Owning a $40m home is disgusting...

That is half true. My dad worked constructiomn for almost 15 years before he was layed off, and he made about 20 dollars an hour. Almost 30 an hour when the company was able to get government contracts, such as working on schools.

But that was a commercial construction company. Restidential companies tend to pay less. An average worker would make somewhere between 10 and 15 an hour.

 

Sure, wages vary with locale. But in CA, for example, $18/hr. was a typical wage for an entry-level position.

 

Oprah's success makes a hash of the notion there is no social mobility.

 

Your observation makes a hash of the notion that your have reading comprehension skills:


Originally Posted by Taxcutter

"...if you are born into poverty, you will more than likely die there."

Taxcutter says:
Ask Oprah Winfrey.
Do you understand the highlighted words?

 

The "more than likely" comes form one's own lack of effort than anything else.

Of course, government regulations also tend to keep people in their place.

 

OK, so why is the US the lowest of any country in the West in terms of social mobility?

Are you saying that the US has more business regulation than socialist Europe? Give me a break.

 

"... why is the US the lowest of any country in the West in terms of social mobility?"

Taxcutter says:
Government regulation. That regulation tends to favor existing competitors by raising legal obstacles for new competitors.




"Are you saying that the US has more business regulation than socialist Europe?"

Taxcutter says:
Where in Europe is there anything like New Source Review?

 

What are his real estate taxes? Please post.

 

"What are his real estate taxes?"

Taxcutter says:
Probably quite impressive.

 

Stop talking in the 3rd person!

 

The majority of shareholders in coorporations are retirees and working people with 401Ks. It helps alot more people than just the owners and the board of directors.

 

If Al gore builds several multi-million dollar mansions, how does that negatively affect me? Why should I care? Is Al Gore using his money or mine to build those homes?

 

I don't have any problem with someone buying a %40 million dollar home.

I do have a problem with a guy like Romney who is making $20 million a year from his investments paying a lower tax rate than the typical middle class family.

- - - Updated - - -

The majority of shares in corporation are owned by the richest.

 

I use "Taxcutter says" to clearly delineate my opinions from those of someone else.

Clarity is a virtue.



"The majority of shares in corporation are owned by the richest."

Taxcutter says:
Wrong! Anyone conversant at all with financial services will clue you in that the "institutions" - mostly pension funds and annuity administrators - dominate corporate ownership. One of the biggest is CalPers - the California public employee pension fund. Now California public employees are indeed richer than most Americans, but I don't think they qualify for the George Soros class.

 

Ouch! That simple fact will prove inconvenient to some. Watch the kicking and flailing begin.

 

Nice try by changing the subject of the sentence and dishonestly switching shareholders and shares but it won't fly..............the MAJORITY OF SHAREHOLDERS (people) are not the richest, they are working people with 401Ks and retirees that rely on those investments and dividends to support themselves.

The person or persons that hold the majority of the shares that control the company are very few in number compared to the rest of the people that own the rest of the stocks. If I own 51% of the company I own most of the shares, however, I am still just one shareholder. I honestly can't tell with leftists if they just don't know this stuff or if they are deliberately being dishonest.

 

I guess according to the OP,the American Dream is some Hoax.
Not necessary.A complete waste of mindset.
Then explain the highly popular show - Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous -.
Or how guys like Rush Limbaugh,once had to live on well under $20,ooo a
year as he started off his Radio career.
Now he's got a Compound.That's when you knwo yer truly wealthy.
Not just a Mansion { hellfire a lot of Folk have them } but a Compound.
I remember first hearing about a Compound in regards to the Great American
Bob Hope.Of course Mr.Hope also had a room,full of awards,Trophies
and plaques.Bob Hope was about the Greatest citizen this country ever
had.He epitomized the American Dream.

 

You have the wrong subject. The fact that lots of people hold a few shares is irrelevant. The rich hold the vast majority of shares and thus benefit the most from the special low investment tax rates.

If you own 51% of the shares, you own most the shares, regardless of how many other shareholders there are.

I honestly can't tell with the cons if they just don't know this stuff or if they are deliberately being dishonest.

 

This is the first intelligent thing I've ever heard you say. I didn't think you had it in you.
A lot of it may go to other rich men, but it definitely leaves that man's bank account.
And some of it ends up as wages for workers and helping the economy.

 

Another "demand sider" progressive.....who'd rather central planners simply confiscate money from one person and place it in the hands of another to expand supply, and thus the economy...

They call this individual rights violating, "pouring water from the deep end of the pool into the shallow end of the pool" egregiously unsustainable idiocy "economics". Laughably.

and even MORE absurd, they'll look you directly in the eye, and tell you it's not deeply rooted in "from each, to each" Marxism.

 

What do you mean "a few shares"? The "public" holds the majority of shares in most publicly traded companies. One of the largest if not the largest residential construction company in the US is DR Horton, Inc. Over 90% of the shares are held in mutual funds and Grampa's pension.

 

Everyone who sells their shares at a profit has to pay the capital gains tax, not just the rich. There are no exceptions. My grandfather who had less than 20k in his bank account and lived on social security and a small pension had to pay them when he divested his stocks. They hurt the rich far less than they hurt the average person. Idiots who run around demanding that we raise the rate have no freaking idea about what they are doing to the vast majority of people in this country. These are also the same people that say that quantitative easing doesn't hurt anyone either.

You selfish liberal bastards don't give a (*)(*)(*)(*) about anyone else you are only interested in screwing other people who have more than you. People like you are selfish, ignorant, jealous and don't care about who gets hurt as long as those evil rich bastards get what is coming to them.

 

No. Stop making ass-umptions

No. Stop making ass-umptions

No. Stop making ass-umptions

 

I really don't care about people and their houses. What scares me is when the wealthy get too wealthy, the economy struggles. The last time the disparity of wealth was this high was right before the Great Depression. The economy thrives by people spending money. When you have an economy with high unemployment, low capacity utilization, tough credit expansion, and the top 1% able to continue generating record profits and increasing their net worth, it is a major problem. Not a social problem, an economic problem. I know social conservatives don't care about things like numbers, or economics, but there are major consequences that happen when the majority becomes a bunch of peons and don't have money.

The last time the disparity of wealth in our country was this high was right before the Great Depression. So people can buy their $40 million houses, but unless you change up the policies to help the majority, there won't be very many people being able to afford those houses.

 

The public includes the 1%. The majority of shares are owned by the richest. Simple fact. The 1% alone control 40% of the wealth in the country.