What Are Rich People Thinking?

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  • Posted By: Nowhere Man @ 11/10/2008 4:22:16 PM

    I am soooo glad we are dividing ourselves as a nation into groups of monetary brackets, ethnic and racial divides, religious sects, the haves-and-have-nots, political camps,and whatever other divisions we can create for ourselves. That will make it so much easier to be divided by another entity and we'll be done with all the arguments about what's best for the country, because it will be irrelevant at the time

  • Posted By: CU_CA @ 11/10/2008 4:21:46 PM

    Nice sensationalism and "Bushenfreude" is real catchy... I voted for Obama and I almost wish I hadn't because of the so called "reporters" from Newsweek, CNN and other media outlets that made me feel as though I was an idiot if I did not. Even though my man won, the balance of coverage was so one sided it made me ill. Great job Newsweek, CNN, Time, MSNBC you have reached the editorial toilet and can now consider OK! and US Weekly amongst your peer group.

  • Posted By: seaprincess @ 11/10/2008 4:21:21 PM

    Maybe the >$250k voted to pay higher taxes because they may feel it is better for the country. Right now their stock market investments may be in the pits beyond the "tax savings" under the current Bush plan.

  • Posted By: Untwestnd @ 11/10/2008 4:20:06 PM

    Tthey really cared for the future of this country!!!

  • Posted By: jmcdonald93 @ 11/10/2008 4:18:29 PM

    To Dave in NM...very easy insult on the South...such a gentleman. You didn't even comment on the article which had nothing to do with the South. Speaking of which, this article makes a thesis for the country's trends based on what, the state of Conn.? Many of my "rich" friends didn't vote for McCain because republicans have lost their core principles of small gov't, not because they endorse the Obama tax plan. Also, people in the NE are more socially liberal, which can account for the trends mentinoed in the article.

  • Posted By: luckylarry @ 11/10/2008 4:14:05 PM

    Just maybe, Obama is not for the poor. We will have to see if he takes money away from the rich (himself). Maybe the poor were duped again. Yeah, that would be interesting. I guess we will wait and see.

    • Posted By: miketheknife @ 11/10/2008 4:18:29 PM

      Maybe the martians will land and take us all to Disneyland. What the heck kind of speculation game is this? Why is it so hard for people to wait until he becomes the President to start criticizing his policies? He hasn't done anything yet. Or, maybe we should just guess that he is going to break the law and impeach him before he even takes the oath of office.

  • Posted By: Dawn78 @ 11/10/2008 4:15:32 PM

    I hope this puts a stop to the people who say Obama is for the poor people.

  • Posted By: techie22 @ 11/10/2008 4:15:03 PM

    The rich didn't vote for higher taxes. They all voted for McCain.
    They will suck every last cent out of anyone who's not in "The Club"
    until there's no one left. They are evil souless people.

  • Posted By: luckylarry @ 11/10/2008 4:13:35 PM

    Just maybe, Obama is not for the poor. We will have to see if he takes money away from the rich (himself). Maybe the poor were duped again. Yeah, that would be interesting. I guess we will wait and see.

  • Posted By: BEAN152004 @ 11/10/2008 4:13:14 PM

    I may not be well off in this world we call AMERICA! Yet, I think if you make money like Donald Trump or the HILTONS you should pay more in Taxes than "Joe The Plumber" or regular employess working at BofA. I'm truly insulted that individuals that have more than two homes and three vehicles would be "Horrified" that they have to pay a little more to keep this country alive when "The Rich" always will come out on top and the "Average Joe" will have to figure out what is more important.... Paying their Rent/Mortgage or buying food for their Family! WAKE UP AMERICA... NOW THE RICH HAS TO DO A LITTLE MORE THAN JUST DONATING THEIR OLD CLOTHES AND WORKING AT THE LOCAL CHURCH (IN A GREAT AREA) INSTEAD OF FEEDING THE HOMELESS AT THE LOCAL SHELTER ON THE WRONG SIDE OF TOWN!!!!!! "PAY IT FORWARD"

  • Posted By: labman57 @ 11/10/2008 2:33:01 PM

    Not EVERY wealthy person is a greedy, self-serving SOB. There actually are some that can see the big picture when it comes to resurrecting the economy in such a way that middle and lower income citizens benefit.

    • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 2:38:57 PM

      You have to be careful how you do that that though. Just handing them money is not going to solve anything, it will make it worse. You have to look at the culture being created by it and what that would teach us: we can work less and get more. The comment before you is dead right. Don't for a second think that these super rich are just giving up money without way to get it back.

      • Posted By: blackd @ 11/10/2008 2:54:39 PM

        You mean like they did the banks? Its ok to bail at wall street but not the middle class? Give me a break!!!!

        • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 2:59:53 PM

          first it is not a bailout, it is a loan and/or a stake in the companies. second, mainstreet would be much worse off if they had not stepped in. I am all for letting companies fail. It is like a natural forrest fire. Cleans out the bad to create the new and better. But unless you have any background in how this mess started and the consequences of letting our banking system fail, stay out of this.

          • Posted By: Doc Howl @ 11/10/2008 3:17:48 PM

            Rubbish. 10% went to executive compensation alone.

            This was a giveaway.

            • Posted By: Blackcourt79 @ 11/10/2008 3:33:13 PM

              You can thank your Democratic party for that one Howl. Good luck for the next four years taking all the blame.

              • Posted By: Doc Howl @ 11/10/2008 4:10:00 PM

                McCain backed it. Interesting that you give him a pass on that.

      • Posted By: AH1986 @ 11/10/2008 3:23:40 PM

        Marley I agree with you here 100 percent. I think the government should institute tax cuts and that's it. No free money,etc. etc. It would give a boost to those who need it at the same time stop enabling governemtn dependancy. Honestly I have no idea where we're going to turn up. If we stick with the unrestrained free market politics that we've gotten used to, we'll repeatedly see what has been going on with lehman, AIG, etc again and again. Freeedom with a guiding hand. That is what the founding fathers wanted.

    • Posted By: Blackcourt79 @ 11/10/2008 2:36:52 PM

      They would have been eaten alive by their rivals a long time ago... Donal Trump has been quoted saying... "You can never be too greedy."

  • Posted By: FATJOEY @ 11/10/2008 3:45:25 PM

    yes,they voted for obama,and they'll all live to regret it,so what's your point?

    • Posted By: Dave in NM @ 11/10/2008 4:07:18 PM

      Just as I KNOW you will provide a heartfelt and equally public retraction in the (inconceivable, I know) event you are proven wrong about (and I LOVE saying this) President Obama?

  • Posted By: scpdx @ 11/10/2008 3:58:54 PM

    My husband's and my professional salaries together will put us into the taxable bracket. We are both Obama supporters. Why? The way I figure it, either I make the sacrifice and pay for the mess that my generation is responsible for or it falls on the shoulders of my children and grandchildren. That wouldn't be fair. We Boomers worked hard AND benefited all these years. Its definately time to pay it forward. I feel this way although we never were Bush supporters, which makes us innocent bystanders more than complicit. But either way ... its our duty to pay.

    • Posted By: Dave in NM @ 11/10/2008 4:06:23 PM

      Thank you for being willing to pay your fair share. I am not in the target bracket, so my vote for Obama may be seen as cynical, but I am clawing my way up. If and when I am called upon to pay my share, I will gladly do so. There are more important things than just my bank balance right-now-today. Guess that makes me a "socialist" to the McCain voters, but big deal - I will always be able to sleep at night.

  • Posted By: Francissolomon @ 11/10/2008 4:05:36 PM

    The rich voted for Obama because they're, by-and-large, thinking people. The trade-off between slightly higher taxes and a supreme court for our children that's composed of the American Taliban is really a no-brainer.

  • Posted By: 4carol @ 11/10/2008 4:05:17 PM

    What difference does it make???
    They're all at the minimum millionaires so they can afford to lose a few dollars.
    Just because the election is over, does that mean that you cannot find anything to write about with substance?? There are many issues worrying America right now and I really don't believe this is one of them!

  • Posted By: Pudbert @ 11/10/2008 3:57:37 PM

    What an uninformed, totally out of touch liberal idiot..

    • Posted By: miketheknife @ 11/10/2008 4:05:16 PM

      Could you explain what liberals are uninformed and out of touch about? By the way, more Obama won the election by more than 8 million votes. I think it is wrong to say that all of his supporters were liberal. I think a lot of moderates and even conservatives had a hand in his win.

  • Posted By: jhunter72 @ 11/10/2008 4:03:03 PM

    Maybe they understood that it's only fair, and that it's worth it to have someone in the White House that is going to accomplish thing and make life better for all. Besides, when the not so rich do well the rich do better, and that's ok! :)

  • Posted By: ernestonewsweekaccount @ 11/10/2008 4:01:25 PM

    Actually this is not a mystery and the explanation is quite simple. If the middle class goes down hill sooner or later even the rich will also loose. Whenever you have a strong and vibrant middle class everyone benefits in society including the super-rich. Everything from monetary gain to crime to the arts, every aspect of society and the country as whole is better off with a healthy middle class.

  • Posted By: drmflorida @ 11/10/2008 3:28:43 PM

    Um.... How about because the economy tends to do BETTER under Democratic presidents? Bigger economy means more money. Anyone who would rather gross less than pay a higher percentage of taxes needs to buy a calculator.

    • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 4:01:05 PM

      dont' confuse bigger economy with bigger government.

  • Posted By: AH1986 @ 11/10/2008 2:09:38 PM

    Marley07- - I agree wih you that the people who are making an above average income have worked hard to get there, but I have a question for you. What about all the others that are working just if not harder than these "rich" people but aren't being paid what they're worth? I know it's cliche, but i'm going to use myself as an example. I've been in the IT industry for 14 years, have a masters in network inrastructure design and am a certified engineer.. Sounds like I should be set, right? Well, let me tell you that with my knowledge, skills, and experience in my field I'm only making 44k this year......I have 3 kids and a mortgage too. Should I be penalized for the way that our current administration has shoved the "trickle down" mantra down the mouths of the public? Do I see any of that trickle down money in support to be able to start my own consulting firm? The answer is a resounding no. I was making 85k 5 years ago, but as time wears on and the pocketbooks grow tighter in our current economic strain, for professionals in my field, we're being cut back. It's like this across the market in many different sectors. I ask again is it fair that the wealthier pay a little more out of pocket to bring up the standard of living for the lower classes? in all honesty, no it's not, but the fact remains that it needs to be done, or crime, unemployment, and poverty rates will coninue to climb. I guess what I'm trying to ask you and all others who read this is have a heart and sacrifice your morning latte for a cup of folgers for crying out loud and help jumpstart our country again. Is it too much to ask?

    • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 2:23:06 PM

      I hear you and it is frustrating for people like you that do actually work hard, but lets be honest, there are very few of you out there. Most of the people who think they have it tough and are getting the shaft are lazy and unmotivated. What we are doing here is walking a fine line. Either we continue to wake up with the chance for opportunity where you can make your own way, or we just make everything fair across the board. The point is not whether or not I can sacrifice starbucks for folgers, becuase i gladly can, but the point is why should i have to because someone else is not working as hard or made the right decisions to get here. Plus I want to decide who I help and when i help them. I give to charities, I help local programs which i gauruntee will go alot further then letting the goverment decide where that money goes. There is something bigger going on here than just money too. It is a culture aspect that i am becoming frustrated with. No dodgeball at schools because the weak get picked off first or a kid not being able to pitch in a league with the same age kids becuase he trows the ball to hard. This "fair" idea is rediculous. We are becoming soft. Evenutally, people are going to learn that you don't have to work hard and we will lose competition which is what in turn drives people to innovate and succeed.

      • Posted By: Doc Howl @ 11/10/2008 3:18:31 PM

        "I hear you and it is frustrating for people like you that do actually work hard, but lets be honest, there are very few of you out there. Most of the people who think they have it tough and are getting the shaft are lazy and unmotivated. "

        What an interesting view you have of your countrymen.

        • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 3:59:25 PM

          Not all, but some..yes.

        • Posted By: AH1986 @ 11/10/2008 3:37:22 PM

          I have a mixed feeling too. I agree with you that just passing around the collection plate is the wrong thing to do. I think what needs to happen isn't going to be as simple as loweriing tax rates, but rather needs to be a total paradigm shift BACK to what the priciples of our constitution were based upon. A fine balance between self regulated, free market trading, with the guidance of those with authority to stop what we've seen happening with the financial and housing markets. In our current administration, the ideal "chicken in every pot" catch-phrase has spawned the buy now pay later mentality that got us into this mess. I honestly don't blame these corperations or their CEO's. Sure they've done a rotten thing but they are in business. They saw an opportunity and took it.. The people to blame is the american public. We were greedy and sought to live outside of our means. We've beoome children then looked to these corperations as parents at whom we've shouted, "gimmie gimmie gimmie", and you know what? They gave, but for a price. This has backfired and now were looking for our get out of jail free card. I gues in closing I'd like to say that The best possible solution is to ask the higher percentile eraners to spare a little so we can get on the right track through tax breaks for the middle and lower class earners, and ltax breaks alone. No new programs. No government "bonus" checks. What we need is that whatever someone makes they get a greater percentile back without having our country go further into debt. Im no strategist but it just seems like common sense? Am I wrong?

          • Posted By: marley07 @ 11/10/2008 3:58:56 PM

            No your not wrong at all. I appreciate an actual conversation instead of snapping back with some stupid comment becuase we don't agree. There is not an easy answer to any of this. You can look at any particular issue and argue back and forth with no outcome at all. I am much more worried about the bigger picture and our culture when it is related to this article. All you hear about is the evil companies and greedy ceo's. There is no question there is some truth to this, but what about all those that have done things right and were not greedy and provided a great service to the consumer and contributed to this country. They are getting thrown into a group without a good reason and will pay for it. I jsut think we have to be very careful how we proceed with this redistribution of wealth as it can create the wrong mindset to get this country back on track.

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