Sorry, Pal, You're Rich

Rich folks, I cannot fathom your world. I did a quick calculation on living in a neghborhood where the mortgage would be let's say $3k a month. Taking that plus the following expenses into consideration, mortgage, heating, electric, food, Life insurance, auto gas, Water, Auto Ins, internet, TV, Cell phone, Voip. I still come up with an annual expendable income of $107000.00. That's an extra $8,900 a month to blow on whatever. Please enlighten me on what other survival needs your family has that eats up $8,900 a month besides those I've listed above.

This is great. I especially liked the guy who claimed to be a disabled trucker saying "I'm sure I could do your job with a little training." Suuuuure. That training is called "college," and if you were so able to complete that training, then how come you chose trucking? The bottom line is that not everyone can be rich because to be rich you have to either a)be incredibly intelligent, b)be incredibly attractive, or c)be incredibly talented. Oh, and I forgot d)be incredibly industrious. It's unfortunate that these choices have to be made as teenagers, but that's just financial natural selection. People who choose to be teachers know damned well that teachers don???t make much money. Most of them don???t complain about it, because they are intelligent enough to recognize that choice. I didn't want to be poor or have to stretch financially, so I chose a major in college that maximized potential income. Failing that plan, I wanted to have a backup, so I passed on the pizzas, beer, and sloth so I could remain a thin, attractive young woman (like it or not, like attracts like. This means that if you are wealthy and attractive you will attract other wealthy and attractive people. If you are fat and poor, you will likely end up in a household of two fat, poor people. I didn???t invent this rule, I just don???t ignore it). As it turns out, I now am marrying a hot, intelligent doctor and don???t really have to work at all???but I certainly could if I chose. The beauty of this? He CHOSE to be studious and dorky when everyone else was CHOOSING to do keg stands and contracting Chlamydia. The best part is, the hot studious guys always have the best personalities because they were too busy studying to realize they???re hot. The moral of this story is that us ???wealthy folk??? don???t expect poor people to live without handouts, we just don???t want to hear you bitching about being poor when you picked your life story. Also, stop making babies if you???re poor. That just makes you poorer and sets your kids up to be another generation of poor.

Let's create a tax Chart at 14% paid by US Citizens on yearly based earnings
Restaurant Employee $13,000 pays $1820
Receptionist $18,000 pays $2520
General Labor $25,000 pays $3500
Manager $35,000 pays $4900
Supervisor $45,000 pays $6300
LPN $55,000 pays $7700
RN $65,000 pays $9100
Commissioned Emp. $75,000 pays $10,500
Upper Mgmt $85,000 pays $11,900
Senior Mgmt $100,000 pays $14000
Attorney $150,000 pays $21000
Doctor $250,000 pays $35,000
Specialist $350,000 pays $49,000
Executive's $500,000 pays $70,000
Million Dollar earners $1,000,000 pays $140,000 per year in taxes

If everyone paid a flat tax and we looked at the dollar amount instead of the percentage paid, then everyone pays their fair share! A flat tax would most likely create more jobs and allow eveyone to put more money back into their future instead of worrying about why the rich are getting richer. With out the rich we wouldn't have people to invest and take risks to start new businesses and charities. I'm sick of giving money all year long to Taxes and then getting back about 10% of what I put in when I get a tax return, if I even get a tax return.

I just went to wikipedia and looked up Wealth. They break beween rich and middle class by POWER. The rich have power, the middle class doesn't. If people think making $250,000 a year versus $50,000 nets you an OUNCE more power, you're deluded. I guess that's what it comes down to. While the wife and I make very good money, if the affluvia ever hits the fan blades, there's no question which direction we go fairly quickly.

Per Wikipedia-

The upper class
Inheritance establishes different starting lines. The majority of those in the upper class have inherited their wealth and place a greater emphasis on wealth than on income

The middle class
There is a distinct difference in views about wealth among the middle class compared to those of the upper class. Where the upper class beliefs focus on wealth, the middle class places a greater emphasis on income

The working class
The working class has fewer options for advancement and wealth accumulation than the upper and middle classes. This can be characterized as having limited income, unstable employment and an insignificant retirement pension account

The welfare class
Those with the least amount of wealth are the welfare poor. Wealth accumulation for this class is to some extent prohibited. People that receive AFDC transfers cannot own more than a trivial amount of assets, in order to be eligible and remain qualified for income transfers. Most of the institutions that the welfare poor encounter discourage any accumulation of assets

So I assert again, somebody whose kids are grown and gone who are making $250,000 a year and have plenty of their own accumulation as well as a likely inheritance from their own parents likely spend more time thinking wealth and its preservation. They are rich. Those who make $250,000 a year, with young kids (daycare and college to save for), decent savings but not huge, and no inherited capital are still operating within INCOME and not WEALTH. They are, and act, middle class.

I guess journalists and sociologists aren't paid to make such striations.

According to McCain - $250k is middle income....all his friends make much more. I'd like to see his wife and him live on that amount. I know they have much more....Sell a few houses and cars, I wonder how well they'd do?

If you are among the top 20% of the wealthiest people in this country... you are rich. You might not feel rich because like Gross says, you are too busy looking at your wealthier neighbors. Try driving through northern Maine sometime.

If you are driving a european luxury car... you might be rich.

If you are taking vacations to exotic locales... you might be rich.

If you are debating over buying a $200 pair of shoes or a $300 pair... you might be rich.

If you are buying $200 ties... you might be rich.

You get where I'm going with this?

Hey Bill Clinton where's the health care that you promised 16 years ago? Just think in 16 years we'll be able to ask Obama, why am I still poor? you promised to help me out...

250K per year? Hell, $100,000 per year; I worked three jobs, sometimes in excess of 90 hours in a week, but never less than 75 hours per week to earn $42,800 last year. I???m not a drooling idiot savant that is smoking crack in my spare time and sucking the welfare system dry. I am a working man, not the one who makes $30, or more per hour, but the guy who makes $10 an hour. I get up everyday, and go do what needs to be done to get the bills paid.

I paid a week???s wages last year because I was 10 days late on my car payment and my car was repossessed. I know two people who are living in their vehicles because they can???t find a place to live that hey can afford. Wake up and smell the roses, I know a lot of people that would kill, yes kill, for $250,000, because they are that desperate to feed their kids, and to keep a roof over their heads.

There is such an incredible ???disconnect??? between the people that are making six figure salaries and the rest of ???us??? that it is almost inconceivable to the majority of the American people that ???they??? could be whining about their lifestyle.

When was the last time you had to decide between a few gallons of gas and a meal for your family? When was the last time you had to pay 129% APR to a paycheck lender to keep the lights on at your house? When was the last time you had to say NO to your child because they wanted a, crappy, six-dollar toy in Wal-Mart, and you only had five dollars until payday?

Welcome to a taste, an infinitesimal taste, of the real world.

Just wondering why we have demonized rich people in this country. Isn't the ability to increase our wealth one of the great things about a free society? For some reason, we like to punish those that achieve more. So, who cares if $250K is rich or not.

My family income is more than $250,000 and we are far from being ???rich???? My nest-egg is not tucked away and just awaiting my retirement. My daughter???s wedding has not been paid for. College tuition has not been paid for my kids. My mortgage is not paid off. I have no assurance that my ???wealth??? will provide a quality of life that will last until I'm 100. Instead, I'm investing in 401K, 529, IRA, Mutual funds, stocks, real estate, etc??? and praying that my hard earned (and wisely invested) money is available to me in 15-20 years. Under Obama???s tax plan, however, the government will get a greater share of all that money, and it will be redistributed to families of lower income.

I don???t know about you, but I feel like the $75,000+ that the government takes from my family right now is already too much. I will never see a penny of that returned to me in any form other than a national military. (I know, it???s also used to build bridges, repair levees, etc???, but we???ve seen those systems fail miserably over the last 5 years.) By the government???s own admission, the social security system that I???ve been paying into my entire career will be bankrupt before I can ever get a penny of it back. If that doesn???t bother you, then take $5,000 and throw it into your fireplace this Winter. Now, just imagine doing that with $75,000 every year. And, in addition to that $75,000, my family gives thousands to our church (in support of missions, feeding the homeless, and other faith based initiatives), and we donate time/money to breast cancer awareness, muscular dystrophy, muscular sclerosis, community food banks, Blue Santa, United Way, Red Cross, etc??? How dare the government, the Democrats, and/or lower income families tell me that I???m rich and I???m not doing enough to level the playing field!

My Dad was a truck-driver, and my mom worked at Wal-Mart. Neither of them ever made $100,000 combined, and at the age of 60 my Mom has gone back to work making about ~$15 an hour. (My father has passed away, and under Obama???s plan I will need to pay taxes on my father???s assets, which he also paid taxes on, but I digress.) Point being that I was/am far from a trust fund baby. However, after a lifetime of making more good decisions than bad, and taking responsibility for my actions, I???ve graduated from college and built a good life for my family. And according to Michelle and Barak Obama, and according to the Democratic party, I need to give the government more money in order to help out families that are just like the one I grew up in??? BULL!!!

Stay off drugs???study in school???don???t join gangs???don???t commit crimes???don???t get pregnant???go to college...get a job???save your money???improve your community???don???t become dependent on the government....and, DO NOT TELL ME THAT I'M RICH, AND THAT I SHOULD GIVE YOU MORE MONEY.