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Started By
Message
CNN: The US would be better off with fewer billionaires
Posted on 2/25/20 at 6:55 am
Posted on 2/25/20 at 6:55 am
LINK
Somebody has jealousy issues. And I can guarantee the author, Chuck Collins, with whatever income he makes, looks to find ways to lower his taxes.
quote:
When folks say that billionaires shouldn't exist, it's nothing personal. Some billionaires are nice enough. Some spend generously on philanthropy.
That all sounds great. But we don't need more do-gooder billionaires that give to charity — we need fewer billionaires.
quote:
As the concentration of wealth in our country accelerates, an increasingly small sliver of the population enjoys an increasingly large say over how wealth and power are distributed. And make no mistake: Wealth is concentrating.
My colleagues and I found that, in 1990, the total wealth of all US billionaires was $118 billion in today's dollars. Last year, we found, it grew to over $3 trillion.
quote:
Just three of today's billionaires — Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — now own as much wealth as the bottom half of all US households combined. When you count the whole Forbes 400, that figure rises to nearly two-thirds of our households combined.
Does this rising tide lift all boats? Hardly. While billionaire fortunes balloon, about a fifth of Americans have zero or negative net worth. And nearly two-fifths of us don't have the cash on hand to cover a $400 emergency, according to the Federal Reserve.
quote:
Part of the reason is that many billionaires invest their fortunes in a way that only expands their own wealth and power — like backing politicians who cut their taxes and block investments in programs that many Americans rely on, such as early childhood education, low-cost college or safety net programs. It also involves buying access to a complex array of financial tools to drastically reduce their tax liability. This leaves far fewer resources to support programs that help ordinary people.
quote:
In their book Billionaires and Stealth Politics, political scientists Benjamin Page, Jason Seawright and Matthew Lacombe found that billionaires favor cutting their own taxes and reducing social safety net benefits — and their political contributions, whether they go to Democrats or Republicans, reflect these preferences. With their money driving a huge share of political spending, it's no surprise our social safety net is fraying — and, after the billionaire-backed GOP tax cuts, working-class Americans now pay higher tax rates than billionaires.
quote:
For instance, multimillionaires and billionaires support an entire "wealth defense industry" of professionals — tax lawyers, accountants, wealth managers — that help hide their fortunes in offshore tax havens and dynasty trusts. With billions of otherwise taxable dollars stashed overseas, middle and working-class taxpayers who don't have access to these mechanisms are left covering a larger share of the US tax burden.
Other billionaires may secure huge tax write-offs for charitable donations.
We may be impressed when Michael Bloomberg gives $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University, or Jeff Bezos announces a $10 billion gift to address climate change. But for non-billionaire taxpayers, that means more lost tax revenue to cover.
Somebody has jealousy issues. And I can guarantee the author, Chuck Collins, with whatever income he makes, looks to find ways to lower his taxes.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 6:56 am to East Coast Band
And the shift towards Bernie begins.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:04 am to East Coast Band
If we appropriated the wealth of the top 15 billionaires in the country, it would amount to 486.5 billion dollars.
That is roughly 10% of the entire federal budget for 2020.
That is roughly 10% of the entire federal budget for 2020.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:05 am to jdd48
quote:
And the shift towards Bernie begins.
This should really bother everyone.
The propaganda machine is about to go full on socialist communist and that has never ever been a good thing at any point in human history.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:05 am to East Coast Band
I think this country would be better off with at least one more billionaire.
In Harahan, that's called "move out of Harahan" money.
In Harahan, that's called "move out of Harahan" money.
This post was edited on 2/25/20 at 7:07 am
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:06 am to East Coast Band
Nothing says America like wanting to squash success and wealth.
Truth be known, THEY ARE the enemy of this country in their words and their deeds.
Truth be known, THEY ARE the enemy of this country in their words and their deeds.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:09 am to jdd48
quote:
And the shift towards Bernie begins.
I was wondering when CNN would start to support Bernie. After Biden fell apart in Iowa and NH, they shifted to Bloomberg, then we all saw Bloomberg embarrass himself at the debate.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:10 am to jdd48
quote:That wonderful candidate who praised Cuba and Castro...then doubled down on his Cuba praise and added some praise for China.
Bernie
He is insane.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:10 am to East Coast Band
quote:
My colleagues and I found that, in 1990, the total wealth of all US billionaires was $118 billion in today's dollars. Last year, we found, it grew to over $3 trillion.
quote:
Does this rising tide lift all boats? Hardly. While billionaire fortunes balloon, about a fifth of Americans have zero or negative net worth.
So, did a fifth of Americans have "zero or negative net worth" before 1990? Because that seems to be your implication, that billionaires are "hoarding" all the money...
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:11 am to East Coast Band
quote:
And nearly two-fifths of us don't have the cash on hand to cover a $400 emergency, according to the Federal Reserve.
Sounds like a personal problem and poor planning.
I’d bet they all have smart phones with an extra 30/mo data plans and cable TV though.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:11 am to East Coast Band
I’m not killing myself fighting these idiots. If the US goes full on USSR to the point where it’s Great Depression level poverty, I’ll legit move out of the country. Jealousy of people in my generation has killed this country. I have enough from savings and my military retirement to live like a king in the Philippines or parts of Europe.
ETA: On the other hand, there’s lots of blame to go to the wealthiest of our society. There’s no denying that the greedy assholes have bought and paid for American politicians, think tanks, and super pacs in order to shape American policy to their benefit. In fairness to the idiots pushing for Bernie, many of them have been pushed to the edge. Mortgages, Daycare prices, medical prices, college tuition, and much more have all skyrocketed in the past 20 years. It’s outpaced inflation tremendously. Those of us on the right have allowed ourselves to be used as pawns too. We’re good at recognizing that blacks have largely become a pawn for the Democrats, but us on the right never call out how much the religious zealots are used as a pawn for the Republicans. Burn the whole thing down. It’s broken. Start over.
ETA: On the other hand, there’s lots of blame to go to the wealthiest of our society. There’s no denying that the greedy assholes have bought and paid for American politicians, think tanks, and super pacs in order to shape American policy to their benefit. In fairness to the idiots pushing for Bernie, many of them have been pushed to the edge. Mortgages, Daycare prices, medical prices, college tuition, and much more have all skyrocketed in the past 20 years. It’s outpaced inflation tremendously. Those of us on the right have allowed ourselves to be used as pawns too. We’re good at recognizing that blacks have largely become a pawn for the Democrats, but us on the right never call out how much the religious zealots are used as a pawn for the Republicans. Burn the whole thing down. It’s broken. Start over.
This post was edited on 2/25/20 at 7:22 am
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:13 am to East Coast Band
They kind of have a point. Money and material possessions is not the end all be all of a successful society. Case in point; The OT Lounge. It’s a pretty dysfunctional and cruel place and it is made up of mostly billionaires with every conceivable luxury that people could have.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:13 am to Scruffy
quote:
That wonderful candidate who praised Cuba and Castro...then doubled down on his Cuba praise and added some praise for China.
He is insane
Trump vs. Bernie is an ideological battle that this country needs. Lets just get it over with.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:16 am to East Coast Band
I have a negative net worth due to student and car loans as well as credit card debt. But do you want to know something? Even though I make all of my payments on time, I am still living more comfortably than many medieval kings did. This is true for much of middle class America. Even our poor live better than most of the rest of the world.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:18 am to East Coast Band
Funny there is no mention of George Soros as a billionaire power broker.
And not one mention of conservative philanthropy
And not one mention of conservative philanthropy
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:18 am to East Coast Band
Here come the billionaire bootlickers...
No, Bezos won't frick your wife.
No, Bezos won't frick your wife.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:19 am to East Coast Band
quote:
While billionaire fortunes balloon, about a fifth of Americans have zero or negative net worth. And nearly two-fifths of us don't have the cash on hand to cover a $400 emergency, according to the Federal Reserve.
No amount of taxes will make 40% of Americans smart with their money.
Posted on 2/25/20 at 7:20 am to HempHead
quote:
If we appropriated the wealth of the top 15 billionaires in the country, it would amount to 486.5 billion dollars.
And if we redistribute all these 15 billionaires wealth, it would amount to about $1300 in each persons pocket,,,,,Hadley enough to change someone’s life for more than a couple months.
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