CNN Reporter attacked at Chicago "Tea Party"

[Kruzen]

My post isn't hypocritical at all, you just need to actually know what you are talking about before you try to sound smart about something. Low income earners do not in fact pay an income tax. I don't know where the income tax bracket actually starts but the lower the income, the lower percentage of money you pay and vice versa. This makes complete sense given that a Toyota Camry costs the same amount whether you make 50k a year or 2 million a year. A person that makes two million and gets half taken away still has a million fucking dollars which is plenty for any person to sustain themselves and a family of 6. A person who makes 50k a year and gets half taken away only has 25k left which is not plenty to sustain a family of 6. The low income earners need the money more than the high income earners.

Maybe the person who makes 50k a year shouldn't have had 6 children.

Don't produce what you can't sustain/maintain. That goes for anything that is grown, a business, offspring, farmland, animals, real estate, relationships, friendships, etc.

[Farbin Kaiber]

The low income earners need the money more than the high income earners.

Or, they should work for it, like everyone else has.

Maybe the person who makes 50k a year shouldn't have had 6 children.

Don't produce what you can't sustain/maintain. That goes for anything that is grown, a business, offspring, farmland, animals, real estate, relationships, friendships, etc.

What he said. I really thought more of your opinion when blunt was bashing you, but now I see how wrong I was. I think we need to switch states, you come on down, pick up a Prius and go around talking shit on everyone you feel is not up to your Utopian-par.

[dlmpsy]

I always find it ironic when people that live in urban areas discuss how *we* need to do so much more for the environment, how we need to do this or that because *we* are killing the planet, etc. It seems to me that these same people are the problem, they plow-up once productive fields to make a parking lot or subdivision, they drain the river and watershed to water their grass, they live in the desert and crank-up the AC in the summer and crank-up the heat in the winter, they live in earthquake prone areas and build houses and cities, they build houses on the sides of hills that get washed away when it rains or get burned down because brush has taken the place where trees once stood. Buying organic lettuce 'ain't enough, if you're gonna "talk the talk, walk the walk."

[Farbin Kaiber]

^^^ Very poignant post.

[nando]

My post isn't hypocritical at all, you just need to actually know what you are talking about before you try to sound smart about something. Low income earners do not in fact pay an income tax. I don't know where the income tax bracket actually starts but the lower the income, the lower percentage of money you pay and vice versa. This makes complete sense given that a Toyota Camry costs the same amount whether you make 50k a year or 2 million a year. A person that makes two million and gets half taken away still has a million fucking dollars which is plenty for any person to sustain themselves and a family of 6. A person who makes 50k a year and gets half taken away only has 25k left which is not plenty to sustain a family of 6. The low income earners need the money more than the high income earners.

what you fundamentally lack is an understanding of what "rich" people do with their money, and what the government does it when it takes it from them.

Rich people don't spend every dime they have, they do not have piles of money under their bed, hell most of them carry the minimum amount of cash neccesary to pay their bills. They drive regular cars - like the boring old toyota camry (except maybe celebrities, who probably didn't work a lifetime to accumulate their wealth and rather made most of it in one lucky shot). That extra million that they "don't need" gets invested - it gets invested in companies, banks, buildings, etc, things that actually contribute to the economy. This is fundamentally what seperates the rich from the poor. Some poor people will always be poor, because no matter how much their incomes grow, their spending grows just as fast. I knew people who made 100k+ a year that were up to their eyeballs in debt and basically broke as hell.

The government does not create anything, except maybe the framework that our economy works inside of. They do not invest, they do not save, they basically blow every dime on pork, wars and feel-good programs (entitlements) that keep the lower class people just happy enough to stay where they are.

You give the government a million dollars, they will spend half of it on research (beauracracy) to decide what pork project to blow it on. A rich person would invest it where it will hopefully generate growth, provide jobs and income for hundreds of other people, in expectation that it will return profit so they can invest in more things. The government just doesn't work like that.

I also love it when senators and other people in high government office talk about how corrupt "rich" people are and how we should be raising taxes, when they themselves are multi millionaires and vote themselves raises whenever they feel like it. Don't forget having the best healthcare plan in the world, funded by you and me.

Everyone, rich or poor, has extra money they "don't need". We blow ours on E30s, some people spend theirs on drugs, booze, playstations, useless junk at walmart, etc. But some people are savers and investors, and they get ahead for it.

Basically what you are saying, is you want to punish the most efficient working people in our society because they have more than you, in order to reward the people who sit on their ass all day eating "brownies" and playing videogames.

[E30 Cabrio]

My post isn't hypocritical at all, you just need to actually know what you are talking about before you try to sound smart about something. Low income earners do not in fact pay an income tax. I don't know where the income tax bracket actually starts but the lower the income, the lower percentage of money you pay and vice versa. This makes complete sense given that a Toyota Camry costs the same amount whether you make 50k a year or 2 million a year. A person that makes two million and gets half taken away still has a million fucking dollars which is plenty for any person to sustain themselves and a family of 6. A person who makes 50k a year and gets half taken away only has 25k left which is not plenty to sustain a family of 6. The low income earners need the money more than the high income earners.

The tax rate for someone earning 50k is far lower then for someone earning 1M, so the person making 50k is not going to only have 25k left over, even after state sales taxes, property taxes etc...

The person earning 50k who is married has a maximum Federal tax rate of 15%

The person earning over 358k who is married has a Federal tax rate of 35%

Did you ever stop to think that the person earning 1M also worked a lot harder then the person earning 50k?

Maybe they have massive school loans to pay back, and that they made sacrifices in their lives like not smoking dope and partying when they were young, unlike some people.

And what happens when the Government decides that the people earning 1 Million a year or more should be taxed at an even higher rate then they already are?

It will stop ambition and will stop people from wanting to earn a lot of money, which will mean less tax revenues, less job creation, less talented people in the job market, etc...

What do you think will happen then?

Oh, and if you're making 50k a year and have 6 kids, should other people be required to pay the expenses for your children?

If you can't afford to have 6 kids, then don't.

It's that simple.

I can't afford 6 cars that cost the equivalent of raising 6 kids, although I would like to.

Should some Doctor or a Lawyer or Business Exec who took out huge loans to pay for school, sacrificed the lifestyle that most college kids had and who made other sacrifices and who works hard pay for what I want even though I can't afford it?

Should they pay for the 6 cars I want but can't afford?

Your logic or lack of logic is baffling. I don't know where you get this crap but that's not how the real world works and it never will.

Because once you start punishing success and ambition even more then it already is and start rewarding the unambitious and the irresponsible, then people will have no reason to work and earn money.

[DEV0 E30]

If the truth is told, the youth can grow
They learn to survive until they gain control
Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes
Read more learn more, change the globe
Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king
Young Prince that's when you get your wedding ring
Your man is saying "She's my queen"

I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

[Farbin Kaiber]

Be, B-Boys and girls, listen up
You can be anything in the world, in God we trust
An architect, doctor, maybe an actress
But nothing comes easy it takes much practice

[DEV0 E30]

We call that "win" ladies and gents.

[BigBumperNick]

People are poor b/c they make themselves poor (98% of the time)....

Oh dear did I just say that?

[E30 Cabrio]

Years ago when I worked in Construction, we were on a job site and the investor was a multi-millionaire.

He got up at 6 AM every day, visited the job site on a near daily basis, drove an old POS Toyota pickup, and knew and addressed everyone on the job site by name, from the General down to the laborers. About 75 people worked on the project for over a year.

If you saw this guy, you would never, ever guess he was a MM, let alone "rich"

The reason he was rich was because he didn't spend beyond his means or on anything extravagant, he worked hard and invested wisely.

Last I heard, he owned nearly 100 Burger King franchises all thru out the US in addition to his other businesses.

[h0lmes]

Maybe the person who makes 50k a year shouldn't have had 6 children.

Don't produce what you can't sustain/maintain. That goes for anything that is grown, a business, offspring, farmland, animals, real estate, relationships, friendships, etc.

I fully agree but this country will never instate a birth cap like they have in China, it's too "communist". The conservatives are usually the ones with tons of kids, look at those ignorant wastes of skin on that TLC show with 18 kids. Natural selection would have eliminated those people a long time ago.

People are poor b/c they make themselves poor (98% of the time)....

Oh dear did I just say that?

Do you honestly believe that? People are poor because Capitalism REQUIRES that poor people exist. There must be people at the bottom of the ladder for Capitalism to exist, which is one reason why it is such a disgusting system. Their cheap labor is utilized so that profit can be made at the top.

Years ago when I worked in Construction, we were on a job site and the investor was a multi-millionaire.

He got up at 6 AM every day, visited the job site on a near daily basis, drove an old POS Toyota pickup, and knew and addressed everyone on the job site by name, from the General down to the laborers. About 75 people worked on the project for over a year.

If you saw this guy, you would never, ever guess he was a MM, let alone "rich"

The reason he was rich was because he didn't spend beyond his means or on anything extravagant, he worked hard and invested wisely.

Last I heard, he owned nearly 100 Burger King franchises all thru out the US in addition to his other businesses.

My Dad sounds a lot like the guy you describe. He has run his own construction business for 30 years and has worked his butt off everyday to get where he is. But you have to remember that his business is relatively small and has a minimal impact on people and the environment, this is something that can not be said of Wal-Mart and Union Carbide, etc.

Wal-Mart execs don't work their butts off. They are driven to work in limos, sit behind a desk looking at porn for a few hours a day, have coffee and food served to them and when they all get together they decide which group of people to take advantage of and which part of the planet to suck the life from. All because they want to buy the new Aston Martin and park it in their garage next to their 50 other super cars that they never drive.

You guys can criticize all you want, in fact I welcome criticism. What you need to understand is that while I may have ideals, I am still rational about things. I do think that capitalism allows for innovation, which socialism does not. I also believe that some private ownership is a good thing. But at the same time I think that it is downright immoral that the capitalist establishment takes advantage of the weak and rapes this planet all in the name of profit.

What this country needs is a combination of the best aspects of both systems, Democratic Socialism. Western European countries are still Capitalist, which allows for innovation and growth, but they have stricter labor and environmental laws and provide basic human needs such as healthcare to everybody. I have been to Europe, it is a great place. Why are you people so scared of this? Historically, this country has been about 40 years behind Western Europe in social/political terms. We are inevitably moving more and more towards a social democratic society.

[E30 Cabrio]

I'll say it again - Your ignorance is staggering.

[Alkasquawlik]

All I can say is WOW

[dlmpsy]

Our current society rewards bad behavior, welfare rewards childbirth. The welfare system is now a form of employment for many people, along with the drug addicts being given disability benefits. Or illegals going to college while children of legal taxpayers can't afford to attend school. Not to mention the healthcare system.