Sorry, Pal, You're Rich

One question.. How many millions do the rich need to be happy???
Is enough ever enough?

All right.

I paid my way through college with a full-ride scholarship to a good state school, student loans and odd jobs because my parents couldn't afford to send me. I graduated with top honors. Over a year later, I'm working two jobs, renting a tiny apartment on the outskirts of a metropolis, barely make enough money to pay for gas and Easy Mac and yet I'm not working hard enough?! My car barely runs... I've been without health insurance since I graduated because I can't afford it... I don't shop, I don't have cable, literally -all I do is work- and I still only make around $30,000/year -- both jobs combined. But I'm not working hard enough?

I'm young. I realize that. I get no help from -anyone--- not my family (they don't have the money), and most certainly not the government. Someday I -will- make $250k+. And you know what? At that point I will -gladly- pay the taxes! The ability to sleep at night without worrying whether or not I can afford to pay my electric bill will feel like a luxury. Will I want to part with what I've earned? No; but I understand that it would be a responsibility I'd have to my country, to my compatriots who will be struggling in the exact same way I'm struggling right now.

$250K is a lot of money to someone like me. Hearing you people talk about your 4-bedroom houses makes me laugh. My apartment is the size of your master closet, and yet you're complaining. What do you have to complain about, really?

I wonder how many of those who hate the rich are working the 100 hours a week that attorneys, doctors, and others work. If these professionals worked 40 hours a week, they probably would earn significantly less that $100-150,000.

How many of those who hate the rich work a second part time or full time job to match the hours that some of the 'rich' folks work?

I used to think just like so many of you... "Why should my hard earned money go to someone who only wants to get a hand out from the government with my tax dollars."...until I had the opportunity to make friends with a girl at work that had just come from that government dole and was crying her eyes out while we were on break. She had just starting working (husband still looking), and had 2 children under 8 years old. After only one month working, she was taken off the New York program because she was now working full time and no longer qualified for the assistance she used to get. Her husband developed an absessed tooth and needed to have emergency dental work. The assistance program she used to have would not pay the bill for 30 days to give them time to determine how much she was making a month, and the dentists in our area wanted her to pay up front since the family was uninsured. Now here's a family that's trying desperately to make it on their own with her making only $8.00 per hour, and the government was pushing them right back into the hole they were in. She had to quit her job so her husband could get the surgery he needed. Had the government program allowed these people to keep their assistance for just a couple more months they would have had that family off of the public dole and back to productive citizens. So the program itself can be blamed for why so many are still there. It is a very flawed and broken system if this is the way it is run. How many more families have tried and failed because the system failed them.

If you exclude celebrities, most rich people are actually some form of managers in order to earn 250k+.
That puts them in an unique position to control the wages of the people working for them.
The small guy has little power especially in a weak economy. The manager can easily abuse its power and increase the gap that separates him/her from its reports. A higher tax rate for those making this kind of money is most benign thing the government can do.
When you hear 'Midddle Class" the key word is 'Middle'. When you are making more than the 'middle' you can be considered rich. Location is a false issue since that is a voluntary cost you assume when moving in an expensive area....you just can not subsideze people for moving into more expensive areas!

It' simple as this, EVERYONE should pay the same percentage of tax.

Gross conveniently ignores a central thesis to the ''rich''premise,one that has bedeviled his party[Gross is a Democrat who will be pulling for Obama],for years,the capital gains tax on the ''rich''.

You are making 35,000$ per annum. Uncle Joe has died and left you with a home worth precisely,250,000$. Now here is a deal. You haven't been able to afford a home of your own,and Joes beneficiance ,although mourning his death otherwise,has left you with a means by which you can now better ensure the fiscal and housing health of your family.
Not so fast,sayeth Gross[Obama,Biden,The Democrat Congress,et al]. You are now ''rich'',even even for a temporary moment in time,perhaps never to be repeated. These levy a huge capital gains tax upon your new found wealth and like millions of Americans[all of Bidens allegedly precious ''working class''],you are forced to dump the home in order to meet the taxmans[read:Democrat Parties],demands and you are left in even worse shape than if Joe never handed you off the home at all,for,along with paying the obscene capital gains taxes on the home,you,for the one year that you were in The Land Of The Rich,also see your tax bracket increase forcing you to pay more out of your paycheck to the taxman [read:Democrat Party]. Thus you have no home,and owe the IRS thousands,perhaps tens of thousands,in back taxes,ruining your credit [Joe Biden will see to this however. His chief lobbyist,[and one he and Obama sent 3.4 million to in pork money that was siphoned through one Hunter Biden,Joes son],Delawares MNDA,the nations largest provider of credit cards,will ensure that you get a card in order to buy gas and groceries....at 23% interest.

www.opensecrets.org

Does anyone think past survival and about survival and retirement. Sorry Chris, but, do you really think making an extra $20K per year before taxes ($80 instead of $60K) will allow you to live now, then retire comfortably? Wake-up. Forget about retiring in high-cost locales such as NY, SF, etc. Real estate taxes on your home will eat you alive - yes, you still have to pay them when you retire, plus federal, state and local income taxes on your pre-tax retirement income.

It doesn't matter how much I make. If I work smart enough to earn more than most Americans, then I should not be penalize by having to pay more taxes. If you are not smart enough to make more then that's you fault or your parents fault. Go complain to them. The government should not be in the business of taking money from those that acheive more to support those that refuse to acheive more. Get off your can and do something better in your life for a CHANGE! If you don't change, your situation will not change. America is fastly losing it economic edge and power in the world, because it now costs to much to innovate. If I can't get ahead in life without being punished for it, then why should I try. Let's all be poor, dumb and rely on the goverment to take care of us all. Or maybe I should leave this country and take all of my jobs with me. I'll pay less taxes and pay my employees more. Who will take care of you when there is no one left to fund the government.

It is time for the government to stop subsidizing Americans. They need to eliminate all tax deductions, count all income (stocks, wages, benefits), and set a reasonable (10%ish) flat tax. There is no reason why the Federal government should subsidize your home, your kids, your investments, your charities, fat corporate executive perks, etc.

My thoughts are the reason our politicians consider $250,000 as middle class is because that's how much many of them earn when you factor in their private law practices many of them hold down on the side. They want to be included in the "middle class" so the voters will feel they can relate to them. Hogwash! 1/4 of a milliion dollars is a lot of money. I live in Pittsburgh, PA and my salary for a family of 4 was $25,000. My oldest son is leaving for technical school which is $52,000.00 for two years and guess what, he needs to take out almost $30,000 in loans! We were forturnate enough to qualify for a few scholarships totalling $7,000 but believe me, the government is providing very little along the line of grants these days...that priviledge is reserved for the illegal immigrants. So, pardon me if I don't cry for those making $250,000, it's $225,000 more than I made last year!

Daniel Gross makes his point very well. Especially seeing that Matt2010 feels so poor. What you don't understand is that you CAN put money away. You are saving money to buy that million dollar mansion and drive the Bentley. People who aren't rich, cannot SAVE money. That's what the Republicans do NOT understand. You are rich. Quit your whining.

$250,000/yr is most certainly rich, meaning compared to most, they can buy the "necessities" with ease and still have some left over for whatever else they want to spend it on. I live on about $60K/yr and would have all my financial problems solved if I could just reach $80K.

However, as far as taxing them more... I don't see how that's going to help struggling people overall. Our Governments have more than a little corruption and atleast alot of inefficiency. Are we not better off leaving it up to the guy who earned the pile of cash to actually give back to the community, through private non-profit organizations (church is a good example)? I don't for a second think that will end greed and poverty, but who thinks for a second that the Government will? Remember, its not enough just to give a struggling person money. Most of them will waste it and be back in the same struggle in short time. That's why they are struggling in the first place. Private organizations that help people, TEACH people how to use money wisely. That is a real solution to poverty. And yes, a VERY long term solution. Such is life.