Found this interesting regarding wealth..

They probably have very good financial planners, off-shore, other investments etc. I read somewhere that Warren Buffet said his tax rate (%-age) was lower than someone making like $30K. Don't quot him or me on that, but something to that effect.

 

Err, okay.

 

I agree w Bill & Oprah, her friend is an idiot

Wealthy people give much to society as they help creating culture, support art, they are leaders in society.

I give a lot to charity too but I see driving my Ferraris on the road as beautifying the environment, adding to culture, preserving art & history

We can both help the world become a better place and enjoy the luxuries it has to offer the 2 are not mutually exclusive unless you are Gandhi or Mother Teresa, both of whom by the way could not have accomplished their goals without wealthy people backing them

 

of course, because Buffet's income is derived from dividends which are now taxed at only 15%

 

As my good freind Chris Rock once mentioned:

"A millionare giving away half in a divorce is still rich,

a brother making 30 grand giving away half is gonna kill the beeyotch"

My point is these people wiht this type of money have been granted great power, and with great power comes great responsibity. Oprah, Donald Trump, Bill Gates giving away even half of there fortune still puts them at the same lifestyle. At those types of numbers its a score card game, nothing else. This is what Im saying....35% taxes on Oprahs income is not like 35% on my and yours. As a matter of fact, I doubt very much she pays anything close to that.

 

Most wealthy have a story, inherited, luck, manipulation, stock grants to themselves (lee raymond)etc..... Very few busted their butts to get there. Most that busted their butts and succeeded have achieved a level of comfort. a few mil. net worth.

Even gates cheated his way to the top, ever seen the PBS story behind microsoft. Oprah is in the luck camp, hired to do a show, no talent, and power of syndication, thats not "hard" work. Often times they are ROYAL EFFIN PRICKS like johnny carson. That SOB died with 300+ million while the mother of his child lived in squalor (spell) and his kids neglected.

Ultra high incomes should be taxed high, that said, taxes should be lowered over time as should government spending. I think estate taxes should not destroy what has benn built up, but any high income from that estate, dividends etc. should be hit hard.

 

Why ? What does the Govt do that is so marvelous that they should get a large chunk of our $ ? The US education system is a farce, driving education is worse, The govt cuts $ for arts, education, and stuff we need for a boondoggle in Iraq and you want these same idiots to have even MORE $$$

The whole Iraq situation & probably even 9/11 could have been avoided if we had an intelligent energy policy in place back in the 70s. We could have gone heavily Nuke like France. I mean even Germany which is WAY up north gets an enormous amount of energy from Solar of all things.

The Govt is a pack of self feeding Idiots, they dont deserve any more $

I think it would be great if there were more incentives for the wealthy to set up trusts to benefit the public like Gates has done or to donate directly to schools, hospitals, art schools, etc. STuff we need, Not just give the Govt more $ to create more weapons and create more misery in the world

 

William,

I have usually agreed with most of your posts, because we share a strong view that space is a big deal. That is one example of what government can do.

APOLLO

Also our national highway system that you grace with the presence of the slutmobile. I also agree with what you are saying about nuclear power and the PHUCKING IDIOTS running the country on almost every level. We usually have the wealthy to thank for putting those idiots in office and for bribing them to pass the BS laws that we endure.

Govt. should do what it did under the WPA and CCC and NASA and the FDA. Most of the rest is BS including the dept. of education.

So those are the reasons that govt. should get the money when it is led right. Govt. also gives and enforces patents and trademarks which may have benefitted you and yours. We are a society, how much of your own food do you grow William??

Yes, we need another TR, FDR, and kennedy and johnson for space. Most politicians get going on their way by calls to the wealthy for their initial fundraising, maybe they will pick more wisely in the future. There was a thread on another forum the other day all about our energy mess and it is all a liack of leadership and greed.

 

That first post is right on the mark!

 

I think one thing that could help is if a business man ran things. For example, a gov't manager wants to spend every cent of his budget so that it isn't cut in the future, thereby showing that he needs the full amount. In business, it is just the opposite, the managers that spend the leat and the most effecient are the ones who are praised. At least in theory.

 

Just because someone has a lot of money doesn't mean they have a lot of IQ points, Oprah is a prime example.

Just curious what great things government has done, particularly in the US.

 

From which turnip truck did you fall off?

 

I am not disagreeing.

My point, lets see if I can reword it.

Bono (U2) flies all over the world for AIDS awareness in Africa, you have Paul McCartney (Beatles) flying to Canada to bring awareness for the seal hunt, all asking for donations in there causes. The issue I have, is the the money they need is mine all the time. They give them time and devote some funds, but mostly they do it to get my money. Paul McCartney is worth over 1Billion dollars (do you know what this number means ?) If he is so crazy about the seal hunt, if he donated 100M dollars, how much damage do you think he could do to stop that from happening. I would bet that type of money would push some hard buttons somewhere. He would still have 900M in net worth, you think he could still afford a coffee at Starbucks ?
I think so.

Thats why when I hear of Sept 11th, and the red cross needs money, where is Puffy Combs ? from NY.....where was JLO ?? Do you know how much she actually donated ? If you can believe this, on CNN she donated $25,000 to the relief fund.....25k !!!!!! What a joke !!
Mark Anthony for her first wedding anniversary a yr, or 2 back bought her 20K gold shoes. How does this make sense with these people ?
This is what upsets me.

How much did Donald donate ?? Robert DiNero ?? All NY people, how about all the athletes ?? Where were these people ?? All worth MEGA MILLIONS !

NO WHERE !!

 

I think this whole argument is absurd. They earned their money, they have NO obligation to dontate it to ANYONE. There is no reason they should pay more in taxes because they are successful. Who cares if they could give away $100 million with out a problem and still be rich? They shouldn't be compelled to do so. Perhaps they're trying to create an estate that they can leave to their children and their childrens children. Donations should come from a persons desire to donate, not some society induced pressure to help the less fortunate. Do they NEED $250 million per year? Maybe not, but they earned it, and it should be their sole choice to do with it as they please.

 

Great !!

Then stop running around the world asking me to donate to there causes.

And next time a natural disaster comes around, Im keeping my blood and my $100 bucks in my bank acount.

 

Holy Shiite!!! I had no idea Zymol was that expenisve. Is this a typo or is it really that much? I have heard about zymol for the past several years, but I figured it was like 15 bucks a bottle or something. I heard it was expensive, but I thought it was expensive in the sense that it was three times the price of a $5 tin of Meguiars. Sorry for the hijack

 

I dont know where they were but I was in Manhattan on Sept 11 until the 14th. Then I called the Red Cross & drove my 2 car race trailer to their collection site in the town of Kent, CT. The people of Kent filled the truck up with supplies for NYC then I drove the truck down to a collection site near NYC w several 1,000s of lbs of badly needed supplies.

 

Reminds me of a great saying regarding the US Constitution

"it is a great document written by geniuses to be used by idiots"

Of course the media doesnt help as the best candidates may have affairs or such but then again so did George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, FDR, JFK, and all our best Presidents

 

They have many different products, at many different prices, some of which probably aren't worth it.