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Originally posted by Paceryder
Originally posted by ThirdEyeofHorus
reply to post by buster2010
Basically what all that means is that King thinks that wealthy people are mostly not enough like him...ie...not as unselfish as him and that it requires govt to make them "do their fair share". So in effect, because King can afford to make donations, he wants the govt to force others to, he's a Statist through and through.
I think it's more of a difference between King knowing how lucky he has been and people like Romney think they're entitled. It's the difference between new money and old.
Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
From the Daily Beast;
Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&’s Sake!
(thedailybeast.com)
Warning, harsh language at the source.
What charitable 1 percenters can’t do is assume responsibility—America’s national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts. Charity from the rich can’t fix global warming or lower the price of gasoline by one single red penny. That kind of salvation does not come from Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Ballmer saying, “OK, I’ll write a $2 million bonus check to the IRS.” That annoying responsibility stuff comes from three words that are anathema to the Tea Partiers: United American citizenry.
I guess some of this mad right-wing love comes from the idea that in America, anyone can become a Rich Guy if he just works hard and saves his pennies. Mitt Romney has said, in effect, “I’m rich and I don’t apologize for it.” Nobody wants you to, Mitt. What some of us want—those who aren’t blinded by a lot of bull**** persiflage thrown up to mask the idea that rich folks want to keep their damn money—is for you to acknowledge that you couldn’t have made it in America without America. That you were fortunate enough to be born in a country where upward mobility is possible (a subject upon which Barack Obama can speak with the authority of experience), but where the channels making such upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged. That it’s not fair to ask the middle class to assume a disproportionate amount of the tax burden. Not fair? It’s un-****ing-American is what it is. I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Governor Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion. That’s called stepping up and not whining about it. That’s called patriotism, a word the Tea Partiers love to throw around as long as it doesn’t cost their beloved rich folks any money.
Much, MUCH more at the source. One of the best tirades I've heard in a long time, and it speaks to the core of the current ongoing political dissension.
There was a time when people viewed the government as a public service, there to provide for the common good of all Americans, rich and poor. The government wasn't a for-profit corporation, out to keep itself in the black, nor was it means to control and dominate every facet of your social or personal life, by invasive privacy-robbing dominionists. People used to believe in America, that's why they were willing to pay their fair into the system, to keep it strong. But now we have a class of super-wealthy elite, who are doing everything they can to undermine that system, to keep the system so skewed in their favor that it all but eliminates the ability for competition - it reduces America to a vassal state of the select wealthy.
Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
From the Daily Beast;
Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&’s Sake!
(thedailybeast.com)
Warning, harsh language at the source.
What charitable 1 percenters can’t do is assume responsibility—America’s national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts. Charity from the rich can’t fix global warming or lower the price of gasoline by one single red penny. That kind of salvation does not come from Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Ballmer saying, “OK, I’ll write a $2 million bonus check to the IRS.” That annoying responsibility stuff comes from three words that are anathema to the Tea Partiers: United American citizenry.
I guess some of this mad right-wing love comes from the idea that in America, anyone can become a Rich Guy if he just works hard and saves his pennies. Mitt Romney has said, in effect, “I’m rich and I don’t apologize for it.” Nobody wants you to, Mitt. What some of us want—those who aren’t blinded by a lot of bull**** persiflage thrown up to mask the idea that rich folks want to keep their damn money—is for you to acknowledge that you couldn’t have made it in America without America. That you were fortunate enough to be born in a country where upward mobility is possible (a subject upon which Barack Obama can speak with the authority of experience), but where the channels making such upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged. That it’s not fair to ask the middle class to assume a disproportionate amount of the tax burden. Not fair? It’s un-****ing-American is what it is. I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Governor Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion. That’s called stepping up and not whining about it. That’s called patriotism, a word the Tea Partiers love to throw around as long as it doesn’t cost their beloved rich folks any money.
Much, MUCH more at the source. One of the best tirades I've heard in a long time, and it speaks to the core of the current ongoing political dissension.
There was a time when people viewed the government as a public service, there to provide for the common good of all Americans, rich and poor. The government wasn't a for-profit corporation, out to keep itself in the black, nor was it means to control and dominate every facet of your social or personal life, by invasive privacy-robbing dominionists. People used to believe in America, that's why they were willing to pay their fair into the system, to keep it strong. But now we have a class of super-wealthy elite, who are doing everything they can to undermine that system, to keep the system so skewed in their favor that it all but eliminates the ability for competition - it reduces America to a vassal state of the select wealthy.
Originally posted by thinline
"channels making such upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged" Steven King
Yes, by government. Government can stop you from opening, if your mirrors in your bathroom are the wrong height. Steven King likes big scary things, so that is why he has no problem feeding the beast that is government regulations
Originally posted by LiberLegit
Stephen King can write a great book. But like most of the super-rich left he is basically full of junk. This guy pisses me off almost as much as Warren Buffet, naming themselves the saviors of the world by coming off as enlightened pricks. Almost as bad as the ultra-left hollywood stars with no grip on reality. I feel like half the people who comment on this stuff aren't mad because the rich aren't taxed enough, they're mad because they themselves aren't rich and need a way to get back. Anyone can become rich, it's just that most are afraid to take risk so they sit on the sidelines their entire lives commenting on things they know nothing about.
Most people that are rich have started their own company in one way or another. Do you all realize how difficult it is to start and maintain a company due to all of our current taxes and regulations? It's killing the economy. To think people want to add to those issues is saddening. The truth is, most of the rich give more back in charity for the people than you childish whiny lot ever will.
Instead of wasting your time worrying about what the rich do, why don't you just worry about yourself. The amount of taxes THEY pay has nothing to do with the taxes YOU pay. No matter how much more money is given to the government it will just be wasted.
There is only ONE way to make that happen. Scrap the existing TAX CODE and institute a NATIONAL SALES TAX of 8.50%. That TAX would apply across the board for everyone, no matter how rich or how poor. The RICH will always buy their toys and making them pay 8.50% National Sales Tax on those items will certainly make them pay MORE tax because they can afford those high priced items. Their homes, cars, yachts, boats, planes .... all of it. The ONLY thing NOT TAXABLE would be FOOD. Outside of that, it is VERY FAIR and EQUITABLE.
Originally posted by pivilu
Originally posted by LiberLegit
Stephen King can write a great book. But like most of the super-rich left he is basically full of junk. This guy pisses me off almost as much as Warren Buffet, naming themselves the saviors of the world by coming off as enlightened pricks. Almost as bad as the ultra-left hollywood stars with no grip on reality. I feel like half the people who comment on this stuff aren't mad because the rich aren't taxed enough, they're mad because they themselves aren't rich and need a way to get back. Anyone can become rich, it's just that most are afraid to take risk so they sit on the sidelines their entire lives commenting on things they know nothing about.
Most people that are rich have started their own company in one way or another. Do you all realize how difficult it is to start and maintain a company due to all of our current taxes and regulations? It's killing the economy. To think people want to add to those issues is saddening. The truth is, most of the rich give more back in charity for the people than you childish whiny lot ever will.
Instead of wasting your time worrying about what the rich do, why don't you just worry about yourself. The amount of taxes THEY pay has nothing to do with the taxes YOU pay. No matter how much more money is given to the government it will just be wasted.
I worry about myself, my children, my children's children, my community and our nation. The amount of taxes they pay IS my business. Much in the same way the amount of taxes I pay is everybody else's business. It goes to the common pot. We all enjoy the FAA, our wonderful road infrastructure (disheveled as it is) and many other programs we subsidize with our taxes. And no, the truth is not that the rich give more in charity than the rest of us: philanthropy.com...
Originally posted by AfterInfinity
I've admired Stephen King ever since I realized that he speaks the truth that no one wants to hear. If there's a dark reality lurking in the heart of a matter, he's the one to drag it out and describe it in the most depressingly un-sugarcoated terms that one can possibly confront a man desperately avoiding the darker side of life with.
And really, because of all the head-in-the-sand syndrome that the people have willingly afflicted themselves with, I support that mindset that Stephen King brings to the dinner table like Mom's old-fashioned casserole that is skirted like a leper. I just watched The Tall Man, and during one scene, Jessica Biel's character talks about how the system is broken, and trying to help break the cycle by allowing the younger generation a chance to really grow. I won't ruin the movie, but that's the line of thinking that Stephen King is circling right here, from the impression I got while reading the article.
And that's part of why I look up to the guy...he's a realist, and he's not afraid of dragging a dead rat from a crack in the wall, holding it in the air by its tail for all to see, and saying, "Hey guys, listen the f*** up, we have a problem here. What are you planning to do about it?"edit on 1-9-2012 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by EvilSadamClone
So we should just punish them for being rich by taking away 99% of everything they own and giving them to the lazy people who don't want to work because they deserve more than the rich do. Okey dokey, that sounds good to me.
Which is why I believe in the flat tax, with no loop holes.
What is "The System?" Is it the present policies we have for taxing and spending (Which have been labelled "unsustainable")? Is it having the members of both political parties in charge of the government (While some complain about "gridlock")? Is "The system" the totality of all people living in the country?
Those who have made plenty from the system should willing give back to the system from which they got it. The system works well for you. Works well for a lot of people. Let's keep her going.