic math if everyone is paying an equal share. I mean we all want equality and equity. Right? Well, actually probably not.

The top 5% pay 60.1% of taxes. 50.1% is the magic number for where you would not be paying enough taxes to offset how the government decides to spend your tax money. So 5% is wrong and I would guess closer to 3%.

https://taxfoundation.org/publications/latest-federal-income-tax-data/

[AbeVigodaLive]

It is basic math if everyone is paying an equal share. I mean we all want equality and equity. Right? Well, actually probably not.

The top 5% pay 60.1% of taxes. 50.1% is the magic number for where you would not be paying enough taxes to offset how the government decides to spend your tax money. So 5% is wrong and I would guess closer to 3%.

https://taxfoundation.org/publications/latest-federal-income-tax-data/

The top 1% pay 40.1% of all taxes... averaging 25.4% rate. Apparently, they have the intelligence, connections or means to significantly cut the 37% tax rate. The bottom 50% of the country pays only 2.9% of the tax rate.

Meanwhile... a huge part of the country (me included and many/most others here) are averaging between 17% - 20%.

We're the perfect fodder. Remember my previous post where I said we were infinitely closer to abject poverty than being rich? We 're closer to paying our "fair share" of taxes like the uber wealthy than we are to paying the paltry sum that 50%+ of the country are paying.

Yet, we have next-to-zero chance at ever reaching wealthy status.

They're still millionaires... we're still using older smartphones than some people in the bottom 50%.



[Note: The key is that we keep following the bouncing balls and keep fighting among ourselves... or group ourselves closer to the 1% than those people in the bottom 50%.]