The discuss any topic/random thoughts thread

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

Here's a list of answers:

1) Because a society with a few super-rich people and a whole lot of really poor people is not healthy. It goes against the egalitarian values of democracy.
2) Because rich people can't become rich without underpaying poor people for their labor.
3) Because they should show some goddamn gratitude for the country that gave them the freedom to be successful.
4) Because why do they want all that money anyway? I mean, what do you really want with all that when there's so much good it can do for other people?
5) Because any really rich person has interests that require more attention from the government than poor people do. I mean: if you are an investor in Walmart, you want the government to widen roads and install sewage for the new stores so the new stores can be successful and your stock can go up 1/4 point. Governments work overtime to serve the interests of rich people, so the least rich people can do is pay their fair share.

I got a lot more, if you want to hear them. I could go on all day.

I suppose, I've just always thought that to assume the average upper-class individual has more surplus is ignorance. What if they have 3, 4, or 5 children??? Suddenly, they wouldn't have any more disposable income than any middle-class citizen would.

Income inequality is good for America, it gives people like me a reason to go to college and a motive to get a degree, even if it means having to take out loans to do so. Tax inequality isn't good for America, it penalizes those who may have put forth the hard work to be financially blessed, why should Uncle Sam benefit from my work?

Obviously this is hypothetical, I've always lived in a middle class home anyway.

[Big Swami]

I suppose, I've just always thought that to assume the average upper-class individual has more surplus is ignorance. What if they have 3, 4, or 5 children??? Suddenly, they wouldn't have any more disposable income than any middle-class citizen would.

Income inequality is good for America, it gives people like me a reason to go to college and a motive to get a degree, even if it means having to take out loans to do so. Tax inequality isn't good for America, it penalizes those who may have put forth the hard work to be financially blessed, why should Uncle Sam benefit from my work?

Obviously this is hypothetical, I've always lived in a middle class home anyway.

6) Rich people spend a considerably smaller percentage of their income than poor people do. Poor people have to spend just about every penny that comes in the door to make sure the rent is on time and there's food to eat, whereas a rich person - even one whose expenses are substantial - may only spend half of what they make, choosing to put the rest into investments (which may then in turn generate income through dividends). These investments do involve a small amount of risk, but they are more or less retained as property as their values tend to increase. The value of a mattress, on the other hand, tends to decrease, and must eventually be discarded altogether.

Let me talk to you about Denmark. Nice place. Cool in the winter. The language is pretty much indecipherable, but it doesn't matter, since everyone speaks English anyway.

Denmark's scale of taxation on rich people is INCREDIBLE compared to what it is in the US. Literally, the richest keep a very small portion of their gross income. Also, the country has a tiny military and almost no strategic military interests. Everyone gets a free university education, and the schools are fantastic. Denmark is home to a few really large international shipping and drug companies. It's kind of a national joke there about how many business executives come out of Denmark. It is against the communications laws of Denmark to compare the product of one company directly with the product of another in advertising.

And the people there are, according to a recent study, the happiest people in the world. If a few rich people are discontented with the tax code, everyone just rolls their eyes because they understand that the interests of a grumpy rich guy are not the same interests they have. The interests of the vast majority are well-served. The government is run very frugally, and the slightest hint of waste or corruption is a very big deal there. Danish people are very skeptical of politicians in general and hold them to a very high standard.

Sure, they have some immigration issues. Most of their issues are how to integrate a large Muslim minority into their country. The problem that they are having is that the Muslim immigrants have very conservative values and those values are not welcome in Denmark. Denmark supports extensive sex education in schools, religious pluralism, absolute legal equality of gays and straights, and in general a pretty chill attitude about most things, and the new Muslim immigrants have a hard time getting with the program. God knows why a Muslim would want to live in Denmark, but I guess it just goes to show that they're much happier living in liberal democracies (and complaining about how non-Islamic they are) than they are living in Islamic countries.

The Danish people are happy presumably because their government meets their needs, and probably also because of the nice pastries named after them. Our people are miserable because the government not only meets the needs of the very rich, but it practically waits on them hand and foot, while providing fuck all for the rest of us. The average individual in the US can only do one thing to alleviate their financial worries forever, and that is: become rich. Every day we're not rich, we're unhappy. We worship rich people and idolize them, and we internalize their lives and obsessively meditate on every single thing they say as if it came out of the mouth of Jesus Christ himself.

The Danish do not have financial worries, because they demand that their government provides critical services for them. Yeah, it sucks to be poor in Denmark, but at least you can count on healthcare, education, unemployment, clean streets, and healthy kids. And guess what? They're happy, smart, and they churn out business grads by the boatload. The only reason I can see for this is that they probably have some weird leftover hangups that come from the old Protestant work ethic. I forgive them.

You seem to be under the impression that being worried about money is a magic formula for personal achievement, and I think both common sense and the existence of Denmark tell me otherwise. I'm willing to admit that it might just be a matter of perspective, though.

[Tahoe]

I wish I had more kids. 1 isn't/wasn't enough.

[UxKa]

Tahoe's gettin laid tonight! lol

[Uncle Mxy]

I feel numb and unmotivated.

[Big Swami]

It's me and the wife's anniversary today. 5 years. Not a single person called us.

[Tahoe]

Tahoe's gettin laid tonight! lol

No news there. My wife can't leave me alone.

[Tahoe]

It's me and the wife's anniversary today. 5 years. Not a single person called us.

Congrats on 5. Have lots of kids.

[Vinny]

After we finish that greatest Douchebags tournament, we need to have a "Great Moments in WTF history" thingamabob.

Early nominations:

*When we found out about Knockout.

*When the G brothers went all crazy and racist and shit.

*When Mola convinced Donvito at Hoopsworld that he was really a Serbian Darko fan of some sort to the point that Donvito started lambasting other hoopsworld posters for making fun of his "bad english".

*That time that lady who got fired by Text Message showed up.

* The Uncle Cliffy revolt.

* "Don't Try And Be A Hero"

* CCCSDad.

* Aks Bukdow.

[MoTown]

^

I was watching Die Hard today and they walked by a gas station. The sign read: $.77 Regular. I cried.