The Top 500 Richest Americans Hold More Wealth Than The Bottom 150 Million Do

Originally posted by loves a conspiricy
When everything goes tits up all these wealthy people will have more to lose, so sit back....and wait for our currencies to fail

They will have a bank load of worthless paper...with 0 buying power.

You wish.

Smart people don't keep their wealth in paper.

Originally posted by jjkenobi

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by blocula

 

I'd like to understand your thinking a bit more clearly than I do now. Assume that you and I are identical in every economic respect; same income, bills, everything with one exception, I drink scotch and smoke cigars. Naturally, at the end of the month I have less money left than you do. (I spent mine on scotch and cigars.) This goes on for years until you eventually tell me you have $100,000 more than I do.

Is this state of affairs unfair? Have you done anything wrong to obtain your extra money? How is this situation hurting me? After all, I've had my fun while you were saving.

Maybe, after you've explained this to me we can discuss it more clearly. Thanks

Let's take this times 10. For 3 generations my forefathers worked 80 hours a week and invested wisely and now I'm born and inherit a few million dollars, couple houses, lots of land, couple of businesses, etc. What did I do to deserve the poor hating me and having my tax rate be 50% higher than yours? That example is not me, nobody in my family history was wealthy or passed money on. You can't choose your parents.

Its called sharing. You see, 6-7 billion people inhabit this planet - We only have one earth and we all have a right to live. In order to live one needs food, water, basic sanitation, shelter and love to keep us mentally healthy lol Now, if you take a look at the world, at least half of the population is not receiving the basics. So, Hiking your tax up 50% is a way of helping everyone else - We are sharing the planet. You see, all that wealth your sat on? Its not doing anything, its just idly existing like some sort of antique, It kinda defeats the purpose.
So how about we take SOME of your wealth and put it back into the system? We could grow food, build house's, invest in society, we could educate millions of more people and possibly end up technologically progressing faster because there are more experts, more education people that approach scientific problems in their own way.

But no your right, the wealthy should just sit on their accumulated currency and enjoy their higher rank in society - Why should they contribute to the rest of the world that we HAVE to share? Its bizzare to suggest that they should care for their fellow man.

Originally posted by Thunderheart
At one time, Bill Gates and a few of the other 500 were part of the 150 million. You too can be part of the top 500, just invent something that the world desperately needs and patent it.
Instead of hating them how about you learn how to become one of them?

Sorry buddy but its not the 1800s anymore. A regular person doesnt have access to the technology, infastructure and MASSIVE funding necessary to create state of the art inventions. Also, realize that it takes years of engineering degrees and all sorts of crap just to understand half the things being invented nowadays.

Gone are the days of poor people inventing and improving the products around us. The best us regular folk can do is invent infomercial trash like the Snuggie and the Shake Weight Handjob thing.

Third, in our society we all know it takes a complete ass to become one of the 500 richest people in the world. You dont get there by selling girl scout cookies, you get there by lying, cheating and stealing. Most of us dont have the sociopathic personality to be a mega rich, super capitalist. Who wants to be these people?

Obviously, basing our leadership on financial superiority (instead of say, intelligence) creates a very passionate, caring set of elites who have more than earned their right to justly govern the lives of us stupid, lazy commoners. [sarcasm]

I have to assume that people have been brainwashed by corporate owned media, who's only reason to exist is to sell you stuff you dont need and to give you the illusion this is how it's meant to be. The talk of class warfare, is a right wing ruse. There is no warfare. The Ruling classes have been ruling over humanity for centuries, they dictate the economy, the access to resources, the social engineering, the access to health care.

The lower class's just have to go along with it and make the best of the situation, they have little time for fighting back and when they do they will be met with the full force of the state, which just serves as an apparatus for the ruling classes.

Originally posted by Thunderheart
At one time, Bill Gates and a few of the other 500 were part of the 150 million. You too can be part of the top 500, just invent something that the world desperately needs and patent it.
Instead of hating them how about you learn how to become one of them?

Sure that will help that ONE person but what about the other 150 million? That is the issue.

Unless we can all be wealthy if we all give the same effort, the system is broken which is the case. If we all invented something and had Phd's we would still need someone to flip burgers!

Originally posted by Thunderheart
Quit whining and go make more money for yourself!
You're jealous of the super rich? The internet moguls? The Hollywood starlets? Go and become one, otherwise stop lusting after their material goods. YOU have the power to become anything you want to be, it takes hard work and dedication, it's not going to happen whilst you sit on the computer whining and feeling sorry for yourselves.
Bunch of lazy babies.

I know I can become whatever I want, being a compassionate human being however, I don't worry about just ME. Show me a wealthy elite who works harder than a roofer....I'll wait.

Originally posted by blocula
www.alternet.org...'s_wealth_--_what's_it_going_to_take_to_get_it_back www.globalresearch.ca... this is just really sad and wrong for so many people to have to work their only lives away for next to nothing. while the "beautiful" elite drag down more and more people into financial opression and mental depression and its only getting worse...in an old bureau in my grandmothers house i found a pay stub of my grandfathers from 1945, he made $2.50 an hour and he worked 40hrs,his gross was $100 even and after deductions he "brought home" $92 ! which means that then, his dollar had 92 cents of buying power!...now, if i gross $100, i "bring home" $65 ! so my dollar now has 65 cents of buying power! and this sad fact makes both parents have to work and their kids are raised by strangers and run wild in the streets...

edit on 17-8-2011 by blocula because: (no reason given)

Unfortunately the US Dollar is only worth a few measly cents compared to what a Dollar's actual purchasing power possessed in 1945.

To put it in perspective, in 1945 the price of an a Troy ounce of pure .9999 Gold was $37. US Dollars and today to purchase that same Troy Ounce of pure Gold would cost you $1800. in today's dollars...

Dividing 1800/37 = 48.7 so today's Dollar is 1/48th of the Dollars purchasing power in 1945 or about 2 Cents of that of a 1945 US Dollar.


So a Millionaire certainly isn't what it used to be....at least when it comes to Dollars....

Originally posted by 2manyquestions

Originally posted by Observer99

That is The Lie. If only Joe Shmoe could invent cold fusion, or thorium power, or sentient cell phones, he wouldn't have to work at starbucks.

For one thing, most people could never invent those things. Are you advocating the massive disparity of wealth between motivated geniuses who get lucky, and the other 99.99% of the populace who are not and cannot be that person? Apparently you are.

You don't have to invent thorium power or sentient cell phones to become rich. People became rich from all sorts of ideas including simple things such as baked goods. It took some of those people 10, maybe even 20 years to get where they are today, but with perseverance and hard work they achieved their dreams. Every single little tiny thing you use every day, somebody had to come up with it, market it, produce it and sell it. Some things took years to catch on, some things took a few months. Good ideas and ways to make people's lives easier float around all the time. The trick is to work hard to make them a reality. Hell,.. I know I've got a couple every week or so, problem is I don't do anything about them.

IF EVERYONE WAS BEAUTIFUL...NO ONE WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL...IF EVERYONE WAS POOR...NO ONE WOULD BE POOR... IF EVERYONE WAS RICH...NO ONE WOULD BE RICH

Originally posted by blocula
www.alternet.org...'s_wealth_--_what's_it_going_to_take_to_get_it_back www.globalresearch.ca... this is just really sad and wrong for so many people to have to work their only lives away for next to nothing. while the "beautiful" elite drag down more and more people into financial opression and mental depression and its only getting worse...in an old bureau in my grandmothers house i found a pay stub of my grandfathers from 1945, he made $2.50 an hour and he worked 40hrs,his gross was $100 even and after deductions he "brought home" $92 ! which means that then, his dollar had 92 cents of buying power!...now, if i gross $100, i "bring home" $65 ! so my dollar now has 65 cents of buying power! and this sad fact makes both parents have to work and their kids are raised by strangers and run wild in the streets...

edit on 18-8-2011 by blocula because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by blocula

Originally posted by 2manyquestions

Originally posted by Observer99

That is The Lie. If only Joe Shmoe could invent cold fusion, or thorium power, or sentient cell phones, he wouldn't have to work at starbucks.

For one thing, most people could never invent those things. Are you advocating the massive disparity of wealth between motivated geniuses who get lucky, and the other 99.99% of the populace who are not and cannot be that person? Apparently you are.

You don't have to invent thorium power or sentient cell phones to become rich. People became rich from all sorts of ideas including simple things such as baked goods. It took some of those people 10, maybe even 20 years to get where they are today, but with perseverance and hard work they achieved their dreams. Every single little tiny thing you use every day, somebody had to come up with it, market it, produce it and sell it. Some things took years to catch on, some things took a few months. Good ideas and ways to make people's lives easier float around all the time. The trick is to work hard to make them a reality. Hell,.. I know I've got a couple every week or so, problem is I don't do anything about them.

IF EVERYONE WAS BEAUTIFUL...NO ONE WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL...IF EVERYONE WAS POOR...NO ONE WOULD BE POOR... IF EVERYONE WAS RICH...NO ONE WOULD BE RICH equality and freedom are the perceptions of illusions...not reality

edit on 18-8-2011 by blocula because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint
The richest Americans also have the most miserable and loneliest lives.

keep telling yourself that.




like mr. burns?

unleash the hounds!

reply to post by Thunderheart


In the case of Bill Gates, it wasn't what you know, but WHO you know.
His Mom opened doors at IBM for him...

Bill Gates wasn't exactly poor either.

Anyone who's parents were Harvard alumni and attended Harvard themselves are far from it.

Bill Gates was Hired by IBM where his Mother worked, to create a copy/clone of the original X86 Disk Operating System for IBM's new line of computers called the PC. Thus Saving IBM on paying individual license fees to SCP, the inventor of the Original QDOS made explicityly for the Intel 8086 processor.

Gates and his partner Allen reverse engineered QDOS and changed a few commands and renamed it MS-DOS, licensing it in volume to and at a steep savings to IBM and the rest is history.


The History of DOS...


1973
Gary Kildall writes a simple operating system in his PL/M language. He calls it CP/M (Control Program/Monitor).
(Control Program for Microcomputer)

1979
February
Apple Computer releases DOS 3.2.

July
Apple Computer releases DOS 3.2.1

1980
April
Tim Patterson begins writing an operating system for use with Seattle Computer Products' 8086-based computer.
Seattle Computer Products decides to make their own disk operating system (DOS), due to delays by Digital Research in releasing a CP/M-86 operating system.

August
QDOS 0.10 (Quick and Dirty Operating System) is shipped by Seattle Computer Products. Even though it had been created in only two man-months, the DOS worked surprisingly well. A week later, the EDLIN line editor was created. EDLIN was supposed to last only six months, before being replaced.

September
Tim Patterson shows Microsoft his 86-DOS, written for the 8086 chip.

October
Microsoft's Paul Allen contacts Seattle Computer Products' Tim Patterson, asking for the rights to sell SCP's DOS to an unnamed client (IBM). Microsoft pays less than US$100,000 for the right.

December
Seattle Computer Products renames QDOS to 86-DOS, releasing it as version 0.3. Microsoft then bought non-exclusive rights to market 86-DOS.
---
1981
February
MS-DOS runs for the first time on IBM's prototype microcomputer.

July
Microsoft buys all rights to DOS from Seattle Computer Products, and the name MS-DOS is adopted.





www.fortunecity.com...

reply to post by nh_ee


don't forget his dad was a big lawyer.

that helped!

all in the family, but alot of people made alot of money.


all the way down.

Let's just get all the rich people and shoot them.
Then we can all be poor, aspire to nothing (don't want to be rich, they shoot you!) and live in our hovels being angry at the people with BIGER hovels, eating a better class of dirt. Then we can shoot them!
And then be angry at the people with clean socks. And we can shoot them!
And then be angry at people with dirty socks.
And shoot them.
Then be angry at people with clean feet.
And shoot. . . . . .

If you look at how tax rates developed ever since Reagan, you realize that there's been a HUGE redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the top 1%. This is an undeniable FACT!

And whereas the poor and middle class spend all their money on tangible stuff inside the US, rich people invest it where the returns are greatest...ASIA! So all those tax breaks don't actually help the US economy, contrary to what the politicians want you to believe.

Originally posted by MrXYZ
If you look at how tax rates developed ever since Reagan, you realize that there's been a HUGE redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the top 1%. This is an undeniable FACT!

And whereas the poor and middle class spend all their money on tangible stuff inside the US, rich people invest it where the returns are greatest...ASIA! So all those tax breaks don't actually help the US economy, contrary to what the politicians want you to believe.

Then lets STEAL IT!!!
(you grab the torches, I'll grab the pitchforks)

Lets TAKE their money. Lets steal it. Hey, I got a great idea! -ding!-
Lets elect a president that will steal it for us! BONUS!!!
That way we don't get busted for STEALING!!! Because it'll be "legal"!

Originally posted by beezzer

Originally posted by MrXYZ
If you look at how tax rates developed ever since Reagan, you realize that there's been a HUGE redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the top 1%. This is an undeniable FACT!

And whereas the poor and middle class spend all their money on tangible stuff inside the US, rich people invest it where the returns are greatest...ASIA! So all those tax breaks don't actually help the US economy, contrary to what the politicians want you to believe.

Then lets STEAL IT!!!
(you grab the torches, I'll grab the pitchforks)

Lets TAKE their money. Lets steal it. Hey, I got a great idea! -ding!-
Lets elect a president that will steal it for us! BONUS!!!
That way we don't get busted for STEALING!!! Because it'll be "legal"!

So according to your "logic", it's only stealing if the poor and middle class do it...yet if the top 1% DEMONSTRABLY do it over the course of 25+ years, it's somehow ok...yeah, makes perfect sense

Also, you obviously aren't a patriot because you don't care about the US economy or how people in general are doing...great attitude.

Originally posted by MrXYZ

Originally posted by beezzer

Originally posted by MrXYZ
If you look at how tax rates developed ever since Reagan, you realize that there's been a HUGE redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the top 1%. This is an undeniable FACT!

And whereas the poor and middle class spend all their money on tangible stuff inside the US, rich people invest it where the returns are greatest...ASIA! So all those tax breaks don't actually help the US economy, contrary to what the politicians want you to believe.

Then lets STEAL IT!!!
(you grab the torches, I'll grab the pitchforks)

Lets TAKE their money. Lets steal it. Hey, I got a great idea! -ding!-
Lets elect a president that will steal it for us! BONUS!!!
That way we don't get busted for STEALING!!! Because it'll be "legal"!

So according to your "logic", it's only stealing if the poor and middle class do it...yet if the top 1% DEMONSTRABLY do it over the course of 25+ years, it's somehow ok...yeah, makes perfect sense

Also, you obviously aren't a patriot because you don't care about the US economy or how people in general are doing...great attitude.

edit on 18-8-2011 by MrXYZ because: (no reason given)

If they stole their money then they should be arrested.
If they earned it and used existing laws to KEEP it, then to take it away would be. . . .
wait for it. . .
wait for it. . .
STEALING!

reply to post by beezzer


It kinda is...if you're using your money to BUY POLITICIANS. Politicians like Rick Perry for example

Not illegal (yet), but definitely not patriotic or ethical. You believing this is all good makes it very clear what kind of person you are

Originally posted by MrXYZ
reply to post by beezzer

 

It kinda is...if you're using your money to BUY POLITICIANS. Politicians like Rick Perry for example

Not illegal (yet), but definitely not patriotic or ethical. You believing this is all good makes it very clear what kind of person you are

Yup!
I don't like thieves. No matter what political suit they're wearing. No matter what the masses says.