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Bale
Mountain climber
UT
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Jan 22, 2019 - 12:36pm PT
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Respect to MB1, never before have I agreed so closely with one of his WOT’s.
I was about to bring up the cost of differentiating between the truly needy and the lazy, but Nut has eloquently addressed it in #2 of his amazing post.
I think we all just want fairness across the board. Able bodied folks should work and the rich should pay their taxes. Unfortunately, it takes some kind of government to implement and enforce this stuff. I think we’ve proven that “free market capitalism” doesn’t quite cut it.
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Jan 22, 2019 - 01:05pm PT
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Those who are well off, please quit with the false moral conflict the "Welfare Momma" has created for you.
You've Sucked harder on the tit that is America and you owe something back- let it go.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jan 22, 2019 - 01:34pm PT
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One year, I paid more in federal income tax than the average American makes(gross pay not net) in their entire life.
You did more work in one year than the average person does in their life?
This income was generated by selling stock options which I received because I was one of the top-rated software engineers at my company. I shared this fact because of the comments about redistribution of wealth. Clearly, that is what happened here and I was fine with it.
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Jan 22, 2019 - 01:47pm PT
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Nice Bruce! I wish there were more like you.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jan 22, 2019 - 02:01pm PT
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My dad spent the last several months of WWII in the only Nazi POW camp, Berga, which was designed to be a concentration camp such as Buchenwald and Dachau as it was supposed to house Jewish-American POWs. When it came time to find 350 Jewish POWs in Stalag IXb they could only find 70 or so so the remaining 280 POWs were of other faiths. It's a long story, but a lot of the POWs in that camp died of starvation. When my dad was liberated he, at 6'2", weighed 88lbs.
If you remember the final minutes of Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks, as he is dying, tells Matt Damon to 'earn every day.' My dad lived his live in that vain and taught his children that same mantra. I am grateful for what I have been given and hopefully show that in how I manage all aspects of my life. I am far from perfect, but I try hard.
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SusanA
Sport climber
Bay Area
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Jan 22, 2019 - 02:34pm PT
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I was just kidding Bruce, congratulations on your success. You certainly did better than I did with my "unicorn" stock options, lol.
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Jan 22, 2019 - 04:06pm PT
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B.S. I know of no cops that ever got rich on what they were paid.
Jody, that's pretty funny
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Dave
Mountain climber
the ANTI-fresno
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Jan 22, 2019 - 05:40pm PT
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" Tax. At 75%, for anything above 100x the median annual salary. That should leave an ample inheritance."
And what right do you have to steal a business I built, just because I die? If my kids are qualified to run it, why do you get to make the choice on what to do with that business and not me?
" For $10/h you can't rent an appartment, have a car, buy food and clothes, etc. but you have to do go to work and do your sh!ty job every day of the week.
Why bother"
Because for $20/hr you can come work for me, starting with zero skills and just a high school education or GED and we'll train you, give you meaningful work, and a company that provides benefits and college assistance.
This pity party doesn't play with me. I've hired about 60 people the the last year and 10 in the last month. Two are working on engineering degrees.
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madbolter1
Big Wall climber
Denver, CO
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Jan 22, 2019 - 06:25pm PT
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Tax at 75%.
That's weak. Tax at 85%, those wealthy bastards. No, wait. Tax at 90%, no 92.3476523%.
Uhh, they don't deserve it! Just take it all. There are poor people around here, after all, and THEY deserve it so much more! Gotta be fair.
See, the whole argument that goes like, "Polls show that most people now support...," is really nothing more lofty than, "See, we've finally got enough of a mob together that we can do whatever we want."
And the argument that goes like, "It's being done successfully in...," is really nothing more lofty than, "Other nations that believe in the sort of mob-rule that I do have tried this, and the mob likes it."
It works like this: Rob Peter to pay Paul, and you will always have the support of Paul. Quickly, you build up a mob of Pauls. Every Paul then votes for the party that robbed Peter. And that's the case whether you're talking about corporate or personal welfare. And the battle between Repukeicans and Demoncrats amounts to nothing more lofty than their preferred power-grab.
The left is indeed slowly winning, and I believe that it will finally get the sweeping power it is seeking.
I'll be gone by then, probably (I know, good riddance). And you'll have your utopia, if, as Franklin said, you can keep it. Nevertheless, as Christ said, "The poor you will always have with you."
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Jan 22, 2019 - 07:00pm PT
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I think I come back to these topics because I am so conflicted.
NutAgain--STOP, please! You do this "I'm a moderate" shtick often and are no longer convincing. You know exactly what you believe--and it doesn't exist here in modernity. Can we do better? Well, we're doing pretty darn well despite liberal efforts at importing and convincing a new underclass they are worthless. Again, can we do better? Yes. But only within the confines of capitalism and its already-recognized/acknowledged externalities. Sorry, but the revolution isn't coming. If it does, it won't look like you hope.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Jan 22, 2019 - 07:11pm PT
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I love it....Yuppy climbers telling the poor people why they can't be bitchin like them...LMAO...
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Jan 22, 2019 - 07:15pm PT
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The left is indeed slowly winning, and I believe that it will finally get the sweeping power it is seeking.
This explains their desire to criminalize gun owners.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Jan 22, 2019 - 07:19pm PT
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That and the Lukoil shares going down...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jan 22, 2019 - 07:52pm PT
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Should we help each other? Of course! "Should" the government forcibly extract arbitrary amounts of "help" from the "better off"? Well, as I say, I have yet to hear the moral theory (and I've studied 'em!) that sustains THAT notion.
to what extent is "individual wealth" attributable to just that individual, and what to the greater society which benefits that individual?
"No man is an island entire of itself"
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two-shoes
Trad climber
Auberry, CA
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Jan 22, 2019 - 09:18pm PT
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The richest 26 billionaires on earth own a combined wealth of 1.4 trillion dollars, equal to the bottom poorest 3.8 billion people. These 26 billionaires are increasing their combined wealth, overall wealth, 2.5 billion dollars every day. Meanwhile the poorest are becoming increasingly worse off, and the wealth of the middle class has dwindled as well.
I can see that there are many here who are ok with this. They apparently think these ultra rich individuals have worked hard and deserve all of their wealth, and shouldn't be "unfairly" taxed in any way.
My question is: as these ultra rich become richer, and richer, at what point are they not going to be ok with it? Is there no point?
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Jan 22, 2019 - 09:24pm PT
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The richest 26 billionaires on earth own a combine . . .
Nonsense. They own paper that represents the faith others have in their ability to keep this or that corporation producing. But hey, whatever it takes to stir up people for the cause, right?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 22, 2019 - 09:37pm PT
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They also, in all likelihood, support both sides of the aisle - the one in power and the other
as a hedge fund, if you will. Cynical benevolence at its ultimate.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jan 23, 2019 - 06:10am PT
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lower half of planet
This type of degrading supposition cannot be tolerated. We need to make a better world and stop hemisphereism and all hemisphereist talk. Equal geographical planetary standing for all!
How insensitive of you, Nut!
:-)
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