Billionaires are a different subject. I don’t think it’s apples to apples.Indy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 1:48 pmThat is nonsense. You think the majority of billionaires are billionaires by their own accord? And that the majority of people living near the poverty line are there because they chose to be or they are just 'bad with money'?specialsauce wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:50 pmSounds like a lot of woe-is-me.virtual9mm wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:32 amRegarding the Zumwalt, Ray Mabus thought that the Zumwalt class would be a capital ship when he was SecNavy. So, he named the second ship of the class after a President, just like a carrier (i.e., a capital ship), which is something he verified in person a long, long time ago when I was a different kind of person, someone who had conversations with these kinds of folks. This has turned out to be something of a sick joke, unfortunately.
Regarding defense spending, it's a necessary evil -- or do you really want Beijing to be telling you how to live your life, and enjoy a patriotic education glorifying Mao and Xi? To me, the military is like the police -- you really can't live without it. That being said, you don't need to bend over backwards for the military-industrial complex all the time, the US should be BUYING weapons systems from overseas manufacturers if you'll save 2/3rds of the cost. At least it will limit the avarice and rent-seeking of the domestic monopolies.
Regarding progressive income taxes -- beyond what I've written above -- it's hard not to say that the wealthy and well-to-do have benefited more from a stable society than the less well-off. Shouldn't you pay for what you get? Who has more to lose if the government collapses, at least in dollar terms? It should be that the billionaires pay the most by far, the well-to-do pay their fair share, and the poor pay little if anything at all.
Speaking along these lines, if we didn't have such massive economic inequality, we also probably wouldn't have the madness that is MAGA-land. An old colleague explained to me once that MAGA was originally triggered by the bankers getting off scot-free after the 2008 recession, when they lost gambles they made with public money. If we had fewer folks that were having such a rough time and also, fewer folks who are living in mansions and have multiple yachts, we'd have far less polarization. Perfect examples of countries that very much look like the US except for having less inequality and less crazy politics are Canada and Australia. If I were super-wealthy, having a stable society would be worth a great deal of money. Yet, the folks I know who live in mansions don't seem to think this way -- they think that their taxes are too high.
I'm not beating up on you, Saucy, since you're carrying huge amounts of student debt.
A majority of people are in the position they are because of their own decisions. It’s not a good or bad thing, as money is not the only thing that matters in this world. But IMO it’s not my problem if cost of living is more of a problem for someone making 100k than 500k. You chose that life. Disability, kids in the system, mental health/substance abuse aid aside (I am all for funneling all of our money to those impacted by these), if you just chose to take on a career that you did, you live with the consequences just like I do, I don’t complain that I work weekends, nights, most holidays and could be sued for every penny that is to my family’s name at a moments notice because of an honest mistake. Does your job put you at risk for that? If you mess up a project or gloss over the detail and leave something out will you potentially lose your entire worth?
Circumstances are different, and yet we are all citizens in the same country with the same government. They should not play favorites.
And no, spending $22B on a ship is bullshit. No way to spin it.
And by the same token, the reason you have 500k in student debt is because you chose to. Most people in this country are not allowed to take out 500k for medical school.
Most people living at the poverty line are a different story as well, usually involving parental issues, drugs, mental health. I believe in taking care of them.
I’m talking about the group in between. People making 6 figures annually. Usually it is not life circumstances that separates them, it is choice.
I chose to do my profession. My friends chose to go into business.
I agree that I chose to have that debt. Therefore I should be responsible for it. So should the person that took the debt out making $100k. Nothing separates us except our choices.
We should not be treated differently.
