5% of the US's net worth is down to the net wealth of 32 people.

[DuracellBunny]

Its just internet pseudo-intellectuals complaining about the 1% in America, when they themselves are in actuality in the top 1% in the world, typing their anti-capitalist drivel on their newest i-phone made by virtual slaves in China.

The whole 1% thing is laughable in and of itself. The US has 300M+ people, so the 1% is 3M+ people. Are all of those 3M+ people Mr Burns or Dr Evil? A lot of them are doctors, lawyers, athletes, artists etc. A household income of $400K ish will put somebody in the top 1%. A married couple earning $200k each isn't exactly earth shattering.

[PSToolman]

Work 40 hours a week and object to having to work that many hours.
Drink.
Smoke.
Party.
Have more kids and at a younger age.
Complain they have no money.

Sell everything they own for startup capital.
Don't drink.
Don't smoke.
Work 80+ hours a week, so they can't party.
Have less kids and at an older age.
Reinvest every spare $ they have.

The first group complains that the second group is the reason for them having no money...........

The generalizations are weak in this one. Absurd even. Who in the Forbes 400 list fit the first description? What percentage of the remaining Americans fit the second?

It's not even the wealth disparity that bothers me the most. It's the fact that our reps in congress and the White House, and increasingly the Supreme Court, work harder for the first group than the second.

[Retoaded]

So what you are saying is that the middle class should all go move to a 3rd world chithole so their money can be worth more there.

Got it.

Not really what I am saying.

I am talking about the BMW-driving daddy's boy communists on the internet who live in relative luxury and reap the benefits of the rest of the world's slave labor while poking their chest out about how they believe in equality.

I agree with you that the middle class gets fukked every time, 60% of the time in the US. Agree completely. Legislation is targeted at the 1% with the money or the bottom 50% with the votes. The middle gets fukked every time. I do think the top 1-5% should pay more in income taxes and the middle class less. Taxes should be based on wealth accumulation and not income. etc, etc, etc...

[Ikeman83]

The US has a gross GDP of 17.95 trillion (17,950 billion) and 5% (900b) is owned by the 32 richest recognized Americans (Forbes rich list).

I am all for wealth and I am happy for these people, being the believer in true capitalism I am, however when you take a step back and look at it from that removed perspective it's mesmerizing. If you look at the poorest people in the country (working up from people who have a net worth of 1 cent), the flipside of this 5% would be composed of the net worths of tens of millions of people.

Its the same story in Australia (and most free market economies I'm guessing) wherein the top 5% of the 1.34trn GDP (67bn) is held (through business enterprises and personal wealth) by the country's 13 richest people.

So, you don't understand the difference between wealth and income.

Wealth is the sum total of all of your accumulated assets. Income is the total amount of new money you generate in a given year. (For tax purposes this gets more specific, but for this discussion the explanation is adequate).

What you're pointing out is that 32 people have as much total accumulated wealth as everyone in the country generated in income last year divided by 20. The NET WORTH of the United States of America is over 120 Trillion Dollars (~270 tn dollars in assets - ~150 tn dollars in debts) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financ..._United_States

Please learn economics before you start talking about wealth inequality.

[L0rdHumongous]

The super rich are the engines of the world's economy. They build things, create businesses, and employ lots of those not smart enough or too lazy to work for themselves. I once saw a news show with a Bernie supporter who said "What's better one man with a billion or give 1,000 people $1mm?" The entire panel agreed with this goon. The billionaire would build hotels, expand factories, create new businesses, etc. The vast majority would just blow the million, never pay taxes on it, and be broke in 4 years and back to crying about the income inequality. Suck it up and realize we all are not created equal and some are just that much better at making money, and lots of us benefit from that skill.

[Dave22reborn]

I don't know too much about that stuff, all I know is a lot of rich people didn't really earn it, especially people who just inherited it from someone else

Maybe instead of an inheritance tax there should be an inheritance cap instead, sounds like it would be more fair (again, not a commie socialist lol)

You don't plan on leaving your children anything?

[DuracellBunny]

Anybody who earns more than the average income and who isn't proposing that they themselves take a pay cut or pay more tax should STFU.

If this was about wealth equality, you would happily pay more tax and take a lower salary. This isn't about wealth equality, this is about taking money off a group that you don't like.

[midcoastking33]

this always rustles the future millionaires of the misc

[UTSoccerbro]

This entire stupid debate boils down to whether you want equality of opportunity vs equality of outcome.

If you complain about wealth gap, you want equality of outcome, and operating towards that is highly inefficient and will wreck an economy.

Good luck with your Venezuela goals of 2k17

[Aesthetical]

Not really what I am saying.

I am talking about the BMW-driving daddy's boy communists on the internet who live in relative luxury and reap the benefits of the rest of the world's slave labor while poking their chest out about how they believe in equality.

I agree with you that the middle class gets fukked every time, 60% of the time in the US. Agree completely. Legislation is targeted at the 1% with the money or the bottom 50% with the votes. The middle gets fukked every time. I do think the top 1-5% should pay more in income taxes and the middle class less. Taxes should be based on wealth accumulation and not income. etc, etc, etc...

Agreed. For me personally a flat tax is the way to go as long as we get control of deductions and loopholes.

Higher taxes on the middle class and small business hurt the economy more than higher taxes on the wealthy.

15-25% of somebody's income making $40-50k/year hurts a hell of a lot more than somebody making $1.5-2m/year.

[Nihiliste]

There's a lot more of us. I say we take their money

The world will always reorganize itself back to the same point, with a handful of people controlling the wealth and power.

[Stizzel]

The US has a gross GDP of 17.95 trillion (17,950 billion) and 5% (900b) is owned by the 32 richest recognized Americans (Forbes rich list).

I am all for wealth and I am happy for these people, being the believer in true capitalism I am, however when you take a step back and look at it from that removed perspective it's mesmerizing. If you look at the poorest people in the country (working up from people who have a net worth of 1 cent), the flipside of this 5% would be composed of the net worths of tens of millions of people.

Its the same story in Australia (and most free market economies I'm guessing) wherein the top 5% of the 1.34trn GDP (67bn) is held (through business enterprises and personal wealth) by the country's 13 richest people.

You're a believer in true capitalism and you think the united states is an example of that?

Are you drunk?

[Retoaded]

Agreed. For me personally a flat tax is the way to go as long as we get control of deductions and loopholes.

Higher taxes on the middle class and small business hurt the economy more than higher taxes on the wealthy.

15-25% of somebody's income making $40-50k/year hurts a hell of a lot more than somebody making $1.5-2m/year.

flat tax or preferably a consumption tax would be better but that will never happen.

in general for individuals they have to find a way to tax wealth accumulation i.e. bracket the capital gains tax more like the income tax. in general for corporations they need to capture offshore dollars, cut loopholes and lower the overall rate.

But even what Bannon is talking about for Trump's plan would be super. Bumping up a few percent for over like $475,000 to pay for a few percent cut in the middle brackets, cut corporate rate. I'd do cartwheels.

[jdo1]

idk why people are always worried about another man's pocket. Shouldnt you worry about yourself and how to come up like them?

[TDKSparda]

idk why people are always worried about another man's pocket. Shouldnt you worry about yourself and how to come up like them?

Because it's more or less impossible to come up like them. Or anywhere near them.

I started from the very bottom and did everything right, but lmao if you think i'm cracking millionaire status ever.

[Reliance012]

Wealth isn't zero-sum. It really doesn't matter what percent of net worth is owned by whom and how many. In other words, they're not stealing your money by being uber-rich.

Be careful how much you demonize those rich billionaires. Without their tax money, say goodbye to the majority of all state and federal luxuries.

[LFAesthetics]

The generalizations are weak in this one. Absurd even. Who in the Forbes 400 list fit the first description? What percentage of the remaining Americans fit the second?

It's not even the wealth disparity that bothers me the most. It's the fact that our reps in congress and the White House, and increasingly the Supreme Court, work harder for the first group than the second.

I can agree with your second point - a lot of our own problems have come from our representatives having vested interests in the corporate elites over anything else. Really even being a congressman nets you like 175k a year, for all intents and purposes they are in the 1%, especially if you consider they usually have a spouse. Now household income is probably more like 300k a year.

You can't elect people for a job placating their constituents when doing the exact opposite provides them a sweeter deal. it may be cynical, but I really think that very few in politics are in it for altruistic reasons, and if they started off like that, chances are the lobbyists will get to them eventually. There is far too much wealth in politics right now, its not much better than the ages of trust and monopolies when they outright purchased votes from the proles.

[SillieBazzillie]

The super rich are the engines of the world's economy. They build things, create businesses, and employ lots of those not smart enough or too lazy to work for themselves. I once saw a news show with a Bernie supporter who said "What's better one man with a billion or give 1,000 people $1mm?" The entire panel agreed with this goon. The billionaire would build hotels, expand factories, create new businesses, etc. The vast majority would just blow the million, never pay taxes on it, and be broke in 4 years and back to crying about the income inequality. Suck it up and realize we all are not created equal and some are just that much better at making money, and lots of us benefit from that skill.

Perhaps the wrongest post in the history of this board. Please ban yourself before you spread your stupidity any further.

[UTSoccerbro]

Because it's more or less impossible to come up like them. Or anywhere near them.

I started from the very bottom and did everything right, but lmao if you think i'm cracking millionaire status ever.

lmao then you didn't do everything right.

[BeefyMcNasty]

The super rich are the engines of the world's economy. They build things, create businesses, and employ lots of those not smart enough or too lazy to work for themselves. I once saw a news show with a Bernie supporter who said "What's better one man with a billion or give 1,000 people $1mm?" The entire panel agreed with this goon. The billionaire would build hotels, expand factories, create new businesses, etc. The vast majority would just blow the million, never pay taxes on it, and be broke in 4 years and back to crying about the income inequality. Suck it up and realize we all are not created equal and some are just that much better at making money, and lots of us benefit from that skill.

Perhaps the wrongest post in the history of this board. Please ban yourself before you spread your stupidity any further.

If SillieCommie doesn't like it, then it's probably spot on.

[Reliance012]

Because it's more or less impossible to come up like them. Or anywhere near them.

I started from the very bottom and did everything right, but lmao if you think i'm cracking millionaire status ever.

If your end goal was purely financial, you certainly did not do "everything right." You're an engineer for crying out loud.

[Austanian]

Wealth does not equal income retard

You are counting the yearly income of the US vs the total attained assets of the richest.

For the people that don't understand GDP does not measure US net worth.

[solidus2k3]

in b4 ceo miscers

[LDARboyo]

Anybody who earns more than the average income and who isn't proposing that they themselves take a pay cut or pay more tax should STFU.

If this was about wealth equality, you would happily pay more tax and take a lower salary. This isn't about wealth equality, this is about taking money off a group that you don't like.

Negged for being an idiot. There's a MASSIVE difference between earning $60k and $60Million lmao you dumb mofo. Middle class shouldn't be taxed more... people with net worth of $60 million should be.

[PaddleBunt]

Perhaps the wrongest post in the history of this board. Please ban yourself before you spread your stupidity any further.

Although his post is a little hyperbolic his underlying point isn't incorrect. The majority of the wealthy prop up the economy by investing in or owning bussinesses that generate jobs

[Nocturnal310]

haters gonna hate. billionaires gonna billionaire.



get rich or cry tryin

[jdo1]

Because it's more or less impossible to come up like them. Or anywhere near them.

I started from the very bottom and did everything right, but lmao if you think i'm cracking millionaire status ever.

Takes money to make money, what risk are you putting up to get to the millionaire status? You think all that money came to them by doing nothing?

[soaponarope1]

OP if you want to solve wealth inequality, simply get everyone in the US to stop buying anything from any major company.

How do you think these people got so rich? They provided something that other people are willing to give them money for.

[TDKSparda]

If your end goal was purely financial, you certainly did not do "everything right." You're an engineer for crying out loud.

Then what would I have done? The only other high paying job in this country is high finance and there's no way to break into it without doing a post graduate that would cost me £30k upfront or having a strong network (which people from poor backgrounds do not have).

Social mobility is a myth.

[daxtrader]

Even bums have iphones in america. It's the quality of life and accessibility that matters. "Wealth inequality" doesn't matter. Nobody starves in america. We still have 99 cent arizona iced teas and dollar menus at every fast food chain.

Usually when idiot millennials compare wealth, they compare their own lives and financial situation with those that are 50 years older than them. They fail to realize that these people have amassed that wealth over a long period of time. You can thank their idiot hero Bernie for this poisonous mentality.

Whether you're a billionaire or a bum, you still use an iphone. Think about that for a fuking minute.