smudgey said:
AgentBJ09 said:
Karl Marx argued that an economic minority, the rich, can dominate the working class. So far, that's not true. In fact, the rich pay the most for their wealth. So ten percent may own the most money in America, but those same people provide %70 of the total tax revenues. The Middle class, the %60 in the middle, pay the remainder of the taxes. The impoverished, the lowest %30, pay nothing, and they also receive the majority of government aid that is funded by taxpayer money.
So, given that, why would Obama want more money from the rich and the middle class for the poor when there's no reason to do so? The answer is because those people who have nothing often believe that some one should provide for them, whether they deserve it or not.
Have you ever thought that those who have nothing might actually be hard working people who are getting screwed over by the companies they work for? Take hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger for example. The guy who landed a plane on the Hudson. He spoke in front of congress about how his pay had been cut 40% and his pension, like other airline pensions, was terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.
Shouldn't someone as highly skilled as an airline pilot be getting a good pay?
And what about all the people working in your supermarkets, waiting your table at the restaurant and collecting your garbage? They all do jobs that are demanded by today's society. Someone HAS to do those jobs. Yet the people that do, get paid next to nothing for it.
And it's not like everyone can go be a doctor, lawyer or junior executive. There are only so many college/university places available, only so many scholarships and then only so many open positions. During the GFC, for example, there were thousands of people lining up for jobs to flip burgers, many of them overqualified.
AgentBJ09 said:
The problem is if you punish those who have to provide for those who do not have, you get a class of people who refuse to work and live off the government and the working class. Then, when people see that their work is being punished, what reason would they have to keep their businesses large and profitable? They would choose to shrink their businesses to escape the taxes and in the process, Capitalism dies. That leads into Communism.
Absolute rubbish. You really think people WANT to live on handouts and the minimum wage? Between 1933 to 1985, the highest tax rate in the USA did not drop below 50%. It even went to well over 80%. But did that stop people from wanting to be wealthy? Wanting to be successful? Of course not!
AgentBJ09 said:
Is that good? Hell no. Capitalism is part of our culture, as well as nearly every other successful nation out there. It's the reason sites like The Escapist even exist
....So internet sites aren't created in Socialist or Communists countries then?
Ok. Let's go down the line here.
1. I have two jobs right now, one in a grocery store, and I'm about to graduate with a Bachelors in Business Management. I don't expect to be compensated more for my college experience, but I am paid more because I've done cashiering for five years, four of which at the same company.
Also, pilots, right now, are paid around $30,000 for their first year. Is that low? Not really. As a Flight Officer, or first year pilot, they're not
flying the plane, but helping keep it on course and safe. The Captain flys the plane, and they get a larger salary.
2. Trust me, I've seen it. Not all of the impoverished do it, but a good number of them do in some fashion. In fact, I've seen several regulars at my grocery store who buy 100 dollars or more on food stamps every time they come in, and families who split up and buy the exact same things with coupons for each item. It's not just living off welfare or government aid that's the issue, it's those people taking advantage the system.
Actually, I just noticed a misquote I made here. I meant to say
small businesses die as a result of higher taxes and greater regulations, not Capitalism. Still, since small businesses create the majority of the Capitalist work force in America, it's the same both ways.
3. You missed the point. In which Communist or Socialist nations are websites
like this one created and maintained? Do any of these nations create websites where people can communicate like us on the Escapist? Now, in fairness, China has some websites that make people money. The problem is that they usually do so though selling knock-offs that are harmful, or by fraud, unless you're willing to give the gold farmers a pass.
I can draw on experience from this because I bought two DS games I thought were good from an eBay seller, only to find out later that they were pirated and the seller was actually based in China instead of Australia.
Still, Obama cannot be classified one way. From what he, and his people, have done, he can be called a Maoist, a Communist, and a Socialist.
Nice points, though.
