A bias against wealth?

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Kimmio said:
My bias against wealth, and people like the Gateses and billionaires generally, is why does anyone need billions in personal wealth? If he gave away all but what he needed to live a comfortable life - not extravagant but comfortable, not lacking in anything - his life wouldn't change. Who needs billions in the bank?
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I think you'll like this story about philanthropist Charles Feeney - https://www.pressreader.com
 
The link took me to a bunch of headlines and I couldn't see the story, Carolla. But I googled Charles "Chuck" Feeney - and, yes. That's a billionaire whom I can appreciate - almost Dickensian! Now, if Feeney could meet with Trump and teach him a few things - that would really be Dickensian!
 
 
I've known many wealthy people, myself. And I know what's happened to the distribution of wealth in this world. It is common, almost the rule, for the wealthy to hide their money from taxation. We have to pay for that - of often the loss of important services. The wealthy in the U.S. are now working hard at destroying government medicare. And when a bunch them went broke not long ago, the American people had to bail them out at a cost of over a trillion dollars. The directors of the companies that got bailed out used much of the bail out money to give themselves mutli-million dollar bonusses for their skill in milking the voters.
They work out trade deals that enable them for fire Canadians and americans so they can hire cheap labour in other countries.
And the figures say that most of the wealthy were born into wealth. Bush Jr. was born rich. His first (and only real) job was president of an oil company. (which went broke months.) He hasn't a brain in his head. But he's rich.
The wealthy have a long record of using violence against the ordinary worker. (EVer see the police being called out to deal with corporation presidents?)
They have done all they could do destroy basic services that a society needs. In the U.S., they're destroying public education by privatizing it.
That's been true of every capitalist country I ever heard of. While the British wealthy murdered and looted countries like south africa, the average Brit lived in poverty. All the money went to the wealthy.
In this province, we have a corporation president who will 'earn' more money in an hour than most of his (thousands of) employees will make in the whole year.
They also buy politicians in every country. That is what has destroyed democracy in the U.S.
The wars in the middle east are being fought for the benefit of a handful of billionaires.
They destroy freedom wherever they can. That was why Cuba rebelled. they are impoverishing millions all over latin America. Building their own wealth is what has caused wars in the middle east, killing and refugeeing millions.
They buy university scholars to write books of propaganda for them. (I know people who did it. And I was once approached to do it for an oil company.) They own the newspapers that feed us with lies and propaganda.

Pinga, I challenge your knowledge of the subject. And, probably, your prejudice.
 
Oh, and it is very common for the very wealthy who dodge taxes and make thousands of dollars in a few minutes to give charitable donations (much less than their taxes would be), and then get fawning chambers of commerce to lavish praise on their generosity.
 
Wait, there is a difference between "dodging taxes" and "minimizing tax paid".
I will minimize my tax paid, no matter what income level that I am.
I happily pay my taxes, but, do not want to pay more tax than I should be paying.

Is that any different than you would do?
Do you take all the deductions available to you?
 
Pinga - that was not what I was talking about. I'm talking about people who take billions in profits, and put them into specialized banks overseas The Canadian ones take out billions from this country every year. And they pay NO taxes whatever.
These banks are called tax havens.
Then they will hire a professor of low academic morality to write books about how we have to cut back on things like medicare because we can't afford it.
Haven't you heard of tax havens? There are thousands of wealthy people who do this.
Not surprisingly, the newspapers they own never write stories about this scandal.
We had one billionaire here who actually lived in the Bahamas just over half of each year so he wouldn't have to pay Canadian taxes.
In fact, it is rare for a wealthy person in the western world to pay any taxes at all.
Meanwhile, we have to pay the cost in money, lives, and mass murder to fight wars for them.

I know the meaning of words. If I had meant 'minimize', I would have written that.
We pay monstrous costs for these people - particularly on the wars they fancy. That's why so many Americans are homeless while billionaires spend our tax money on bombers.
 
"Like most philanthropies, the Gates Foundation gives away at least 5% of its worth every year, to avoid paying most taxes. In 2005, it granted nearly $1.4 billion. It awards grants mainly in support of global health initiatives, for efforts to improve public education in the United States, and for social welfare programs in the Pacific Northwest.

It invests the other 95% of its worth. This endowment is managed by Bill Gates Investments, which handles Gates' personal fortune. Monica Harrington, a senior policy officer at the foundation, said the investment managers had one goal: returns "that will allow for the continued funding of foundation programs and grant making." Bill and Melinda Gates require the managers to keep a highly diversified portfolio, but make no specific directives.

By comparing these investments with information from for-profit services that analyze corporate behavior for mutual funds, pension managers, government agencies and other foundations, The Times found that the Gates Foundation has holdings in many companies that have failed tests of social responsibility because of environmental lapses, employment discrimination, disregard for worker rights, or unethical practices."

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-gatesx07jan07-story.html#page=3

the Gates Foundation has holdings in many companies that have failed tests of social responsibility because of environmental lapses, employment discrimination, disregard for worker rights, or unethical practices ...

@Pinga this seems to be a spiritual deficit to me ... how about you ... do you choose ethical stocks when investing or look only for 'returns'?
 
How to define wealthy? That's hard to say. Real wealth, the kind that brings power with it would probably begin somewhere in the high hundreds of millions - but I really don't know.
Then you get the worthless and retarded sons of those families. The U.S. elected one of those as president in 2000. Here, in NB, one of that type was found guilty of murdering his father in a dispute over money. If he were a plebe, he'd now be in jail. (A jury found him guilty. But he's been wandering around free as batteries of family lawyers are taking the case to the supreme court.
Equal justice for all.
 
Graeme Decarie said:
Pinga - that was not what I was talking about. I'm talking about people who take billions in profits, and put them into specialized banks overseas The Canadian ones take out billions from this country every year. And they pay NO taxes whatever.
These banks are called tax havens.
Then they will hire a professor of low academic morality to write books about how we have to cut back on things like medicare because we can't afford it.
Haven't you heard of tax havens? There are thousands of wealthy people who do this.
Not surprisingly, the newspapers they own never write stories about this scandal.
We had one billionaire here who actually lived in the Bahamas just over half of each year so he wouldn't have to pay Canadian taxes.
In fact, it is rare for a wealthy person in the western world to pay any taxes at all.
Meanwhile, we have to pay the cost in money, lives, and mass murder to fight wars for them.

I know the meaning of words. If I had meant 'minimize', I would have written that.
We pay monstrous costs for these people - particularly on the wars they fancy. That's why so many Americans are homeless while billionaires spend our tax money on bombers.
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Hi, in the opening post, i asked the question, how do you define wealth.
Chemgal has also asked you that question.

So, when you discuss the wealthy, what annual income, investment or capital assets do you consider wealthy.
 
Graeme Decarie said:
How to define wealthy? That's hard to say. Real wealth, the kind that brings power with it would probably begin somewhere in the high hundreds of millions - but I really don't know.
Then you get the worthless and retarded sons of those families. The U.S. elected one of those as president in 2000. Here, in NB, one of that type was found guilty of murdering his father in a dispute over money. If he were a plebe, he'd now be in jail. (A jury found him guilty. But he's been wandering around free as batteries of family lawyers are taking the case to the supreme court.
Equal justice for all.
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Thanks for answering.

You are referring to those in the high hundreds of millions as wealthy.

In others posts, they consider someone making $100k a year as wealthy, or those with their home paid for, etc.
 
For the poor, a hundred K a year would be astounding. But, really, it's a decent middle class income. I would not call it wealthy. And, unlike great wealth, a salary like that would not command any significant power.
Where I grew up, $20 a week would have been big time. My father never saw that much until the war. When a newcomer joined our church, she put a dollar in the plate every sunday. Everybody was talking about it.
 
@Graeme, i think you nailed it. Wealth is based on perspective. To the poor, a $100k would be astounding.
It wouldn't give any power, though, it does allow for decisions on support, and more flexibility on how you impact the world with your disposable income.

Great wealth is in the hundreds of millions, i agree.
 
agreed.
I can imagine the effect of $100,000 on a family living on minimum wage. When I was born, my father was making $5 a week - in a good week. I would like to be rich. But I would settle for a million in a lump sum. (just in case any reader is thinking along those lines.)
 
Pinga said:
I happily pay my taxes, but, do not want to pay more tax than I should be paying.
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Graeme Decarie said:
In fact, it is rare for a wealthy person in the western world to pay any taxes at all.
Meanwhile, we have to pay the cost in money, lives, and mass murder to fight wars for them.We pay monstrous costs for these people - particularly on the wars they fancy.
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Some of us pay it 'happily' and others pay it to stay out of jail.
 
The "power" that a decent middle class income gives - is not really a power, but it is a privelege that people don't realize unless they've been really indigent poor - is the power to stay alive and mentally and physically healthier. It gives people access to social opportunities. It keeps them warm in winter, and well fed, and better educated...which usually leads to further better opportunities. Without the very basics it's hard to have "power" to do anything else. The indigent poor work very hard, at survival. And as a group, the middle class have enormous political power. But they take that for granted, in their comfort zones, too. IMHO. I've seen it from the outside and inside.

There is no such thing as a self made person who "deserves" more. Think about that. And the "deserving" and undeserving poor is another fallacy - it was well established idea in the old poorhouses/ and almshouses.
 
Kimmio said:
The "power" that a decent middle class income gives - is not really a power, but it is a privelege that people don't realize unless they've been really indigent poor - is the power to stay alive and mentally and physically healthier.
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Not really. Money only goes so far.
 
If you read the stats, it's true. If you come from a middle class family, your chances are better, you will end up better educated, and your lifespan is on average, longer.
 
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