Obama: Wealthy aren't responsible for their own success

[msommers]

Regarding the taxing comments, totally reminded me of this video from the whole 1% catastrophe.



I completely forgot about the woman in the front row. I totally want to uppercut her in the ovaries.

[Type_S1]

Originally posted by msommers
Regarding the taxing comments, totally reminded me of this video from the whole 1% catastrophe.



I completely forgot about the woman in the front row. I totally want to uppercut her in the ovaries.

Extremely smart individual showing how irrational people are when it comes to getting free rides. Interesting lady in the front row for sure.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[FraserB]

Originally posted by effingidiot


There's no relationship between hard work and baller earnings.

Really? This has to be a troll comment since no one can possibly believe that there is no correlation between working hard and what you earn or accomplish.

Without hard work, there is no way that I would be where I am one year into my job. Yes, here is a bit of luck involved, being moved to a new project and having a few people move off the project. But in the long run, if you work hard, you get the rewards.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by FraserB


Really? This has to be a troll comment since no one can possibly believe that there is no correlation between working hard and what you earn or accomplish.

Without hard work, there is no way that I would be where I am one year into my job. Yes, here is a bit of luck involved, being moved to a new project and having a few people move off the project. But in the long run, if you work hard, you get the rewards.

I'm pretty sure that what he meant is that hard work doesn't always result in $500k/yr incomes. or even $150k for that matter. heck, there are a lot of hardworking people making $60k/year.

IME, the difference between wealthy and not wealthy has more to do with desire to earn and accumulate money, and less to do with hard work.

[1barA4]

Originally posted by FixedGear


I'm pretty sure that what he meant is that hard work doesn't always result in $500k/yr incomes. or even $150k for that matter. heck, there are a lot of hardworking people making $60k/year.

IME, the difference between wealthy and not wealthy has more to do with desire to earn and accumulate money, and less to do with hard work.

There are a lot of hardworking people, putting in disgusting hours making less than 50k/year.

I'm surprised no one has dug out that (strawman-esque) chart comparing work hours to wage and how those that make the most, tend to work the fewest hours. Unless I imagined that when I was drunk or it's from the credits of the Other Guys hahahaha

[Type_S1]

Originally posted by 1barA4


There are a lot of hardworking people, putting in disgusting hours making less than 50k/year.

I'm surprised no one has dug out that (strawman-esque) chart comparing work hours to wage and how those that make the most, tend to work the fewest hours. Unless I imagined that when I was drunk or it's from the credits of the Other Guys hahahaha

Maybe because the richest are smarter then the rest and know how to use their time wisely

[frizzlefry]

Working hard, long hours contributes to creating opportunities. Working SMART allows you to maximize those opportunities which leads to you making baller money. I work with a lot of hard working morons. 20 years from now, they will only have made mediocre advancement. All the opportunities to climb the ladder will be wasted once upper management realizes they don’t have the brains to get done what needs to be done at higher positions with more responsibility and ingenuity required. I can barely recall all of the hard workers in my company who were promoted only to be sacked after a year of poor results, no matter how "hard" they worked. Of course many quit rather than be demoted.

[seadog]

I'd argue the government facilitates the creation of jobs, so I wouldn't say he's completely out to lunch.

You can be the smartest, hardest working entrepreneur in the democratic republic of Congo, with the greatest idea ever. Guess what? Doesn't mean shit. You need to worry about avoiding rebels and clean water first, then we can get to building that better mouse trap. In the US you can get financial backing, prosper, hire people. But only because there's a system in place. The gov't is responsible for that. To discount his statement means you take the whole idea of stable gov't, not having to pay bribes, and not having to worry about the army coming in and helping themselves to your goods for granted.

Why are the rich despised? In my opinion (and it's happening on a national level too) it's the "shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations" phenomenon.

The first generation works their ass off, is admired for what they accomplished, know poverty. This is the US circa 1900. Or England circa 1800. (Asia now?) Industrial power houses of the world The next generation comes in, lives well. Parents try to instill a sense of humility, but it can't be done to the same degree as someone who knows hunger. Then the third comes in, has never known poverty, takes the good life for granted. Can generally be as ignorant as they want, contribute very little, and simply ride the momentum of past accomplishments. They use the good life they live as justification for their own prowess, and become arrogant.

Then some other enterprising people (India) who the whole time were willing to do more for less, say enough, and come eat their lunch. Look at the States, how can a country that the majority of people don't believe in evolution be so prosperous?

Just saying, I haven't done a whole lot to be responsible for it, but I have a pretty good life. Having the same relative starting position (average family, a bit smarter than average perhaps, but probably a bit lazier too) if I was born in India I woulda been fucked. If I'm an Indian, I'd be pissed to. I'm willing to do more for less, contribute more to the world, have an engineering degree, yet due to factors I had no control over, I live in poverty while johnny racist from Alabama has air con and a car.

[Thomas Gabriel]

Originally posted by Type_S1


Extremely smart individual showing how irrational people are when it comes to getting free rides. Interesting lady in the front row for sure.

Peter Schiff is so boss. I was surprised when he lost the Republican primary. There's no hope for the Republican party when they turn down candidates as good as him.

[ZenOps]

Schiff is one of the rare few (but growing) billionaires who actually suggests saving pennies and nickels. Unlike other billionaires who will plunk down a hundred million on a painting.

Because he knows exactly how much actual electronic money there is out there chasing so very very few goods.

I'm pretty sure he sees a car as a moving $13 hunk of iron that really only consumes gas and insurance.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally posted by Maxt

Bullshit, I know of several, including my own that were built just by shear hard work by one person, from nothing.

Microsoft and Apple owe a lot of their success to Xerox.

Damn, that is pretty impressive. How did you build your business without the benefit of clean air, safe food, integrated communications, a body of professional/industrial standards, a network of roads/highways, an educated work force/consumer, local police and national defense forces... ?


It is amazing how many people take civilization for granted. Why should people who benefit the most from civilization not pay the most to maintain it? It isn't cheap.

Smells like entitlement.

[Freeskier]

Not sure how to embed from the site, but Jon Stewart had a great bit about this whole story.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...matical-gaffes

edit: Guess this one isn't available in Canada. I'm in New Zealand at the moment and can watch it . Thanks for the fix.

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by Freeskier
Not sure how to embed from the site, but Jon Stewart had a great bit about this whole story.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...matical-gaffes

check your links before posting them, not available in canada

edit: Ha!, success

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the...es/#clip728227

[01RedDX]

.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


Considering the 9% is probably a massive and unimaginable amount of money.... more than all the tax you will pay in your entire life, so yes. Never mind the fact they provide employment and technologies that enrich everybodies lives.

High income people should be taxed a less higher percentage, any idiot can tell you that 50% of 50K is less than 1% of 1M. Why should somebody who works their ass off carry everybody else... where is the equality in that? We all use the roads, we all need police to keep order... yet despite that, some people pay more just because they are more motivated.

Yeah... let's penalize the hardest working people the most, damn socialists.

Imo, there's a point where the extra 0's in your income don't matter anymore. There was math awhile back regarding Zuckerberg's net worth with his upcoming (at the time) IPO, and it worked out to something like he can afford to buy a Ferarri every day for the rest of his life and still have more money than he can possibly spend on himself. At that point, earning an extra digit on his paycheque doesn't really effect his quality of life. And I believe the figure included getting taxed at ~30%.

My point is that the high-income earner may be paying more in taxes when you're talking about the absolute value of money, but the relative value to him isn't as bad when they earn so much.

So if you have a problem with millionaires having to pay a higher tax rate, then you should have a problem with those same millionaires buying high-priced luxury goods.

[dezmarez]

Originally posted by Maxt

No, no, no, unreasonable question and yes...
Give me a break..

What kind of work do you do if you don't mind me asking?

Just curious. I am trying to think of types of work that would fall into the category of zero assitance from anyone or anything.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by dezmarez



What kind of work do you do if you don't mind me asking?

Just curious. I am trying to think of types of work that would fall into the category of zero assitance from anyone or anything.

I was assuming he had a landscaping "company," or something along those lines.

[msommers]

Originally posted by chkolny541


check your links before posting them, not available in canada

edit: Ha!, success

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the...es/#clip728227

Take that, Mr. President!

[chibwack]

Originally posted by sexualbanana


Imo, there's a point where the extra 0's in your income don't matter anymore. There was math awhile back regarding Zuckerberg's net worth with his upcoming (at the time) IPO, and it worked out to something like he can afford to buy a Ferarri every day for the rest of his life and still have more money than he can possibly spend on himself. At that point, earning an extra digit on his paycheque doesn't really effect his quality of life. And I believe the figure included getting taxed at ~30%.

My point is that the high-income earner may be paying more in taxes when you're talking about the absolute value of money, but the relative value to him isn't as bad when they earn so much.

So if you have a problem with millionaires having to pay a higher tax rate, then you should have a problem with those same millionaires buying high-priced luxury goods.

This. I can't remember the exact numbers as I read this about a year ago in Economist, but basically everybody's complaining that the richest 1% pays less tax than the 99%, but that in actual fact that richest 1% pays something to the extent of 40% of America's total tax income. Or in other words, they're not only creating and providing all the jobs to the general public, but they're providing all the social services that are completely unneeded by themselves. It's a society of entitlement, and I hate it. Just a bunch of shits crying that they aren't rich like the guys in the news.