Why punish the rich for good choices?

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | 12/3/05 | Gregg J. Cavanagh

[rhema]

After reading the Socialist claptrap "Wondering if tax ride goes too easy on rich" (Nov. 20), I was left wondering if I should cancel my subscription to the Star Tribune. I decided to write a rejoinder instead.

Those in favor of soaking the rich cite "ability to pay" as if it were some immutable characteristic, like race or eye color. After all, if someone was lucky enough to be born with more "ability to pay," why shouldn't he or she share with the rest of us poor schlubs who were born without that attribute?

This attitude is fostered by the media's fixation upon the so-called "idle rich" -- those who acquired their wealth through the fortuity of birth. While I question society's claim on the assets of even those people, I can at least understand a philosophy that favors some redistribution of wealth to ameliorate the effects of truly random events.

But for most wealthy people (a class to which I do not belong), their "ability to pay" is the direct result of choices they made throughout their lives. They invested years in getting an education while others settled for entry-level jobs straight out of high school. They worked nights and weekends while others were enjoying happy hour or spending time on the golf course. They saved their earnings while others were buying new cars or big screen TVs or stereos. They invested their savings in start-up businesses or inventions or property or stocks. They steered clear of the temptations of alcohol, drugs, gambling and crime.

Could someone please articulate for me the moral principle that dictates that persons who study harder, work harder, relax less, save more, spend less and invest more should be compelled by government to give their earnings to persons who do precisely the opposite?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"3. Because if everyone was self-reliant, the Dems would lose their base."

You nailed it.

[adam_az]

"All kidding aside, I have been asked by many who see my family enjoying a boat ride. Who did you screw over to get that ride? A good number of the "less fortunate" as Boortz calls em are insanely jealous of others achievements. So it is very easy for an overly ambitious piece of crap politician to play the "soak the rich" card"

Agreed. I'm 32 and not doing too badly - bought a house a few years ago, my fiancee quit her job and goes to school full time, dont live check to check, etc... some of her classmates like to joke with her that she has a "sugar daddy" or people I know have expressed some jealousy...

...but here's what they don't see. The long weeks at a time I spend doing business travel and sleeping in hotel rooms instead of at home. My staying up 23 hour stretches to get a project done for a customer that HAS to get done by a deadline, so I git er done. Having taken only 2 vacation days in the last year and working straight through many weekend, like this one. My sister is one such jealous person - I pay for my fiancees school, and she wants my mom to pay for hers. (my sister is 29 and lives with her boyfriend.) I explained that paying for the person who you're engaged to's school is a grown up thing to do - having your mom pay for it isn't. She's a lib and doesn't get it.

TANSTAAFL
there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

I recommend "the myth of rich and poor" and "the millionaire next door," 2 excellent books on this subject.

Stay the hell away from "rich dad, poor dad" as the whole book is a made up bunch of crap. It's full of bad advice.

[dormouse]

Bill Gates had MS DOS handed to him via Seattle Computer and dear old dad

[Pukin Dog]

I agreed with you, right up to until you mentioned Rich Dad Poor Dad. I am curious as to what advice you found lacking in that series?

I do agree that Millionaire Next Door is excellent.

[LibKill]

If you work hard you will have something.

I don't have much. But if I didn't work hard I would have nothing, and deservedly so.

[King Prout]

it helps not to develop stupid habits.

assume a pack of cigarettes costs approximately $3.00
assume a pack-a-day habit
assume the passage of ten years
10*365*$3 = $10,950.00 up in smoke

people really NEED to LOOK at what they actually do to themselves, look at what monies they expend without deriving any return (or any hope or expectation of return) before they start whining.

[latina4dubya]

Even if the major premise of number 1 is not true, not everyone is able to study harder, etc. Some people are born with more natural talent than others, and the possibility that some people should go farther than others in life simply because of some inborn characteristic is unfair, and must be remedied.

one thing i want to teach my young sons is to live on every other paycheck... cash in every other paycheck... sock away every other paycheck...

[MadManDan]

That's pretty good, I like that. Kind of Orwellian and perfect for the current situation.

[latina4dubya]

Stay the hell away from "rich dad, poor dad" as the whole book is a made up bunch of crap. It's full of bad advice.

like what? i'm curious to know what you think of as crap and bad advice...

[Gordongekko909]

And cigarettes generally cost more than that.

[Gordongekko909]

There's also Aesop's fable of the grasshopper and the ant.

[King Prout]

I was averaging the price from my period of costly vice from 1992 to 2002 down here in various locations in the South.

Down here, 11 grand is the price of two decent used vehicles.

Let us not go into how much money one can spend to no useful purpose on strippers, booze, entertainment, vacationing, prepared foods, and other luxury items.

1. I don't wish to spend hours taking the Fifth
2. The point is well made already: vices are expensive and yield no returns to their users

;)

[adam_az]

see this url

http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

[Centurion2000]

I wonder how long till democrats propose a 'wealth tax' where they tax a ceartain % of your bank account/stocks.

That's the day I leave this country and never look back.

[driftless]

I have a Dem bro-in-law who firmly believes that only a few percent of the population have stocks and bonds aHe strongly asserts that the rich have most their money in land and practically nothing in stocks or bonds. Of course he's a retired public schoolteacher, so you have to understand his ignorance. (My apologies to the public school teachers who understand basic economics.)

And I have a number of friends who firmly believe that the rich pay no taxes. I informed one close Dem friend that the upper fifty percent of income earners pay 96% of all fed income tax. He straight out refused to believe me. He also didn't read a book from the time he graduated from high school until he recently retired at age 60. That's why most people are Dems...they're bone ignorant.

[driftless]

I've read most of "the millionaire next door", and it is a book that should be read by everyone. One of the great things it delineates, among many things, is the fact that it is better to have the right attitude and work ethic than it is too start out with a lot of money and a poor attitude and work ethic. Many people who inherit large amounts of moola but have no understanding of how the moola was made usually end up blowing it

[speekinout]

Ok, so where did you and I go wrong, since we're both hard working, quite intelligent, quite determined, and have decent backgrounds? Neither of us are even close to rich, at mid-30s.
Dude, sometimes luck plays a part.

What do you consider "rich"? Libs think that anyone who has a salary of over $100,000 or so is "rich". Those are the people they want to tax. In some parts of the country, that is rich; in others it is barely over median income.

Have you started your own businesses? You can't get really rich working for someone else (although you can be quite comfortable and have a secure retirement).

In my mind, "rich" is if you meet your goals in life. Not all of us want huge amounts of money. Comfort and self-reliance are good.

[SDGOP]

A friend got that book for me and i absolutely loved it. They should make it required reading in school instead of something like the koran...

Far too many people live well beyond their means instead of saving and investing. Lots of conservatives i know aren't very good at saving either, as soon as they graduated and got decnet to high paying jobs(as shysters,doctors, and engineers) they ran off and blew their money on things like houses they probably shoudlnt have gotten and high up cars and all the newest gadgets and gizmos and expensive vacations etc. and save absolutely zilch.

The funny thing is these same people have the nerve to turn around and criticize me for being 'too stingy' with my money. Lets see whose more financially stable in a few decades..

[Dawsonville_Doc]

In my mind, "rich" is if you meet your goals in life. Not all of us want huge amounts of money. Comfort and self-reliance are good.

What you have described is comfortable self-satisfaction. Rich has that - followed by seven zeros.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

I would love to see stats on how many people in the US are rich because they inherited the money. I'm sure that info is out there somewhere, but I'm not sure how to google it.

I'd wager that most of those are liberals or Country Club Republicans.