Posted on 12/01/2008 7:39:26 AM PST by Turret Gunner A20
I know what you're thinking right now. You would like to take a trip into the mind of someone who just can't stand the fact that there are people out there who have worked smarter, harder and longer and in the process have become very successful. Yeah .. how dare these people work that hard and earn that much money? Don't they realize they're making me look bad?
Have you ever tried to noodle out the thought processes behind wealth envy? Here, let me help you. Nobody likes to be told that they just haven't worked smart enough or hard enough to become wealthy. People don't want to accept the fact that they've made some pathetic decision in their lives that stood in the way of success and wealth. They don't want to be told they didn't pay attention to their education. They don't want to hear that they took a dead-end job and hung with it for years. They don't want to hear that they were too eager to punch out and head home after their required eight hours every day .. eschewing a bit of extra work that might have moved them ahead a few squares. People don't want to hear that all of the money they spent on booze, partying, bass boats, vacations, car payments and lifestyle might have been better invested for future returns.
In short .. so many people just can't bring themselves to accept the fact that it is they who have held themselves back. No. No way. It's not their fault they aren't rich. You can hear the thought process: "I'm a good person. I work hard. I put in my 40 hours a week. I pay my taxes. I coach little league. It's not my fault I'm not rich. Those rich people cheated. They have crooked lawyers. They cheat on their taxes. They've exploited people like me. They're may be poor but at least I'm honest. Those rich people are all crooks and they're holding the rest of us down.
Now ... an object lesson. Here is an excerpt from delightful little email I got from some lady named Joy of Bradenton, Florida. She is more than a little upset about a conversation last week with a caller. The caller and I were wondering where the good investment bargains might be right now ... a question that many are asking. Here you go:
"Don't you think that the fact that people like you with in your words " lots of money to invest" need to actually pay the taxes that they owe? My daughter is a CPA, so I know that most wealthy people use so many loopholes that they end up paying less tax percentage than the working poor. (BTW, she will not let her clients take questionable deductions although the most wealthy of them are always trying to find new ways to cheat. It is her license on the line if they lie on a tax return so she tells them to find another CPA if they insist on shady accounting practices.)
"Isn't it time for the people who use the system against the interests of the country by cheating on their taxes pay their actual tax liability? Isn't that the real Patriotic thing to do? You profess to be a Patriot, don't you?
"The auto unions are not the enemy, the illegals are not the enemy, the greedy are the enemy.
"Sell your private jet and pay someone's mortgage that is being thrown into the street because their minimum wage job (that they were forced to take after they were laid off as the stockholders and CEOs steal their pension money) won't let them hold on to their home. Lose your cushy transportation and save your soul."
Yeah, that's it. People earning minimum wage are being foreclosed on because of corporate stockholders and CEOs. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that they just aren't worth more to an employer than a few bucks an hour.
Oh well ... forget it. To Joy and to people like her the rich are evil, and there's no changing that. The poor are only poor because rich people made them that way. Joy will remain poor .. she's programmed that way. Sad.
She could change, but I don't see it.
There are at least 56 million “Joys” out there.........THAT’S SAD....................
It’s my fault I’m not rich. And it doesn’t bother me a bit.
(And the “working poor” don’t pay income tax, Joy: they get Earned Income Tax Credit, supported by “the rich.”)
Esua sold his inheritance for a bowl of porridge. Over 7,000 years later he’s still p*ssed about his stupid choice.
Hey, I work in jobs that won’t make me rich.
But, I am thinking of ways that I could turn my passions into a business. My wife is doing the same.
If I am never rich, it won’t really bother me. I just want to make more than I do now and have a better quality of life. Becoming a millionaire would be nice, but not necessary.
I could see how people may be forced to take bad jobs with layoffs etc. But, that doesn’t mean you are forced to stay in that situation. Start your own business.....get loans if you have to do so. Go back to school....again...loans if you have to do so.
But, do something. That doesn’t mean it is easy. Life sometimes really stinks by making things difficult. Find a way to be victorious.
“Oh well ... forget it. To Joy and to people like her the rich are evil, and there’s no changing that. The poor are only poor because rich people made them that way. Joy will remain poor .. she’s programmed that way. Sad.”
There’s so much here, it’s hard to be concise. It’s not all black and white, much as I’d like it to be, (I hate grey areas). Not all people who are poor, are poor because they are incapable. Some people really do have bad breaks.
However, the vast majority of poor people are as described, poor because of poor decisions, or lack of effort, or, most likely, both. That’s why we all know wealth distribution doesn’t work. Taking money from those who know how to use it, and giving it to those who don’t have a clue won’t help anyone in the long run.
But here we are, and this is the real problem: We are in a republic where people can vote themselves entitlements. Our culture worships wealth, but demonizes the wealthy. The poor are told over and over how evil the rich are, (except celebrities of course), and the overwhelming result is the poor have no problem voting themselves benefits at the expense of the “rich”.
My disclaimer: I am not wealthy, except in the view of Obama’s tax plans maybe. I most likely could have been wealthy, but I didn’t want to make the trade, (being away from home, sweating risks, long hours, etc.). I am where I am, I’m fine with that. And I don’t begrudge those who are rich, in general, they’ve sacrificed to get there.
“It’s my fault I’m not rich. And it doesn’t bother me a bit.”
I’m in the same situation. The choices I’ve made were clear. Sadly, when a society abandons personal responsiblity, fewer citizens can realize they made their own choices.
Agree. There are some bad breaks. I think of layoffs, for instance. But, find a way to rise above it.
Now, there are some circumstances, such as a battle with cancer wiping out savings even with insurance etc.....that in these cases, it truly is just a sucky break. In those times, I think people should help them out by giving them some money to assist in covering medical bills etc.
This statement is complete and utter nonsense. Something like half of all Americans (the poorer half) pay zero Federal income tax, once you factor in all of their deductions, credits and exemptions.
But, that is just part of personal charity and caring for others, not govt. handouts.
Genesis
“27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Individuals and churches should help people who are experiencing hardship, when the hardship is not caused by obvious foolishness or bad character.
Deductions like no tax on municipal bond interest are completely legitimate. People who hold such bonds are loaning THE GOVERNMENT money. And yet many people see something wrong with tax free interest on such bonds and see it as cheating.
People who have made poor choices in life DO control people who make more money than they do and they DO abuse that control. Examples are hospital administrators, health insurance administrators (including government health insurance), and such who employ and have control over doctors’ employment and compensation and reimbursement. Other examples are businesses who employ engineers and other professionals and thus control their employment, compensation, and contractual rates.
It’s easy to say yahoos who made poor choices aren’t in control, but they are, and that’s another BIG PROBLEM. Many of these yahoos have a bad attitude toward people with high level educational skills such as doctors and engineers and think they make too much money and that anyone could do their jobs if they had just had the right opportunities.
It’s easy to say that these skilled and educated people should insist on control but the truth is THEY NO LONGER CAN due to changes in the way services are rendered in today’s market.
And some of those people, including business owners, who feel professionals are overpaid post here, so they are part of the problem also.
People who become engineers, physicians, scientists, and even some lawyers, began studying hard and getting good grades when they were in elementary school. They often sacrificed their childhood, drug experimentation, and the promiscuity that the yahoos practiced in high school and college to become better than the rest, and they deserve to be paid much better. For the most part, they kept their minds and bodies clear of the results of such bad behavior.
You're absolutely right. It seems like a large percentage of people have, "Helpless Victim of Circumstances Beyond My Control" as their self-definition. I like to say, "I'm not a victim - I'm a perpetrator!"
Starting with the 10th back through the 5th, it's easy to show how the left's entire ideology is centered around defiantly violating these commands, and urging others to do so.
And, yes, that DOES make them EVIL. There isn't a "neutral" ground.
Children of the Devil
I’ll stop looking for all possible loopholes when it is shown to me that a majority of leftists are voluntarily paying more taxes than they are required to.
btt
Agreed.
My church collected over $8,000 last month for a family whose father has terminal cancer and can’t work. It’s our duty, and privilege, to help our family, neighbors, and church members who truly need help.
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