Wealth Inequality in America: Viral Video

[Alceste]

My only point was if you depend on Social Security as your sole means of support in retirement you might not survive.

Fair enough. But in truth, none of us will survive either way.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Fair enough. But in truth, none of us will survive either way.

True That, but retirement today is very different than it used to be.

The norm back in the day was, retire, buy a Cadillac, travel the world and do a few things you always wanted to do and return home and sit in a rocking chair for a few years and die.

Now a person could be retired and live longer in retirement than they actually worked.

I'm still dealing with what percentage of my retirement I should withdraw each year and how inflation may be a problem before I die. I can no longer take risks which goes against the grain of my life time mentality. When you take very little risk, you don't gain much and your nest egg could be consumed by inflation and taxes.

My approach is to see just how little I could live on if necessary.

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

There is a big difference between paying your taxes and receiving services which is all well and good and EXPECTING THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE CARE OF YOU.

I expect the power company to supply electricity but some times they don't. Am I stupid not to own a generator?

Only a fool would not save and invest for retirement and expect their livelihood in their golden years to be dependant on a check from the government.

Fire departments are great but I still own a fire extinguisher.

Any time you depend on others you more and likely will be disappointed at one time or another.

None of these refute my claims. Not one. And do you seriously think that a fire extinguisher and a generator are enough, respectively, to take the place of a fire department and a power plant?

You need to watch the video in the OP again. People like you love, love, love to hate on people who have been FORCED into dependency on food stamps, Medicaid, etc. just to survive. And you want to yank that away from them. How cruel. How unchristian. I'm pretty sure your Jesus had something to say about feeding the poor and healing the sick, and that it was not "let them fend for themselves."

Don't blame the poor when austerity hits your retirement, Rick. The poor were never the problem and they never will be.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

:biglaugh:You think I am ever going to be dependant on the the government? I plan to give my social security to charity. :yes:

You are dependent. You just don't realize it..is all.

 

[Reverend Rick]

People like you love, love, love to hate on people who have been FORCED into dependency on food stamps, Medicaid, etc. just to survive. And you want to yank that away from them. How cruel. How unchristian. I'm pretty sure your Jesus had something to say about feeding the poor and healing the sick, and that it was not "let them fend for themselves."

Don't blame the poor when austerity hits your retirement, Rick. The poor were never the problem and they never will be.

How did you get all that into one rant plus take a pot shot at my Christianity?

Your putting words in my mouth. Why would I volunteer at a food bank and build a battered women's shelter if I had hate in my heart? Your ranting on the wrong dude.

Your victim mentality goes a long way towards your feeling of entitlement. How about you do some service for your community before you throw sticks at me and my religion.

All I was speaking to here was a person has to plan for retirement because the government may let you down. Reading is fundamental, why the rant on me because I see things different than you.

Go out and do something for yourself or others for a change, you might just like it.

Actually it is rewarding and addictive. I'm not that guy your going on about.

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

How did you get all that into one rant plus take a pot shot at my Christianity?

Your putting words in my mouth. Why would I volunteer at a food bank and build a battered women's shelter if I had hate in my heart? Your ranting on the wrong dude.

Your victim mentality goes a long way towards your feeling of entitlement. How about you do some service for your community before you throw sticks at me and my religion.

All I was speaking to here was a person has to plan for retirement because the government may let you down. Reading is fundamental, why the rant on me because I see things different than you.

Go out and do something for yourself or others for a change, you might just like it.

Actually it is rewarding and addictive. I'm not that guy your going on about.

Oh I'm sorry, is it now taboo to address someone's religious beliefs? So this is game of you-can-dish-it-out-but-I-can't, is it? Get real, Rick. You're not even fighting fair, let alone making decent points. If you can show me how charity is reversing the problem described in the OP, then I'll be willing to talk. But that is the problem--YOU HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE OP.

Which, BTW, perfectly summarizes almost every other libertarian/conservative I've ever attempted to debate.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Man, you say that like you have a bad taste in your mouth or something. Is that how it is, class warfare? Should I be ashamed that I planned things and was blessed they worked out?

No...It's a statement of fact.....My wife and I too have been able to set aside money for our future....We had our family when we were in our early/mid twenties. Our kids are grown with their own kids (with the exception of our son).....So we're ale to splurge a little and take a vacation here and there every once in a while.....And with all that said...income inequality is and will still be a fact. Early on in this thread I posted a graph and it is all true. The wealthy/rich have seen an enormous income boost. Some of us with IRA and 401k's have reaped some of those gains....but for the vast majority of people they don't have a 401k (i.e. The working poor and a large population of the middle class).....At the very least we should match the minimum wage with a cost of living scale....and I see no reason the current minimum wage can't be increased......Check out "American Winter"...(University of Iowa Alumna's Documentary on Rising American Poverty 'American Winter' Coming to HBO, Iowa City - Iowa City, IA Patch).

What we know is poverty isn't a democrat or republican phenomenon. Nor does it care about your race or religion....but what we do see is the top 1% holding on to the money they're making off the working poor and middle class....and barely reinvesting it back..and storing their cash offshore as well investing in other countries....

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Yes, you and every other American citizen are either directly or indirectly dependent on the government.

Have you ever driven on roads? Those are a public service.
Have you ever had to call the fire department or police? Those are public services.
Did you or any of your children go to public schools? Those are public services.
Is your tap water relatively clean and free of pollutants? You can thank the government for that.
Have you ever watched TV on a flatscreen or used velcro? You can thank NASA for that.
Have you ever been grateful that our brave men and women have been willing to lay down their lives so that you and I could even have this conversation? Then you are dependent on the government.

This anti-government mantra during this presidency is as powerful as the anti-terrororism mantra was during Bush's terms, and it would be so nice if its subscribers stepped away from the Kool-Aid and actually used logic to address the problems of the day.

So true....

 

[Reverend Rick]

Get off your high horse son, until the government nabs you up and takes you half way around the world and sticks a gun in your hand when your still a teenager to be shot at you have no clue how justified I am to feel like I do.

Pay into social security for over 50 years and then give it to charity and then we can talk.

Then the government has the nerve to tell me I am no longer to be trusted with a gun?

The government can screw themselves and I would like to give you the same invitation.

 

[Reverend Rick]

No...It's a statement of fact.....My wife and I too have been able to set aside money for our future....We had our family when we were in our early/mid twenties. Our kids are grown with their own kids (with the exception of our son).....So we're ale to splurge a little and take a vacation here and there every once in a while.....And with all that said...income inequality is and will still be a fact. Early on in this thread I posted a graph and it is all true. The wealthy/rich have seen an enormous income boost. Some of us with IRA and 401k's have reaped some of those gains....but for the vast majority of people they don't have a 401k (i.e. The working poor and a large population of the middle class).....At the very least we should match the minimum wage with a cost of living scale....and I see no reason the current minimum wage can't be increased......Check out "American Winter"...(University of Iowa Alumna's Documentary on Rising American Poverty 'American Winter' Coming to HBO, Iowa City - Iowa City, IA Patch).

What we know is poverty isn't a democrat or republican phenomenon. Nor does it care about your race or religion....but what we do see is the top 1% holding on to the money they're making off the working poor and middle class....and barely reinvesting it back..and storing their cash offshore as well investing in other countries....

No DP, your talking about the top .01 percent and scooping the rest of us up in the net.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

My only point was if you depend on Social Security as your sole means of support in retirement you might not survive.

And many don't.....There are a lot of working older people. But then again...there are some that just can't work and receive SS. A big chunk of what we pay for is the rising cost of healthcare. It's one thing to say we have to reign in government spending and address "entitlements".....but once you start to break it all down you realize that the majority is healthcare, child care and food and nutrition.. for the young as well as the old.......and "small government" is a myth. Government is actually smaller now than it was under the previous administration.

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

Get off your high horse son, until the government nabs you up and takes you half way around the world and sticks a gun in your hand when your still a teenager to be shot at you have no clue how justified I am to feel like I do.

Pay into social security for over 50 years and then give it to charity and then we can talk.

Then the government has the nerve to tell me I am no longer to be trusted with a gun?

The government can screw themselves and I would like to give you the same invitation.

I assume this angry post was addressed to me...

Governments make mistakes, because they are run by people, which if given unlimited power can do horrible things.
Corporations make mistakes, because they are run by people, which if given unlimited power can do horrible things.

One of these things is a real threat to Americans. One is not. The fearmongers have lied to us about which is which. And we are paying dearly.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

You need to watch the video in the OP again. People like you love, love, love to hate on people who have been FORCED into dependency on food stamps, Medicaid, etc. just to survive. And you want to yank that away from them.

This is key. Many working for Wal-Mart and in the fast food industry etc. find themselves working for minimum wage, which is a working wage below the poverty line, and still needing medicaid.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I assume this angry post was addressed to me...

Governments make mistakes, because they are run by people, which if given unlimited power can do horrible things.
Corporations make mistakes, because they are run by people, which if given unlimited power can do horrible things.

One of these things is a real threat to Americans. One is not. The fearmongers have lied to us about which is which. And we are paying dearly.

I'm still trying to understand why you think I am so hard on the poor?

Yes that post was directed to you but I said I would like to give you that invitation for twisting my words into something ugly.

I'm not nearly as mad at you as I am the government. If I was to take their money, I would be a hypocrit which I am not.

Oh, by the way, my retirement home I am building will not be using the power companies grid.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

No DP, your talking about the top .01 percent and scooping the rest of us up in the net.

No..I'm referring to exactly what I posted earlier.....


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/income-inequality-is-not-a-myth/247389/

 

[Reverend Rick]

DP, you do realise you only have to make about 300K to be in the top 1%. You get taxed at the same rate as billionaires. That graph is being moved by the top .01%