Should you be ashamed of being wealthy?
Doc
2012/08/21 13:49:57
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YOu've worked 16 hours days for 18 years to make your business successful, and you're told you have too much money and you should pay your fair share.
Should you be ashamed?
Top Opinion
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Laura Lovegood 2012/08/21 13:54:54
I spy in this question a chance for the right to rant once more about “class politics.” And yet I hear the right continually blowing their political dog whistle when it comes to the other end of the economic spectrum…the poor. I’ve even heard some on this site decide who are the “good wealthy” (those who fund right wing PACS) and the “bad wealthy” (those on the left, mainly wealthy media people who say things on air they don’t like).
The wealthy I take issue with are those who use their wealth to “game” the system in their favor, those mega-wealthy who spend exorbitant amounts on lobbyists and PACS to get MORE clout in our supposed democracy. I think a wealthy person who spends his or her money to get public safety regulations weakened to become more prosperous in his or her business (“In 2004, Ryan wrote Norman Mineta, the Secretary of Transportation, on behalf of the chemical company PPG Industries. The company’s PAC has contributed $6,750 to Ryan’s campaign coffers from 1998 through 2012. Ryan began by saying he was “writing to share the concerns” of the company over a proposed rule concerning the transportation of hazardous materials.”- http://zoecarter....
I spy in this question a chance for the right to rant once more about “class politics.” And yet I hear the right continually blowing their political dog whistle when it comes to the other end of the economic spectrum…the poor. I’ve even heard some on this site decide who are the “good wealthy” (those who fund right wing PACS) and the “bad wealthy” (those on the left, mainly wealthy media people who say things on air they don’t like).
The wealthy I take issue with are those who use their wealth to “game” the system in their favor, those mega-wealthy who spend exorbitant amounts on lobbyists and PACS to get MORE clout in our supposed democracy. I think a wealthy person who spends his or her money to get public safety regulations weakened to become more prosperous in his or her business (“In 2004, Ryan wrote Norman Mineta, the Secretary of Transportation, on behalf of the chemical company PPG Industries. The company’s PAC has contributed $6,750 to Ryan’s campaign coffers from 1998 through 2012. Ryan began by saying he was “writing to share the concerns” of the company over a proposed rule concerning the transportation of hazardous materials.”- http://zoecarter.com/2012/08/... should feel ashamed of the wealth that sort of unethically manipulation brings about. Just as I feel that the wealthy who use their wealth to politically make it harder for unions to survive in the state where they do business (“That’s a big deal in the Wisconsin recall race, as Walker has been under pressure to explain his appearance in a video where he and a wealthy donor are seen discussing strategies to make Wisconsin a low-wage “right to work” state.”- http://www.thenation.com/blog... should be ashamed of the wealth they get from taking collective bargaining away from their employees and thus being able to pay them less.
Asking that the wealthy pay their fair share of income tax IS NOT CLASS WARFARE!
If you are wealthy, your wealth came from somewhere. Your company relied on workers educated by public schools or your goods were transported on public infrastructure or you, yourself may have gotten an education at a public university, with help from a government grant or loan (“Last year I paid 22.6 percent in federal taxes after all the special deductions afforded me. That’s a pretty darn low effective rate by historical standards, and it’s low for all I receive from this country. My business depends on a country that continues to make savvy investments in its infrastructure, in its oversight of industry and in its people. Those public investments are instrumental to private market growth.
I’m proud of my accomplishments and of my grandparents’ decision to immigrate to America. My success, however, is the result of many factors, and remaining conscious of and grateful for those contributions seems the decent thing to do. Also, how can I not support the next generation of working-class kids who dream of moving into America’s middle and upper class?”- http://www.washingtonpost.com...
So to sum it up…if you have the money enjoy it. Spend it…it will help the economy. But your wealth does not ENTITLE you to more than one vote or to forget that a rising tide SHOULD lift all boats whether it be a luxury yacht or a dinghy.
Responsible for paying your own fair share of taxes regardless of how rich or poor?...yes
Then again, if it was money you received because some blood-sucking bureaucrat handed it to you after sticking his filthy, filching fingers into someone else's pocket and STEALING it, you should feel somewhat lower than whale dung if you have any sense of self-respect whatsoever.
I sat at a counter to have breakfast the other day and overheard some Longshoreman. They went on and on about the 1%! Yet at the same time discussed ones buying a new home in a very expensive neighborhood and how happy he was with his new $40k plus Ford F-250.
If you're luck enough to be successful you should be proud of yourself, and you should be able to keep what you've earned.