New study/experiment. Uber conservatives now get a diagnosis?

[lookout123]

You know what it is, why should I have to tell you? Do you want me to tell what nice is? Ethical? Everybody knows these things. When you reach that point, you have a choice - be a glutton or a team player.

have you ever actually met a wealthy individual? i'm not talking about the paris hilton type, but the kind that probably lives in your neighborhood. I spend a good portion of my time with the entry level wealthy (it's my job) and I can tell you that people you would villify as wealthy don't think of themselves as wealthy. in fact, they continue to work hard and accumulate more because they are afraid they haven't worked hard enough to survive retirement yet. what defines a glutton? someone with $10 more than you? $10,000? $1,000,000?

Wait forget all that. Serious question here. Where in your scale does a person who makes $60,000 per year fall? Are they one of the righteous poor or one of the villainous wealthy?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by lookout123

have you ever actually met a wealthy individual? i'm not talking about the paris hilton type, but the kind that probably lives in your neighborhood. I spend a good portion of my time with the entry level wealthy (it's my job) and I can tell you that people you would villify as wealthy don't think of themselves as wealthy. in fact, they continue to work hard and accumulate more because they are afraid they haven't worked hard enough to survive retirement yet. what defines a glutton? someone with $10 more than you? $10,000? $1,000,000?

Wait forget all that. Serious question here. Where in your scale does a person who makes $60,000 per year fall? Are they one of the righteous poor or one of the villainous wealthy?

Have I villified anyone?

[lookout123]

If they decide they have enough, what happens?

define "enough".

Have I villified anyone?

well, the scorn you heap upon those with more than you feel is "enough" seems to mark them as black moustachioed villains in your mind. but if i remove the word "villainous" from it, can you answer the question?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by lookout123

define "enough"...

Enough is enough.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by lookout123

have you ever actually met a wealthy individual?

Yes

Originally Posted by lookout123

i'm not talking about the paris hilton type, but the kind that probably lives in your neighborhood.

Yes

Originally Posted by lookout123

I spend a good portion of my time with the entry level wealthy (it's my job) and I can tell you that people you would villify as wealthy don't think of themselves as wealthy.

Ok. MRMV. I deal with people every day that have some wealth and think that it gives them all kinds of entitlements.

Originally Posted by lookout123

in fact, they continue to work hard and accumulate more because they are afraid they haven't worked hard enough to survive retirement yet.

Generality. You really shouldn't lump people together like that. I'll accept that have heard that. I think there are aother reasons, as well.

Originally Posted by lookout123

what defines a glutton?

Technically "1 a : one given habitually to greedy and voracious eating and drinking". I use the term to include wealth.

Originally Posted by lookout123

someone with $10 more than you? $10,000? $1,000,000?

I'm not going to quantify what's enough. Just like you know when your belly is full, you know when you have enough.

Originally Posted by lookout123

Wait forget all that. Serious question here. Where in your scale does a person who makes $60,000 per year fall?

Right between $59,999.99 and $60,000.01.

Originally Posted by lookout123

Are they one of the righteous poor or one of the villainous wealthy?

People who have enough and continue to accumulate wealth are part of the reason there's as much poverty as there is. They are part of the reason that welfare rolls are as high as they are, and part of the reason your taxes are high. They are also part of the reason that America's middle class is disappearing.

[lookout123]

I deal with people every day that have some wealth and think that it gives them all kinds of entitlements

the fact that you follow this with:

Generality. You really shouldn't lump people together like that. I'll accept that have heard that. I think there are aother reasons, as well.

is pretty humorous. I make a statement about the wealthy people i work with and you call it a generality. Mind you that my job is to ask all the really personal pertinent questions about money, goals, and motivations. But you say you deal with wealthy people and they feel like they are entitled to something. sounds like a generalization to me. maybe even a little hypocritical.

But more importantly it doesn't change the fact that you have established some level of "enough" and anyone who sets themselves to the task of accumulating more than that is deemed to be a glutton. But you can't be pinned down to actually define what "enough" is.

You sound like the sniveling little kid in the corner who is angry that someone has nicer shoes than him. The kid with the nicer shoes must be a self centered asshole or he wouldn't have nicer shoes than you.

Right between $59,999.99 and $60,000.01.

cute. another person who is either too arrogant or too afraid to answer someone else's question.

People who have enough and continue to accumulate wealth are part of the reason there's as much poverty as there is.

How exactly do you figure that? If a homebuilder builds enough homes in the first 5 months of the year to pay his bills, what should he do for the other 7 months? Shut down the business and go home, he wouldn't want to be gluttonous after all. Screw the guys who he provides jobs for, Mr Homebuilder has "enough". Or should he just give all of the profits to the employees? That seems reasonable. He'll continue taking all the risks of being in business and just give anything over "enough" to the employees.

They are part of the reason that welfare rolls are as high as they are, and part of the reason your taxes are high.

BS. Companies that grow add jobs, they also tend to reward those people at the top with more than "enough". That's the way it works. Make profit, reap reward. Companies who quit growing soon have to start cutting jobs.

They are also part of the reason that America's middle class is disappearing.

wow. have you thought of running for office? you've got the rhetoric and the buzz words. now can you tell me what it means? How do you define the middle class? is it an annual income amount? is it a certain number of toys quotient? what is it?


answer a question with something quantifiable please.

[DanaC]

Wait forget all that. Serious question here. Where in your scale does a person who makes $60,000 per year fall? Are they one of the righteous poor or one of the villainous wealthy?

Neither, surely. They aren't poor (righteous or otherwise) but nor are they the owners of vast wealth and power. The people I personally would wish to see paying a higher proportion of their income in taxes, are those whose income levels match those of a small town or city.

[lookout123]

ok, put a number to it. don't be vague.

(i'll leave the question of why they should have to pay a higher percentage in taxes than you do for another thread)

[DanaC]

That's not true, actually they go hand in hand.
The government raising minimum wage, only helps those at the very bottom and are covered by the minimum wage law. The union works for better wages for those above minimum wage as well. The government passes work safety rules that they don't have the manpower to enforce. Unions help force the company to abide by the laws and go further to institute safe/ergonomic practices, that the laws can't foresee. The government passes anti-discrimination laws but the unions see that all the people doing the same job, are paid equally. Etc, etc, etc...

I'd go along with that to an extent. But there are also times, I think, when Unions and Government are in an adversarial relationship. Also, much of that legislation is arrived at by government in part because of pressure from the more powerful unions. At least that has usually been the case in the UK. It's tended to be the Unions who've agitated most strongly for minimum wage and employment rights.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

You know what it is, why should I have to tell you? Do you want me to tell what nice is? Ethical? Everybody knows these things.

But that's just it. I guaran-fucking-tee you I could find thousands of people just in my city alone who would point to you and call you rich, gluttonous, and selfish with the ridiculous amount of wealth you have. Everybody does not agree on these things.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

But that's just it. I guaran-fucking-tee you I could find thousands of people just in my city alone who would point to you and call you rich, gluttonous, and selfish with the ridiculous amount of wealth you have. Everybody does not agree on these things.

I didn't say everybody agrees. I said you know when you have enough.

Forgive me if I have you confused with someone else, but I think I remember that you, CF, and Lookout have defended Christianity. Think about loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Is there any consistency between these philosophies and your philosophy concerning wealth?

It's funny that so many want to cripple those who run and give 95% to the charities they state they like and want around so much.
If they get their way NONE of these charities will exist.

[lookout123]

what does that mean?

[Flint]

A child only needs enough money to buy a piece of candy. A young man only needs enough money for a tank of gas and a bottle of whiskey. Then, he knocks up a girl, and now he needs enough money to buy a house; enough money to raise a child. Then he needs enough money to put that kid through college. Then he needs enough money to pay for his kid's wedding. Then he needs enough money to retire comfortably.

All along the way, he has strived to earn more and more money, to meet his increasing responsibilities. He has learned to be prepared for emergencies, and always have some savings set aside. There is no static amount that constitutes "enough" money.

If wolves were clawing at your door, how many bullets would you feel are "enough" to protect your family?

[Shawnee123]

I don't know. Are they werewolves?