Forum Post: Are all of the one percent bad?
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 16, 2011, 11:28 p.m. EST by ggard1974
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Has anyone considered there may be allies amoungst the wealthy? Bill gates for example, (and i know there are tons of people who would bash him for whatever reason, but reguardless of what you may feel about individual topics srrounding him), he is a wealthy man who has given over 28 billion dollars to the 99%, He has voiced concerns about the incredable gap amoungst rich and poor, and even backed stock and dividend taxes to help close that gap. I am not suggesting nominating the man for sainthood, but imply proposing that there are those people out there with incredable resources who may be of a simular enough mind, to assist in making real change happen. To close our minds because of a generalization and create an enemy out of potential allies couldbe a mistake.
Most of the mega rich are giving waaaay back anyway.
It isn't about the 1% being bad people or something. It is about the system being corrupted so badly that all the money gets dumped into the pockets of only 1% of the people.
But how much money does the government end up paying the 99 percent compared to 1 percent? Most money gets spent on the 99%. And quite of few of the 1% worked their asses off to be where they are, so why not have them keep their ass loads of money?
Two flawed assumptions in your statement IMO. First, people in the 1% benefit far more from society by definition than people in the 99%. For example, you may benefit from your own education, but your employer benefits from your education, and the education of all your co-workers. Government efforts to keep a larger portion of the population from falling into poverty mean creating consumers for the businesses. The stimulus spending did relatively little for the average guy- maybe they got a job a week earlier than they would have otherwise average or something, whereas for example, the massive stock market boost caused by the stimulus resulted in Bill Gates' portfolio gaining billions of dollars in value. So, it makes sense that people who benefit more from our society should be chipping in more to keep it strong.
Second, in my view personally, people who made their income by working aren't really the problem. It's people who make their money without working for it- investors- that are drawing too much out of the economy without contributing. A doctor who makes $500k/year for example is contributing a valueable service, but an investor who just calls up his fund manager once a month to find out how much more money he has now than last month doesn't really have that going for him. It isn't that I think investors should make no money or something, but whatever money an investor makes comes out of your pockets, so we need to be watchful for rules and practices that favor them over others. Profits for investors trade off with prices consumers pay and wages employees draw. IMO the notion that the game is rigged to favor the rich over the middle class is a less precise description than to say that the game is rigged to favor investors over consumers and workers. Those two claims often overlap, but not always.
They probably aren't the caliber of Bill Gates but, look at these people.
http://wealthforcommongood.org/
I don't get it... I found this post at -6. Why would anybody dislike this post?
Definitely not all.
Likely, many don't really 'think' about the tragic (seemingly obvious) consequences, leading inexorably to a world not worth living in for all. They act and say what is expected for their social circle, without ever questioning a thing. That's how most people go through life.
Do you really think the wealthy are so different? They're just people, ones with a great deal of money and right sort of so-called friends.
To emphasize the 1% over Obama and congress and the senate makes absolutely no sense to me. Capitalism isn't the problem, becoming rich is not the problem. Tax loop holes are a problem. Ignoring what Obama has done to this country in 3 three short years is a huge problem. Voting to bailout Wall Street is a problem. Dodd-Frank is a problem. Congress & the Senate (Dems & GOP) is the problem. If Obama is re-elected, watch what happens on the stock market on Wednesday, November 7, 2012. I think it will tank due to low confidence and the effects of Obamacare & Dodd-Frank and try getting a job if that happens. The 1% doesn't exist because of the 1%, it exists because corruption and money in our political process.
11 Reasons Why Occupy Wall Street Protesters Are Hypocrites If They Do Not Call For Barack Obama To Resign http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/11-reasons-why-occupy-wall-street-protesters-are-hypocrites-if-they-do-not-call-for-barack-obama-to-resign
and while your at it,
Securities & Investment: Money to Congress http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=F07&cycle=All&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U
Executive Branch - POLITICS Solyndra Case Reveals Gateway Between Administration Loans, Obama Allies Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/16/solyndra-case-reveals-gateway-between-administration-loans-obama-allies/#ixzz1dvsWW3jy
Obama administration pressured Solyndra to delay layoffs for political gain
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2807883/posts
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Bill Rocks
Short answer: Yes!.
Long answer: I´m just as disgusted by Bill Gates´ pretended philantrophy as i am by warmongerers Tony Blair and George W. Bush´s "faith" in Christianity.
Agreed. Most people don't know the real Gates, just the Gates they see on the cover of Time magazine. Gates is a phony of the highest caliber. And that's his good point.
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The 1% are definitely not all bad and Bill Gates is a great example. Gates and Warren Buffett obtained $125 billion from 40 families and individuals on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans in July 2010.
Well, didn't Warren Buffet ask the government to raise his taxes?
No, I don't think that being a millionaire or billionaire automatically makes you bad. There were certainly good Kings and bad Kings in medieval Europe.
However, being in the 1% puts you in a class where you are above the law and can dictate government policy. There needs to be a way to hold these people accountable. Also, they need to start paying their fair share of income tax. There needs to be a lot less discrepancy between the rich and the poor. It has never been as bad as it is now, in all of history.
Correct. Buffet asked government to raise taxes for himself and for those earning more than 1 million, which is a good point to start, in my opinion. No one should be able to evade taxes, but I also think that the government needs to be held more accountable with how they spend tax money, particular when wasting trillions of dollars on wars.
Yes, I agree. There's also the 1% of the 1% that make their money directly from wars, selling weapons and munitions to the US government which are directly paid with your tax dollars. Tell me these people aren't happy to make war, or influence government policy to ensure that the US is in a state of constant war.
Agreed. And I'm not saying the military isn't necessary or that it doesn't provide jobs, but I hear "trillions of dollars" for a war that didn't truly wipe out terrorism, and I can't help but think about all the ways that could have been used to strengthen our country and economy.
Warren Buffet is a two-face.
"We've noted that Berkshire's 13-F filings for the first and second quarters said that some holdings were being kept confidential, and it appears this is the buying spree Buffett was keeping under wraps. (He doesn't want copycat buyers to drive up the price of a stock he's actively acquiring.)"
Buffet is using his tight relations with Obama to illegally hide the disclosure of his company's trades. He's all talk, all BS.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1114/Warren-Buffett-snags-5-percent-of-IBM-stock
Sure, we have. There are 35 millionaires who have signed a letter demanding higher taxes for the wealthy. I am sure there are more. We haven't all coosed our minds. BUT, there is no question that the bad ones with the money are the ones causing the problem. Are there bad guys in the 99%? Sure, but they don't have weapons of mass economic destruction.
I think we can remember the 1%ers that are with us.
There are no good or bad people. Just good and bad states of affairs. The existence of the 1% is an inherently morally bad state of affairs.
You say you want a revoulution, well you know, we all want to change the world. Would we not have a top 1% in any case? Even if you threw the top earners out of the numbers. Would the next teir then become the target? How can you identify a small group of people as the problem and give every body else someone to blame? Did we (except the meek) contribute to the corruption of the system by comprimising our own values in trade for material security?
The state of affairs where 80% or more of the power (financial, social, and political) rests in the hands of .01% of the population, is an inherently, objectively, morally bad state of affairs.
Or do you disagree?
I agree with you. That's not a democracy, it's a Plutocracy.