America in Decline: Why Germans Think We're Insane

[mawilson 2,133]

A bit simplified, for every $Milion you make per year, you pay only $350K in taxes in the US

It's actually a bit better than that. For every million of your TAXABLE INCOME, not your gross earnings.

You can write off a hell of a lot of expenses before you get to that million.

[peejay 327]

The USA is a tax heaven for the rich and super rich.

A bit simplified, for every $Milion you make per year, you pay only $350K in taxes in the US, yet $590K in Sweden, and 600K in Denmark. If the US would tax the super rich a bit more, We The People would actually benefit from it. I make decent money, and I wouldn't mind at all having to pay a bit more taxes if in return the public services would benefit from it. As I said before, I wouldn't mind paying $2 per gallon MORE just in taxes, if that would give the American people universal health care or a secure retirement. I don't know exactly how many gallons of fuel is sold in the US per year, but my guess is that this is a number with a lot of zeros.

Then there's the Estate Tax, now killed thanks to the Republicans. Good news for the likes of Paris Hilton: she saves about $100 Mio of her not so hard earned money when daddy passes.

We've got to help the mulit-Millionaires and Billionaires. Hug the rest.

As the old crude American proverb states, "Sh*t or get off the pot." At some point this notion that progressive taxation kills the economy (or the recovery from economic collapse) will eventually get a consensus. Rich people will have to show that they are willing to invest in America and that the public's patience is rewarded. If the public begins to believe that they are nothing more than serfs born to serve their betters...it won't be pretty.

On the other side of the coin...the peasants shouldn't expect something for nothing. Also, killing and eating the goose that lays the golden eggs is a dead end.

There are no easy answers and no perfect examples. Paris Hilton is not exactly a poster child of the offspring of corporate founders. At best, her lameness just ensures that some lucky and skillful management type has a well paying job to keep the family fortune flowing.

Edited December 30, 2010 by peejay

[mawilson 2,133]

Paris Hilton is not exactly a poster child of the offspring of corporate founders. At best, her lameness just ensures that some lucky and skillful management type has a well paying job to keep the family fortune flowing.

What, her own lines of perfumes, jewellery, shoes, womens wear, child clothes and even pet clothes are not enough to earn your respect?

[peejay 327]

What, her own lines of perfumes, jewellery, shoes, womens wear, child clothes and even pet clothes are not enough to earn your respect?

She's just a prop. I seriously doubt she would be where she is if she were born to a west TX working class high school cheerleader stay at home mom and her high school quarterback dad turned drilling rig roughneck. Pretty faces are a dime-a-dozen in this world. You can only get by on your good looks so long. When that goes and you don't have an ace up your sleeve it ain't pretty.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

She's just a prop. I seriously doubt she would be where she is if she were born to a west TX working class high school cheerleader stay at home mom and her high school quarterback dad turned drilling rig roughneck. Pretty faces are a dime-a-dozen in this world. You can only get by on your good looks so long. When that goes and you don't have an ace up your sleeve it ain't pretty.

I doubt she be anything like her current self if that were the case. Part of who we are is the environment in which we are raised.

[DEDixon 39]

There are people that aren't homeless and still left to die. Some 45,000 anually according to a recent Harvard analysis. That's one every 12 minutes. Not a sign of much care on part of the nation, is it? Growing homelessness is not a statistic to fool anyone, it's a fact of life......

so what are you doing about it? feeding anyone from the back of your car?

just wondering.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Simpson, the point is, don't pull factoids out of your ####### if you aren't going to cite it. How is anyone supposed to take you seriously if you're making up statistics?

I see reading comprehension isnt your forte.

[_Simpson_ 250]

There are people that aren't homeless and still left to die. Some 45,000 anually according to a recent Harvard analysis. That's one every 12 minutes. Not a sign of much care on part of the nation, is it?

That a whole different debate.

Growing homelessness is not a statistic to fool anyone, it's a fact of life that you apparently choose to ignore or to excuse with an unsubstantiated claim that those folks are mostly mentally ill and/or addicts. If you make such claim, back it up. You don't because you can't.

I was addressing the flocks of people you mentioned. These homelessness statistics include Uncle Bob who is living with Ma until he gets his place.

[mawilson 2,133]

She's just a prop. I seriously doubt she would be where she is if she were born to a west TX working class high school cheerleader stay at home mom and her high school quarterback dad turned drilling rig roughneck.

Neither would anyone else in the above scenario.

At the same time, there are lots of rich kids who are too lazy to make anything

of themselves, despite the plethora of opportunities.

I think it's a little unreasonable to poo-poo her success just because she

didn't start from scratch or wasn't born into a dysfunctional family with

the odds stacked against her.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

On the other side of the coin...the peasants shouldn't expect something for nothing.

It can hardly be argued that they do. When you look at annual productivity gains of 2.5% during the last economic expansion cycle from 2000 - 2007 and then realize that the median household income actually declined during that time (for the first time in post WWII history) you really turn this point upside down. The peasants actually eneded up getting nothing for something and it's high time that we see and address that imbalance.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Mr. Big Dog