The problem isn't Bezos and he didn't earn his money nefariously.... He's followed tax law. Sounds like we need a tax overhaul... but don't try to say Bezos became successful by being crook when all he's done is followed the rules.bear2be2 said:Any tax code that allows the richest man on earth and owner of a corporation that hauled in $382 billion in revenue last year to claim $82k in income is broken beyond repair. And if you disagree, you and I will never see eye to eye on this issue.quash said:bear2be2 said:Go look at Jeff Bezos' taxes and tell me he's played by the same rules you and I have.Rawhide said:How has Jeff Bezos achieved his wealth nefariously? Bill Gates, Steve Jobs/Apple, Walton Family? As far as I can tell, they created a business or product that people wanted and profited from it.bear2be2 said:Doc Holliday said:Individual Wealth and buying power has nearly increased 5000% since the mid 1800's. It's not living conditions or access to materialism, housing or goods that's the issue. So no, that's not what's understandable.bear2be2 said:It's not Marxism that has put us in our current situation. It's unchecked greed and a culture that is largely accepting/approving of it.Doc Holliday said:What you fail to realize is socialism, big government or leftist policies allow the ultra rich to thrive.bear2be2 said:I'm very much a free market guy. I don't believe socialism works in practice. But I'm not the least bit surprised by its growth in popularity among people who have correctly determined that our current economic system, which has allowed lobbiests to circumvent the market and corporations to win without playing by the rules, isn't working for them.Canon said:
Sounds good. We need to weed Marxists out of our country, particularly in positions where they can propagandize children and young people.
Marxism is the thought that stops thought.
You don't understand how they use government against the middle class, small and midsize business.
Marxism is the reaction, not the action. And as misguided as it is IMO, it's completely understandable given the current state of our economy.
What's going on today is cultural envy. The wealth gap has grown and the masses want a piece of that pie with absolutely no regard to personal responsibility.
People today have more opportunity than ever before and they're simply refusing to capitalize on it. The ultra rich are taking advantage of their perverted view on our government and economy.
You're just enabling the corporate oligarchy you decry here with this pseudo defense of the status quo.
It's not cultural envy. There has always been a wealth gap in this country, and we've navigated it to this point without many significant hiccups. What makes this period different is that the gap is wider than it's ever been and was "achieved" nefariously.
The American dream narrative works when most of your population feels they're being given a fair opportunity to achieve it. We've proven for generations that we can accept income inequality (an inevitability of capitalist -- and really any -- society) if we feel everyone is playing by the same rules.
The problem now is that that is not the case. Winners and losers are being picked before the game even starts, and rather than call out the cheating players, we waste time on forums like this defending the game.
The game is fine when played by the rules. But when you rig it in a way that is clear as day to the others at the table, they're going to leave and find something else to play.
What's your definition of "the wealthy"... what does the wealthy look like to you?
He has. His $82k annual salary gets taxed like everybody else who makes $82k a year.
But if, like many libertarians, you view taxes of any kind as theft, that's likely a given.
We should demand tax overhaul - completely and not this if you make over $400K BS... I mean a complete overhaul of how we are taxed.
I was gifted 500 shares of stock when I got married 25 years ago. I haven't sold it and won't sell it until I retire. The stock has done okay and even split a few times... Am I a crook because I don't have to pay taxes on it since I haven't sold it?
If I bought a house for $300K and sold it 10 years later for $500K, am I a crook for not paying taxes on the $200K profit since the tax laws say I don't have to?