Forum Post: Americans are the 1%
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 9, 2011, 7:01 p.m. EST by acuity
(8)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
One of my friends mentioned this to me and I kind of wanted to hear other peoples opinions on it.
If you make $50,000 a year then you have a higher annual income than approximately 99% of the world population.
Individual per capita income in the United States is about $23,000 which still means that the average American enjoys a higher state of welfare than nearly 90% of the world. (Median household income in the U.S. is approximately $45,000)
What do you think about this?
Good for us. I'm sure disenfranchised people around the world have been waiting for Americans to end the Economic tyranny from within.
Your comments really do make me appreciate how silly the rich and the ultra rich sound; particularly when they complain about growing the middle class and creating the conditions that would allow the World to move to the United States and to live at a much higher standard of living. Imagine that the rich are worried about paying taxes and there are people starving in the street around the World!!!! Wow!!! Can you imagine there are Americans with more wealth than millions of Americans put together and it is not enough!!!! Wow!!!! It makes me appreciate how modest the American middle class is, considering the wealth that is around them. I mean four hundred Americans have as much wealth as half the US population and the ultra rich cry about paying more in taxes.
Because the undeveloped world is exploited to the point of absolute poverty by the international Corporations has everything to do with OWS fight against Wall Street/Big Banks. They would have us be fat dumb and happy because other people are worst off. You conclusions are false.
Wall Street is not the cause, it is a SYMPTOM!
JOIN THE REVOLUTION Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( www.revolution2.osixs.org )
FIGHT THE CAUSE - NOT THE SYMPTOM We don’t have to live like this. "Spread the News"
Does this mean we should let ourselves be pulled down to the lowest common denominator of standard of living in the world, lest we be considered "entitled complainers"?
Or should we first work to restore & maintain our place as a First World country, full of opportunity, with a high standard of living -- and then do as much as we can to help others outside of this country who need it?
Some of the 1%ers may say the same thing.
"I worked hard for what I have. Why should I be dragged down to the level of those that haven't risked or sacrificed as much as me? Once my standard of living is restored, I'll be happy to help those that are less fortunate".
If the "1%ers" are in distress, I expect them to get themselves out of distress first, before they help others.
But the fact is, they aren't in distress. The symbolism of the 1% is such that "1%" represents people who are doing well.
By definition. 1% stands for those who own the bulk of the world's resources.
So the situation of the 1% not contributing to America as much as they should is not analogous.
The situation as I see it is that America is in distress. We have a huge deficit, we are in so many wars around the globe that I've lost count, we have outsourced the bulk of our jobs. Etc.
We have a social safety net that some want to do away with. If that's done away with, the situations of vulnerable people like children, elderly, disabled will become comparable to poor in other nations.
I understand your point and, to some degree, I agree with you. However, "distress" is a matter of perspective. Ask 1 million Haitians if they would trade places with a homeless, jobless American. All would say "yes".
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Warren Buffet did NOT say his secretary pays more taxes than he does. He said his "tax rate" is lower than hers is. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2011/sep/21/does-secretary-pay-higher-taxes-millionaire/
He's also behind on his corporate taxes all the way back to 2002- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/warren-buffett-taxes-berkshire-hathaway_n_941099.html
are you saying we should try to live poorly to even it out? or are you saying that the idea of making a better life is bad?
I made way less than $23,000 this year. Who are these people, where are they getting the money?!?!
Shows we're on top of the food chain on this planet
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They should raise taxes on everybody that makes $60,000.00 a year. They should be paying 50 to 90% of their salary in income taxes. We need this money to provide for the poor and less fortunate among us. Medical care and college should be free. We also need to support the artists and free thinkers among us. Rent should be subsidized.
Been saying that all along. Americans don't have a fucking clue about real suffering. And they keep saying that tired thing, "The whole world is watching' when 1.6 BILLION people on this planet live without electricity. it's a farce.
In this instance, the 1% isn't a mindset, it's a fact. A statistic. And yes, even "poor" Americans are richer than 90% of the rest of the world. And yes, they will bitch about it anyway.
The OWS movement is not about the rest of world it's about AMERICA. Pull your head out of your ass and understand this. No shit we have it better off than the rest of the world. But we need to clean up house first before we can start worrying about everyone else's problems. We are building a foundation for the rest of the world to build upon.
Really? Just America? Then what's the brouhaha about it being world wide? Americans are spoiled brats. Do you realize how ridiculous it sounds to people who have nothing hearing Americans big problem moving their money to credit unions? Boohoo. Gotta move your money. This is a joke.
And you suggest we keep things the way they are in America? You've got to be retarded...
It would be retarded to think that there are only TWO choices-leaving things the way they are OR reinventing the wheel.
Why re-invent the wheel when we can build a hovercraft?
No one has ever built a hovercraft before. How do you know it is even possible?
Does the hovercraft affect the environment negatively? Is it safer to travel in a hovercraft than using wheels? How will converting to hovercraft technology affect all the jobs in the road building industry? What do you do about people who have a fear of flying?
These are "serious" philosophical questions about your goal to build a hovercraft that people want to know the answers to before they allow you to destroy everything with wheels on it. That no one at OWS can even come close to answering them is making more and more people resist the movement.
Fine, you can stay in the stone-age and remain a neanderthal, but me...? I'm ready to evolve. Is everything going to work out perfectly on the very first try? hell no it's not. Is there a chance I might injure or kill myself in the process? of course there is. But I would sooner sacrifice myself for a better way of life than remain a slave to the current system.
I know plenty of people who'd be happy to set up the alter and torches and attend the festivities of your sacrifice. Just say the word.
word.
You're letting the naysayers bait you jimmy. It's easy to do though. Sometimes they get me too.
Would you like it catered with organic foods and vegetarian fare or would you prefer a more primitive menu?
do you have any grey poupon?
The only time I've ever been seasick was my first trip in a hovercraft. Please make it a pontoon boat. With good beer and a decent stereo system.
But seriously, it's good seeing people wake up. Hopefully they'll use that energy to become leaders in our system.
"Hopefully they'll use that energy to become leaders in our system."
That sentence is ironic to make me laugh...since they are so totally against corruption and bribery and the influence of the powerful-they can't become leaders that way. And the only other way takes a hell of a lot of hard work....which is something the majority of them are also against. A true paradox....?
Perhaps. But it just really seems to be a lot of young college kids who are just waking up to the world and finding their voices. Another few years and there may be some leaders to emerge. I simply don't like their tactics, which are growing more chaotic daily, and their naivety. I'm not against some of their ideas, such as getting money out of politics. I also think they are being manipulated from afar and are too dumb yet to realize it. They are also, for the most part, not really poor.
I agree completely. But like all of us at that age, they feel like they are smarter than everyone else, and the only thing that is going to change their minds is the hard-cold reality that time exposes. Those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it.
Another problem with young people is the need/expectation of instant gratification - they are so used to getting things quickly, as through technology, etc. They can't grasp that change is a slow process, careers and comfort don't happen overnight. I think the tent experiment will make that clear. But they also have a short attention span - that's when any leaders will be left standing. And maybe those will be the decent sorts, with public service their only agenda. Because really, true and honest public servants are what we need, no matter what pipe dreams these kids are having...
No, I've got three degrees to prove otherwise. I enjoying living- even on my meager salary. We don't have much, but it's enough for us. I disdain real suffering as in Somalia. My opinion is that there ARE problems in America, but nothing compared to other places in the world.