Listen, I've read Atlas Shrugged. I like Atlas Shrugged. There's still no getting around the fact that the super rich would have done what it takes to get super rich, even if they got taxed 2% more. Capitalism is not malicious, it is just easily abused (as is Communism). Controlling the means to production, controlling distribution of profits is necessary for a certain percentage of the population, but that does not mean that their retaining the vast, vast majority of money in the country is justifiable, fair or beneficial to the country as a whole. I'm in favor (and Cait is with me) of redistributing wealth. CEO's, investment bankers, housing moguls didn't earn that money, they didn't generate that money, they were just in a position (with the compliance of the US populace) to hold onto an absurdly large amount of the money circulating through the system.
There are people mooching off of the system in the bottom 50%. Heck, we're mooching off of the system. But here's the deal, besides this summer break (the first one where we haven't had someone in school or work much more than full time), we've been working extremely hard. And we'll continue to work hard and contribute for the rest of our lives, easily as much as the CEO's, investment bankers and housing moguls, just like the majority of the rest of the poors. Which ones are the real takers and which ones are the real makers?
I can see your point of view, but this is where choice comes in. The market has dictated which career choices have the potential to earn the most money. Now we all have the choice to go for that profession or not to. Just because you choose it doesn't mean you'll succeed at it. There are plenty of rich people that squander away their money (creating jobs by spending their money?) and poor people who work harder than anyone else. Honestly, if I knew I was going to get what I need or want without having to make those choices and the sacrifices to get to those elite levels, I certainly wouldn't try. I'd just mooch and work a lot less than I do now.
ReplyDeleteWe're mooching just about as much as we can, and I can tell you, we are VERY far away from the life most people would want to have, far from the life we want to have, and none of these mooching opportunities (tied to having young kids) are going to last for long. We don't go out to eat, we don't see movies, we don't rent movies, we wouldn't have a decent car if Cait's parents hadn't given us one. People would still be scrambling to be lawyers and doctors and bankers if they had to pay 10% more to taxes. These jobs in socialist countries, though much less well paid, are still in extremely high demand. I don't want to equal out pay among every body. The high paying jobs will still be high paying jobs even if taxed more heavily, there would just be less buying of foreign cars and foreign beach houses and foreign jets, less exchanging of money between the rich and super rich.
ReplyDeleteAnd if we were just mooching alone and not having Cait work and gifts (like baby clothes and toys) from family and friends, we would exponentially further off what we would consider a comfortable life. There's a line with welfare that would cause a good number of people to decide to live off the government. We are very far away from that line. We are much closer to the line where we someone working 50 hours a week in an essential market (usually the service market, which is essential to the US economy) can't provide for a family, which to me, is unacceptable for the richest country in the world.
ReplyDeleteWell...you don't go out eat or movies because you choose to spend your money on other things like very nice computers. The conservatives in this video are not talking about college students with jobs as "moochers;" but rather people that never go to college and CHOOSE not to work so they can simply live off the government. For example, Caitlin quits her job, you drop out of school, and you apply for unemployment benefits and receive a check in the mail twice a month for being bums. That is what they were talking about, not unfortunate families that have lost their jobs because of the recession. You guys are not moochers by any means...
ReplyDeletedevin
I`m with Devin. you guys aren`t lazy moochers.
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