for those people who love to hate on the wealthy...

[Sunstone]

You could also claim that the only reason why the rich dude had to pay for it all was because through various legal means, he has stolen everyone else's money.

Dang it! You're letting the real world intrude upon our little fairy tale in the OP.

 

[Falvlun]

I also think this video should be posted any time the "tax burden" on the rich is brought up.

Wealth Inequality in America
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

This is really something that Americans, particularly those on the right, need to wake up and realize. Our perceptions of the inequality of wealth distribution don't even begin to assess the reality.

 

[WyattDerp]

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

I'm glad I skipped to the end to make sure I'm not wasting my time on something idiotic.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

The OP is a fake, the professor of economics to whom it is attributed denies writing it or even knowing who wrote it: snopes.com: How Taxes Work

 

[dust1n]

The OP is a fake, the professor of economics to whom it is attributed denies writing it or even knowing who wrote it: snopes.com: How Taxes Work

:biglaugh:

 

[McBell]

The OP is a fake, the professor of economics to whom it is attributed denies writing it or even knowing who wrote it: snopes.com: How Taxes Work

That's gonna leave a mark...

 

[apophenia]

The OP is a fake, the professor of economics to whom it is attributed denies writing it or even knowing who wrote it: snopes.com: How Taxes Work

Headline : "Thelematic Teachers of Science proved unreliable as information sources ! ". :slap:

Actually it's a mistake anyone could make. Even professors of economics fail to foresee impending market crashes after all.

 

[Iti oj]

Welp, trying to cram reality into that tiny little picture is about as difficult as getting through my computer through the toilet.

Well the smart phone im posting from does not seem to haave much issue with that

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Well the smart phone im posting from does not seem to haave much issue with that

You can't play MMOs on a smart phone! :faint:

 

[Iti oj]

You can't play MMOs on a smart phone! :faint:

Ihaha maybe but I remember when it was just about impossible to play one on a mac...give it. Few years.

 

[Alceste]

You could also claim that the only reason why the rich dude had to pay for it all was because through various legal means, he has stolen everyone else's money.

Yeah.

A poor man and a rich man go into a bar. The poor man asks for a beer and the barkeep says "sure, just clean all the toilets, fix the leak in the roof, scrub the floors and wipe down the tables and I'll give you a thimble full of ale." The rich man asks for a pint and gets the whole pub, no questions asked.

And that, folks, is our economy in a nutshell.

 

[Meow Mix]

Well, that was a complicated attempt at camouflaging the real issue.

The wealthiest individuals earn millions of dollars per year while the vast majority earn tens of thousands (the median income is about $50K).

No matter how clever a fable you invent, you can't adequately explain why one person's annual work is worth $50K and another's work is worth $5 million. ( You can invent more BS which purports to explain it ...)

For every hour that they work before they go to the pub for a beer, man 10 earns $2000 while man 7 earns (say) $30.

That was not nearly so complicated as your convoluted fable was it ?

But then it doesn't need to be , because it isn't BS propaganda designed to whitewash fundamental inequity.

The claim that 'man 10' , the $5 million man, is the 'brains of the outfit' without whom we would all be incapable of producing anything is a steaming pile of elephant ****.

In terms of sheer efficiency of a post cutting through BS like a knife through butter, look no further than the above. Frubal'd

 

[Reverend Rick]

I never did like the fact that when people present these type analysis they never include all the tax breaks, exemptions, loop holes, and other conditional modifiers.

You mean like child deductions, mortage deductions, Earned income credit deductions, medical expenses, stuff like that?

 

[Reverend Rick]

What I believe to be absurd is these kids who work for a couple of years think they should have the same stuff or better than folks who have worked for 20 years.

A "Starter Home" is beneath them.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

What I believe to be absurd is these kids who work for a couple of years think they should have the same stuff or better than folks who have worked for 20 years.

A "Starter Home" is beneath them.

In my experience, the kids you are describing usually have wealthy parents.

 

[Reverend Rick]

In my experience, the kids you are describing usually have wealthy parents.

Or new careers and good credit.

 

[McBell]

You mean like child deductions, mortage deductions, Earned income credit deductions, medical expenses, stuff like that?

Yes.
Which means that the story in the OP is most definitely not representative of the US tax system.

 

[Falvlun]

What I believe to be absurd is these kids who work for a couple of years think they should have the same stuff or better than folks who have worked for 20 years.

A "Starter Home" is beneath them.

Most people my age I know would be thrilled to have the means to obtain a starter home. Instead, we are stuck pouring money down the drain with apartments or burdening our parents at home.

We simply do not have the opportunities that your generation did. Homes are more expensive. College education is way more expensive, and means nothing to boot. There are no well-paying blue collar jobs around. We are the generation that has to walk up hill both ways to school, in the snow, without any shoes. Not yours.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Most people my age I know would be thrilled to have the means to obtain a starter home. Instead, we are stuck pouring money down the drain with apartments or burdening our parents at home.

We simply do not have the opportunities that your generation did. Homes are more expensive. College education is way more expensive, and means nothing to boot. There are no well-paying blue collar jobs around. We are the generation that has to walk up hill both ways to school, in the snow, without any shoes. Not yours.

Horse crap Falvlun, my 27 year old son flunked out of college and did an electrical apprenticeship for 5 years going to school at night and working all day. He took his electrical master test and got a union job, got married, bought a house, has two kids and two foster kids. They have two real nice cars. His wife cleans doctors offices with a small business she started. They are living the American dream.

My 21 year old daughter is almost done with her third year of college and works at Red Lobster on weekends making 600 a week part time.

She did have to work at McDonald's in high school and then got a low paying server job for several years before landing her present job.

She still drives the used car I gave her back in High School and shares an apartment, but she is making her own way and I have every confidence she will be successful.

She is taking International Business and will do her Senior year in the Netherlands next year. After that, she will work on her Masters and get an MBA like the old man.

She has my work ethic as does my Son and his wife.

They don't tell me B.S. stories like you do making excuses.

 

[Meow Mix]

Horse crap Falvlun, my 27 year old son flunked out of college and did an electrical apprenticeship for 5 years going to school at night and working all day. He took his electrical master test and got a union job, got married, bought a house, has two kids and two foster kids. They have two real nice cars. His wife cleans doctors offices with a small business she started. They are living the American dream.

My 21 year old daughter is almost done with her third year of college and works at Red Lobster on weekends making 600 a week part time.

She did have to work at McDonald's in high school and then got a low paying server job for several years before landing her present job.

She still drives the used car I gave her back in High School and shares an apartment, but she is making her own way and I have every confidence she will be successful.

She is taking International Business and will do her Senior year in the Netherlands next year. After that, she will work on her Masters and get an MBA like the old man.

She has my work ethic as does my Son and his wife.

They don't tell me B.S. stories like you do making excuses.

Keep in mind Rick that opportunities differ between geographic areas -- and that you are relatively well off counts for more in their lives than you think (for instance, I imagine they have eaten well their whole lives -- which has an incredible effect on cognitive development that many kids probably don't have the same opportunities for as yours have).

I bet your kids have lived in decent neighborhoods (lower stress), had access to higher quality schools. I don't know how much it would be "stretching it" to point out that a lot of poorer neighborhoods still have lead paint, poor air quality, and lower likelihood for treatment of parasites, infections and diseases (which all contribute to lower cognitive development -- which contributes to inability to access higher education, etc.)

Things aren't always simple -- the privileges people have available to them differ based on a great many factors; and people who are middle and upper middle class are affored FAR more privileges than they're even aware of that poorer people can only dream about.