Eat the Rich

[Qman]

Walter E. Williams

Eat the Rich

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I've often said that I wish there were some humane way to get rid of the rich. If you asked why, I'd answer that getting rid of the rich would save us from distraction by leftist hustlers promoting the politics of envy. Not having the rich to fret over might enable us to better focus our energies on what's in the best interest of the 99.99 percent of the rest of us. Let's look at some facts about the rich laid out by Bill Whittle citing statistics on his RealClearPolitics video "Eat the Rich."

This year, Congress will spend $3.7 trillion dollars. That turns out to be about $10 billion per day. Can we prey upon the rich to cough up the money? According to IRS statistics, roughly 2 percent of U.S. households have an income of $250,000 and above. By the way, $250,000 per year hardly qualifies one as being rich. It's not even yacht and Learjet money. All told, households earning $250,000 and above account for 25 percent, or $1.97 trillion, of the nearly $8 trillion of total household income. If Congress imposed a 100 percent tax, taking all earnings above $250,000 per year, it would yield the princely sum of $1.4 trillion. That would keep the government running for 141 days, but there's a problem because there are 224 more days left in the year.

How about corporate profits to fill the gap? Fortune 500 companies earn nearly $400 billion in profits. Since leftists think profits are little less than theft and greed, Congress might confiscate these ill-gotten gains so that they can be returned to their rightful owners. Taking corporate profits would keep the government running for another 40 days, but that along with confiscating all income above $250,000 would only get us to the end of June. Congress must search elsewhere.

According to Forbes 400, America has 400 billionaires with a combined net worth of $1.3 trillion. Congress could confiscate their stocks and bonds, and force them to sell their businesses, yachts, airplanes, mansions and jewelry. The problem is that after fleecing the rich of their income and net worth, and the Fortune 500 corporations of their profits, it would only get us to mid-August. The fact of the matter is there are not enough rich people to come anywhere close to satisfying Congress' voracious spending appetite. They're going to have to go after the non-rich.

(...and none of this considers what the STATES will want!

[speculatorsRIDE]

Pretty damn depressing ain't it?

[capt.cliff]

Right on Qman--sooner or later the little guy with have to foot the bill , by little man I am saying us ---there are more of us to spread the grief around----if they are rich--by thier standards [Democrats] deffinition are cleaned out --there is no growth , no new oppertunities , no hope---that leaves us---without forward thinking without looking the beyond the short term politically correct responses , it all feels good today but tomorrow from the rich to the middle class we will all will have beeen led down the primrose path , the only winner will be the politicians and those who contribute nothing into the economy of the USA but someday there will be nothing left for them either --they will wipe thier butts just a bit after we do but the end result will be the same----everyone screwed!---EXCEPT THE POLITICOS---

THEY WHO PAYS THEM!--HMMMM!--maybe they just retire and leave the mess to someone else!

capt cliff

[D-BUNK]

I think that the original post is, at best a misunderstanding of the...leftist? (I hate to use that word as its divisive AND its not just the left who feel there is an imbalance in our economy) point of view and at worst, a gross over-simplification of what is going on.

Lines like "...since the lefties think corporate profit is little more than theft and greed...", lead me to believe the original poster is biased and won't hear what I'm about to say but ill put it out there anyway because this is a public forum and counter points should be heard, especially when what's being said is so skewed or erroneous.

The problem people are having with the rich is NOT that they have made a ton of money.

It's HOW they made a lot of that money in a time when the country is suffering.

The rich are not even the problem, its the government's ideology that you deserve a reward for being rich AND the fact that big money controls so many laws though lobbyists and campaign money.

I'll put up some examples of what I mean:

Recently, a post was made that listed 10 billion dollar companies that did not pay taxes this year. They made BILLIONS in profit...and paid NOTHING in taxes. I would link you to it but I'm posting from my phone.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with making billions in profit. That's GOOD. BUT there is no way these companies should be paying less taxes than you and I. Some of them even got millions in tax rebates!

Again. It's not the company's fault. It's our government making laws that allow them to get away with murder (most likely influenced by lobbyist).

One of the companies (GE) received a huge bonus because they bought a ton of windmills (therefore getting a clean energy credit) which is good- but it shouldn't be so good that you don't pay taxes at all.

On the same note, the incentives to move your business off shore is ridiculous. The government rewards them (with tax breaks) to move their companies off shore where its cheaper to produce. Naturally, those jobs go with them. This is one of the big reasons we are having a hard time with unemployment the last decade.

On that same note, no one is taxed on money they made overseas. This is why so many are registered in other countries.

Another problem we have is the acquisition of land under the guise of "imminent domain" that is then given to developers for little more than a promise to develop a small percentage low income housing.

Such is the case here in Brooklyn, where Bruce Ratner (a developer) was given a huge swath of land to build an arena for the NETS. Many were forced to sell or lose their homes to imminent domain. A couple salef until they were physically removed.

Not only will Rattner build the arena with a great deal of tax payer money; he will also build SEVERAL luxury apartment buildings AND he has been waived taxes on this land for more than a decade.

(on a side note- The Mets/Jets/Giants stadium was built with a great deal of tax payer dough and majority of ordinary folks cannot afford to go to these games as seats are expensive).

Also, things like A-Rod and the other people who own in his building are getting away with paying $1200 in taxes for their 6 million dollar apartments this year ( they should pay $60,000), while people in my hood are paying $10,000 and their apartments are worth 6x less.

Again, not A-Rod's fault the government is doing this but I fail to see the fairness- especially when this city has cut back on education immensely and public services like the sanitation department (who couldn't keep up with snow storm in Dec and it cost lives).

And speaking of schools, the fact that we've given up on public education as a society and fallen to kids having to when a lottery to get into the schools that rich kids go to because their parents can afford it is sad as Hell.

Finally, we can't keep giving out tax breaks if we are broke. To anyone, really- but especially those who aren't feeling exactly how broke we are at ALL!

In the 40's the nation came together in sacrificing for the greater good. Giving up rubber and metal (on top of live ones) to get things done. Today we are so selfish and divisive, I don't know how we will come together as a nation.

We WILL, but I feel its a ways out.

Maybe the solution is a base tax (set on a percentage of total income) but we definitely have to get big money out of politics and stop treating corporations like individuals.

Anyway- this is the kind of problems people are having with the rich. It's not just "eat the rich" because they made a profit. We need to address this stuff, SERIOUSLY. And leave the left/right stuff in the playground where it belongs.