The Top 1 Percent

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

The richest 1 percent of Americans earn 1/5 of the country's income and control 40 percent of the country's wealth. In 2007, the richest 10 percent of American households made half of the country's earnings. Leaving the other half for the remaining 90 percent of us. The wealth in America is currently more concentrated than it has been since 1928 and the gap between the haves and don't have ****s is wider than it has been since before the Great Depression. We now appear to be in a second "Gilded Age". Can the US survive this? If so, anyone have any ideas on how?
Or, maybe you don't see this as a problem. I dvr'd the documentary (on Free Speech TV; DirecTV # 348) and just watched it. Has anyone seen it this show?

 

[n_huffhines]

America is the 1%. Somebody who lives off $25K per year is one of the wealthiest people in the world. Global wealth disparity is at an all-time high. The questions, "Can the world survive this? If so, anyone have any ideas on how?" seem really silly on a global scale. I don't know why they aren't silly when applied on the national scale.

 

[NEO]

Middles class needs to understand it's middle class and start living like it.

Too many housewife shows on that make people think they can live a certain way.

Average american needs to be living in a 150K home with a normal car and be using cash instead of credit cards.

Not reality though.

I see people making 35K driving bmw's etc.

How bout people start living within their means, stop thinking you deserve to live like Donald Trump, and save a little of your paycheck so if something bad does happen you have an emergency fund.


Then take that savings and learn how to invest. And if you arent happy with your current life save up enough and start a small business with yourself or someone else.

 

[GAVol]

I've never understood A) what the problem with this is supposed to be or B) what the heck makes anyone think they're justified in being the arbiter.

 

[etmVol]

Middles class needs to understand it's middle class and start living like it.

Too many housewife shows on that make people think they can live a certain way.

Average american needs to be living in a 150K home with a normal car and be using cash instead of credit cards.

Not reality though.

I see people making 35K driving bmw's etc.

How bout people start living within their means, stop thinking you deserve to live like Donald Trump, and save a little of your paycheck so if something bad does happen you have an emergency fund.


Then take that savings and learn how to invest. And if you arent happy with your current life save up enough and start a small business with yourself or someone else.

Word-for-word, this needs to be required reading at the high school AND college level, because it apparently is not being taught any more.

 

[VOLS INC.]

Middles class needs to understand it's middle class and start living like it.

Too many housewife shows on that make people think they can live a certain way.

Average american needs to be living in a 150K home with a normal car and be using cash instead of credit cards.

Not reality though.

I see people making 35K driving bmw's etc.

How bout people start living within their means, stop thinking you deserve to live like Donald Trump, and save a little of your paycheck so if something bad does happen you have an emergency fund.


Then take that savings and learn how to invest. And if you arent happy with your current life save up enough and start a small business with yourself or someone else.

Now if you are being honest Everyone (party affiliation aside) should agree with this!

I think the problem is our extremist on both sides. The group of people that act like babies and wants the ambitious to take care of them need to grow up and contribute. The group of people who put greed over the well being of their country and fellow man by hiring illegals or shipping jobs overseas need to grow up. I will agree personal responsibility is at a all time low and its my generation. Started in the Bush years and kept going strong under Obama. When you put 2 wars on a credit card under one president, then spend and borrow like crazy under the other, then have parents constantly in debt...I'm not sure our youth have a lot of financially responsible people to look up to.

 

[theutvolunteers]

Middles class needs to understand it's middle class and start living like it.

Too many housewife shows on that make people think they can live a certain way.

Average american needs to be living in a 150K home with a normal car and be using cash instead of credit cards.

Not reality though.

I see people making 35K driving bmw's etc.

How bout people start living within their means, stop thinking you deserve to live like Donald Trump, and save a little of your paycheck so if something bad does happen you have an emergency fund.


Then take that savings and learn how to invest. And if you arent happy with your current life save up enough and start a small business with yourself or someone else.

I agree but saving anything of consequence on 35k would be a very big task.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

I've never understood A) what the problem with this is supposed to be or B) what the heck makes anyone think they're justified in being the arbiter.

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

 

[IBlvNTmWrk]

The richest 1 percent of Americans earn 1/5 of the country's income and control 40 percent of the country's wealth. In 2007, the richest 10 percent of American households made half of the country's earnings. Leaving the other half for the remaining 90 percent of us. The wealth in America is currently more concentrated than it has been since 1928 and the gap between the haves and don't have ****s is wider than it has been since before the Great Depression. We now appear to be in a second "Gilded Age". Can the US survive this? If so, anyone have any ideas on how?

This can happen in a couple of different ways... (a) the richest 10% find a way to make more money than they previously were and therefore make up a larger percentage of the country's earnings, or (b) an increasing portion of the 90% are earning less (or in many cases aren't earning anything) so therefore this group makes up a smaller percentage of the country's earnings.

The point being... wealth concentration and the so called gap between "haves" and "have nots" isn't necessarily attributable to the rich getting richer. The same result can be achieved by more people becoming complacent on living off of government subsidy.

Don't get me wrong. I'm completely in favor of helping anyone in need, but when it transforms from a need into a lifestyle then they are no longer being helped... they are being handicapped.

 

[volmaverick]

The richest 1 percent of Americans earn 1/5 of the country's income and control 40 percent of the country's wealth. In 2007, the richest 10 percent of American households made half of the country's earnings. Leaving the other half for the remaining 90 percent of us. The wealth in America is currently more concentrated than it has been since 1928 and the gap between the haves and don't have ****s is wider than it has been since before the Great Depression. We now appear to be in a second "Gilded Age". Can the US survive this? If so, anyone have any ideas on how?
Or, maybe you don't see this as a problem. I dvr'd the documentary (on Free Speech TV; DirecTV # 348) and just watched it. Has anyone seen it this show?

Taxes paid by highest incomes

The top 1% pay 22.7% of taxes.
The top 10% pay 50% of taxes.
The top 20% pay 65.3% of taxes.
The top 40% pay 84.3% of taxes.

Taxes paid by lowest incomes

The bottom 20% pay 0.00% to 1.1% of taxes.
The bottom 40% pay 6.1% of taxes.


The bottom NO WHERE NEAR PAYS THEIR FAIR SHARE!!

 

[Cartervol]

I've never understood A) what the problem with this is supposed to be or B) what the heck makes anyone think they're justified in being the arbiter.

No shat.. You would think this already is Europe..

 

[SamRebel35]

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

Wealth in America is not a zero sum condition. These men having more money than they can spend does not prevent others from having more money. What does prevent others from having more money is when a centralized government insists on pilfering the wealth of the productive to give to the non-productive.

 

[BigPapaVol]

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

this is a ludicrous generalization

 

[Bezdomny]

Started in the Bush years and kept going strong under Obama. When you put 2 wars on a credit card under one president, then spend and borrow like crazy under the other, then have parents constantly in debt...I'm not sure our youth have a lot of financially responsible people to look up to.

+1.

Both parties have dug the financial hole we're in now. We, as citizens and voters, share responsibility in this.

Are the problems the parties created beyond their ability to fix?

 

[Cartervol]

Taxes paid by highest incomes

The top 1% pay 22.7% of taxes.
The top 10% pay 50% of taxes.
The top 20% pay 65.3% of taxes.
The top 40% pay 84.3% of taxes.

Taxes paid by lowest incomes

The bottom 20% pay 0.00% to 1.1% of taxes.
The bottom 40% pay 6.1% of taxes.


The bottom NO WHERE NEAR PAYS THEIR FAIR SHARE!!

This is why even raising it to 40 percent like Obama was suggesting still won't put a dent in the spending.. It's just a way to tear it down further.. I wish people could see that, and not think it's some patriotic way to get back at someone for the poor choices you made in life..

 

[n_huffhines]

 

[etmVol]

+1.

Both parties have dug the financial hole we're in now. We, as citizens and voters, share responsibility in this.

Are the problems the parties created beyond their ability to fix?

We, the voters, are most definitely to blame. We continue to let these greedy, morally and ethically shady, corporate puppets do whatever they want to do without fear of being held accountable. And until the general voter decides to vote for the best candidate instead of the most popular or the lesser of two evils, the trend will continue.

 

[CMcEver]

The richest 1 percent of Americans earn 1/5 of the country's income and control 40 percent of the country's wealth. In 2007, the richest 10 percent of American households made half of the country's earnings. Leaving the other half for the remaining 90 percent of us. The wealth in America is currently more concentrated than it has been since 1928 and the gap between the haves and don't have ****s is wider than it has been since before the Great Depression. We now appear to be in a second "Gilded Age". Can the US survive this? If so, anyone have any ideas on how?
Or, maybe you don't see this as a problem. I dvr'd the documentary (on Free Speech TV; DirecTV # 348) and just watched it. Has anyone seen it this show?

I feel like the mandate in Obamacare is going to alleviate some of the underhanded businesses that created a portion of this gap... Such as Wal-Mart who pays employees $8 an hour with no benefits and under-staffing, and at the drop of the word "union" closes up shop and leaves. Anyone with 50+ employees must offer healthcare, and this will further level the playing field with smaller businesses. Now, how this actually plays out, I'm not sure... but on paper it seems like a good part of this legislation.

 

[vols4sure]

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

...

 

[GAVol]

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

That is the biggest pile of BS I've ever read. You have no idea how most of these guys achieved success. You're just attributing the worst traits to them to justify taking their money away.

 

[Cartervol]

Labeling without facts to back it up.. This is how Obama got re elected...

 

[vols4sure]

The problem is how they arrived at this wealth. The tactics used to amass this wealth are unethical at best. Criminal at worst.

The fact that no one is able to arbitrate them is much to their delight, I assume.

And everyone who is poor is a govt handout leech that's sits on their ass all day smoking weed and blaming the rich.

Aren't generalizations fun

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

That is the biggest pile of BS I've ever read. You have no idea how most of these guys achieved success. You're just attributing the worst traits to them to justify taking their money away.

Not true. I don't want to take their money. I am asking questions based on something I saw on TV. If anyone cares to answer them or debate them that is great. But I never intimated I wanted to take their cash. Sorry.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

...

Not jealous of any person. Also not a dumbass. Thanks. No need to edit. Leave it up.

 

[GAVol]

Not true. I don't want to take their money. I am asking questions based on something I saw on TV. If anyone cares to answer them or debate them that is great. But I never intimated I wanted to take their cash. Sorry.

Fine. I take back the part about you wanting their money. The first part of your statement is still an unfair generalization.