HBB fighting the good fight / lets spoon

[Lexical]

and before you do, please don't rope me in with the damn occupiers.

[vaylorie]

Originally Posted by Mighty Xenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ok good I can see that your starting to learn and think. Now go back and watch Katabob's video again and report back with what some pitfalls of gross inequality are.

Way to avoid the question. Also, if your basis for the way the economy works is the ridiculous video that Katabob posted, then I pity you. I specifically did like the part that says "the people invested in their future together... they called it, paying taxes". Nice, hah. I don't know about you but I don't view my tax bill as an investment for my future. Do you really look back with fondness on the days that everyone was happy that they got to pay taxes as in the start of the video. I must not remember those times.

Again, your logic (and the premise of the video) is that rich people evil/immoral by nature of their wealth. I disagree. Some of them are but it is not because of their wealth, it is because they are evil/immoral.

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by Lexical [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

and before you do, please don't rope me in with the damn occupiers.

Me either, I'm not an anarchist.

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Way to avoid the question. Also, if your basis for the way the economy works is the ridiculous video that Katabob posted, then I pity you. I specifically did like the part that says "the people invested in their future together... they called it, paying taxes". Nice, hah. I don't know about you but I don't view my tax bill as an investment for my future.

Something tells me that you don't pay taxes at all, but assuming you do, then something else tells me that you don't understand what pays to maintain the entire infrastructure of the nation. Even if you don't like schools and public transportation because you are so wealthy you don't need them, you do like roads, running water and electricity don't you? And before you argue that you have water/electric bills, you are billed for the service, the city, which is funded by *gasp* taxes, pays to maintain the delivery system that gives you the service.

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Do you really look back with fondness on the days that everyone was happy that they got to pay taxes as in the start of the video. I must not remember those times.

You must be young, "back in the day" everyone paid their "fair share" which they don't now. Again, you show your gross ignorance of social economics.

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Again, your logic (and the premise of the video) is that rich people evil/immoral by nature of their wealth. I disagree. Some of them are but it is not because of their wealth, it is because they are evil/immoral.

Money = power and power corrupts.

[vaylorie]

Originally Posted by Kagatob [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Something tells me that you don't pay taxes at all, but assuming you do, then something else tells me that you don't understand what pays to maintain the entire infrastructure of the nation. Even if you don't like schools and public transportation because you are so wealthy you don't need them, you do like roads, running water and electricity don't you? And before you argue that you have water/electric bills, you are billed for the service, the city, which is funded by *gasp* taxes, pays to maintain the delivery system that gives you the service.

Get real. I paid $7K in property taxes last year that funds the bulk of this. Go here and let me know your findings: http://www.whitehouse.gov/2011-taxreceipt. Don't blame me if I don't get excited about spending $8,500 on Medicaid related costs and insurance in addition to my health insurance premiums or $2,000 towards paying interest on the national debt or another $4,000 on social welfare programs or another almost $8,000 for a social security system that will likely not be there when I retire due to mismanagement. If this excites you then you are in luck because there is a lot to get excited about. These things are not a cheerful 'investment in my future'.

Originally Posted by Kagatob [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Money = power and power corrupts.

This is sound logic on why rich people are evil. I applaud your intellectual approach to this.

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Get real. I paid $7K in property taxes last year that funds the bulk of this. Go here and let me know your findings: http://www.whitehouse.gov/2011-taxreceipt. Don't blame me if I don't get excited about spending $8,500 on Medicaid related costs and insurance in addition to my health insurance premiums or $2,000 towards paying interest on the national debt or another $4,000 on social welfare programs or another almost $8,000 for a social security system that will likely not be there when I retire due to mismanagement. If this excites you then you are in luck because there is a lot to get excited about. These things are not a cheerful 'investment in my future'.

I'm not an accountant, nor do I plan on being such, I'm not going to pick through numbers that may or may not be yours that amount to nothing more than a 'claim'.

If you expect sympathy you're looking in the wrong place anyway. I don't own a home, split rent with family members, don't smoke ($), drive a fuel economical used car and work full time at a job that pays well above minimum (nearly double) yet I still rank below the poverty line, am forced to live paycheck to paycheck and somehow owed in taxes even after claming so they would take out more each paycheck.

Where are my tax loopholes?

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

This is sound logic on why most rich people are evil. I applaud your intellectual approach to this.

FTFY, Ever hear of Bill Gates? Greatest and most generous man to exist since Kennedy, though you probably hate both of them for some crackpot reason too.

[vaylorie]

Originally Posted by Mighty Xenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Tired, but to start with, I have a problem with decent hard working folks loosing their 401K's while the Govt. bails out the banks.

DJI closed at a record high today. I don't know about you but my 401K has actually grown in value since 2008. The value did drop for a time, but this is the risk of investing.

Originally Posted by Mighty Xenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I have a problem with the big companies taking taxes out of their employees paychecks but not giving it to the state and fed.

I have literally never heard of any large company withholding taxes and not paying them. If they do, it would be reported and the company would get tremendous fines. You are essentially either making this up or you don't mean 'big companies' as you indicated. Perhaps a mom and pop store that doesn't know how to operate has done this.

Originally Posted by Mighty Xenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I dont like supreme court judges that used to be vp's of companies like Monsanto sitting over cases that they own stock in.

I have no idea what you are referring to here but I also wouldn't like this.

Originally Posted by Mighty Xenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I dont like the ceo's and companies having record breaking profits while cutting jobs, bennies and raising prices and screwing us over. Just to name a few

Have you thought that companies aren't reinvesting profits because they have no idea what the economic climate will be and/or the impact of constantly changing policies, like obamacare, that are potentially detrimental to business and that politicians pass without actually knowing the impact? They are indeed businesses and are responsible to the people that own the company (stockholders, including the aforementioned 401K investors) to generate a profit and grow the company.

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

DJI closed at a record high today. I don't know about you but my 401K has actually grown in value since 2008. The value did drop for a time, but this is the risk of investing.

Have you thought that companies aren't reinvesting profits because they have no idea what the economic climate will be and/or the impact of constantly changing policies, like obamacare, that are potentially detrimental to business and that politicians pass without actually knowing the impact? They are indeed businesses and are responsible to the people that own the company (stockholders, including the aforementioned 401K investors) to generate a profit and grow the company.

Huh...

[vaylorie]

Originally Posted by Kagatob [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If you expect sympathy you're looking in the wrong place anyway. I don't own a home, split rent with family members, don't smoke ($), drive a fuel economical used car and work full time at a job that pays well above minimum (nearly double) yet I still rank below the poverty line, am forced to live paycheck to paycheck and somehow owed in taxes even after claming so they would take out more each paycheck.

Where are my tax loopholes?

The point is not sympathy it's to debunk the crap you are spewing about how taxes are good because I enjoy driving my car on roads.

I also think the definition of poverty needs some context here. So you have a home you share with family (unless you mean you live with your parents), you have a car, you apparently have a computer and internet access, you have enough money to pay your bills each month and maybe not too much more, presumably a TV and other niceties as well like air conditioning, cable TV or satellite, etc. This is not some kind of scorched-earth, third world country, going to bed hungry type of scenario that you are on and the related imagery that is conjured up when we say 'poverty'.

Minimum wage is not a good baseline and double minimum is not a good bar. What do you expect, the government to give you money because it's 'unfair' that someone else has more money than you?

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I also think the definition of poverty needs some context here. So you have a home you share with family (unless you mean you live with your parents), you have a car, you apparently have a computer and internet access, you have enough money to pay your bills each month and maybe not too much more, presumably a TV and other niceties as well like air conditioning, cable TV or satellite, etc. This is not some kind of scorched-earth, third world country, going to bed hungry type of scenario that you are on and the related imagery that is conjured up when we say 'poverty'.

The "home" I share with my family is a cheap apartment I pay half of the rent on.
The rest in bold (Aside from my 15 year old 25" tube TV) are things I don't have because they are things I removed from my lifestyle when I had to change my budget to afford said car.

Originally Posted by vaylorie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Minimum wage is not a good baseline and double minimum is not a good bar. What do you expect, the government to give you money because it's 'unfair' that someone else has more money than you?

$8.50/hr is the minimum, I make just over $17/hr, and that is still not enough to elevate me to the fabled "middle class" that everyone covets so much.
My point isn't that I want a free pass anywhere, my point is that you need to shut the fuck up about things you obviously don't understand instead of crying 'class warfare' every chance you get.