You don’t protect my freedom

[Disgustipated]

Last I heard he was married and as far as I know he is straight.

Why, exactly, do you want to know?

~stalker~

Besides, <gold-digger> I think he lost it all...

You know- the way the list of the top 1% changes over times as fortunes are won and lost.

If you really want to dig, People magazine, around 1986.

Like Trump?

 

[KUJACK]

So wrong

Because social mobility is worse in this country than any other industrialized nation, save maybe the GB.

You can have the myth of "work hard an you'll succeed" if you want, but it's not reality.

Wow, you are so jaded. You need to do more reasearch and not listen to those who you agree with.

 

[KingOrfeo]

How about, athletes, doctors, engineers and even goverment employees. I have many friends who came from poverty, including myself(goverment cheese and spam) who are now retired, eatning over $90,000 per year in pensions. Thats 1 million every 11 years. Not 1% but not to shabby.

Wow, you are so jaded. You need to do more reasearch and not listen to those who you agree with.

See post #90.

 

[Que Va]

Like Trump?

Pretty much except for the bad comb-over.

By the way:

What's up with that? Can't trump afford Shatner-plugs in between bankruptcies? Or better yet go big and sexy. Bic that down Mega-mind style, bro!

 

[BotanyBoy]

Socialism resembles the feudal lord, giving the serfs all they need to survive, while the elite enjoy the fruits of their labor. Socialism is a very young idea whose experiment is not yet come to an end. History is not on its side.

LOL

I knew you would say that. Can you see both sides? At least in the US you can rise above your birth station.

Not as easily as you can in most 1st world nations....it's not 1965 anymore champ...fuck it's not even 1995 anymore.

The brain drain of the world still comes here for opportunity. People don't leave, they fight to get in. How can you miss this. Those "oppressed corporate masses" do not see the opportunity offered by their freedom.

Living in fantasy land....

I'll bet none of you own a business

You would lose that bet by more than one USDA organic farm, orchard and vineyard here in beautiful Nor Cal from Santa Rosa to Eureka. Not that owning a buisness changes the fact that when a nation has bills and responsibilities to both the citizens and foreign entities the only way those bills are going to get paid is if we take some money from the folks who have it.

Sorry but the RW idea of "BLOW EVERY PENNY THE GREAT GREAT GREAT GRAND KIDS COULD EVER HOPE TO EARN!!" while slashing taxes for the rich......doesn't get things done.

Why are you so obsessed with only the top 1%. I think any of the bottom 20% would love to become onw of the top 40%, which is really possible in this country.

Because they are a symbol of who fucked the american capitalism system is....really it's the top 20%....they should all be hocking up 70+% every fuckin' year.

And it's possible but unlikely...

Wow, you are so jaded. You need to do more reasearch and not listen to those who you agree with.

Hey there cpt. fantasy land....

At least his is accurate...

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

I remember reading that serfs had to give up 10-15% of what they made to the landowners.

If you are in the top tax bracket and you factor in all of the taxes and live in California, it adds up to over 50%.

 

[oggbashan]

I remember reading that serfs had to give up 10-15% of what they made to the landowners.

If you are in the top tax bracket and you factor in all of the taxes and live in California, it adds up to over 50%.

Serfs? Everything they made belonged to the landowners - including themselves and any children they had. Serfs had a worse life than 19th Century slaves.

Many 1st Century Roman slaves, except those employed on the large farming estates, had a better life than serfs. A Roman slave could earn and keep money, might be freed and social mobility for ex-slaves was not only possible but very likely.

There was no social mobility for serfs. They were owned and were very rarely freed.

Peasants were different. They could own a strip of communal land, their own hovel, and keep some of their earnings. They had to work for the local lord one day or more a week, pay taxes which were sometimes more than 100% of their annual earnings, and could be forcibly enlisted for war.

 

[richard_daily]

Wow, you are so jaded. You need to do more reasearch and not listen to those who you agree with.

Show me a single person in the bottom rungs of society, the lowest caste, that has made it into the 1%.

And please try to include a last name.

 

[KUJACK]

All Billionaires

Show me a single person in the bottom rungs of society, the lowest caste, that has made it into the 1%.

And please try to include a last name.

Kenny Trout, Howard Schultz, Ken Langone, Oprah Winfrey, Shahid Khan, Kirk Kerkorian, John Paul Dejoria, Don Won chang, Francois Pinault to name a few. All had humble beginnings.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Kenny Trout, Howard Schultz, Ken Langone, Oprah Winfrey, Shahid Khan, Kirk Kerkorian, John Paul Dejoria, Don Won chang, Francois Pinault to name a few. All had humble beginnings.

Yea but have you come up with anythign to support your claims that socialism =

??

Because you're full of shit and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't know socialism if it bit you in the fucking face.

 

[PayDay]

Fire

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/09/you...lling_soldiers_heroes_deadens_real_democracy/

Put a man in uniform, preferably a white man, give him a gun, and Americans will worship him. It is a particularly childish trait, of a childlike culture, that insists on anointing all active military members and police officers as “heroes.” The rhetorical sloppiness and intellectual shallowness of affixing such a reverent label to everyone in the military or law enforcement betrays a frightening cultural streak of nationalism, chauvinism, authoritarianism and totalitarianism, but it also makes honest and serious conversations necessary for the maintenance and enhancement of a fragile democracy nearly impossible.

It has become impossible to go a week without reading a story about police brutality, abuse of power and misuse of authority. Michael Brown’s murder represents the tip of a body pile, and in just the past month, several videos have emerged of police assaulting people, including pregnant women, for reasons justifiable only to the insane.

It is equally challenging for anyone reasonable, and not drowning in the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, to stop saluting, and look at the servicemen of the American military with criticism and skepticism. There is a sexual assault epidemic in the military. In 2003, a Department of Defense study found that one-third of women seeking medical care in the VA system reported experiencing rape or sexual violence while in the military. Internal and external studies demonstrate that since the official study, numbers of sexual assaults within the military have only increased, especially with male victims. According to the Pentagon, 38 men are sexually assaulted every single day in the U.S. military. Given that rape and sexual assault are, traditionally, the most underreported crimes, the horrific statistics likely fail to capture the reality of the sexual dungeon that has become the United States military.

http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=62301119&postcount=20

Someone light this thread on fire. Oh wait.

...fine I'll do it.

1st off: The author of the article has no clue as to what the problem is:
http://www.heritage.org/research/re...y-understanding-the-problem-and-how-to-fix-it

The United States military justice system is integral to the military’s mission. It is unique, and for good reason. Unlike the civilian justice system, which exists solely to enforce the laws of the jurisdiction and punish wrongdoers, our military justice system exists in order to help the military to succeed in its mission: to defend the nation. It is structured so that those in charge, commanding officers, can carry out the orders of their civilian leaders. Ultimately, it is structured to fight and win wars.

Incidents of sexual assault are a real and recognized problem, both in the military and in civilian life. While studies suggest that the number of sexual assaults in the military may be less than the number in civilian society, sexual assault has a uniquely greater damaging effect on the military, such that even one incident is unacceptable. Incidents of sexual assault are detrimental to morale, destroy unit cohesion, show disrespect for the chain of command, and damage the military as a whole, both internally as well as externally. Service members are trained for situations in which it is essential to trust both enlisted members of the unit and the chain of command completely. Sexual assault in the military destroys that trust, which can detract from the readiness of America’s armed forces.

...and 2nd thing: The author of this article has no knowledge of what patriotism and war are all about:
Choose any conflict:

"I have never questioned the necessity of that war and I still do not question it. It was something that had to be done."

"The greatest cataclysm in history grew out of ancient and ordinary human emotions: anger and arrogance and bigotry, victimhood and the lust for power. And it ended because other human qualities -- courage and perseverance and selflessness; faith, leadership, and the hunger for freedom -- combined with unimaginable brutality to change the course of human events."

This thread makes me sick that this could even be considered news.

Veterans of any war deserve respect, they are fighting for the politicians you voted for.

...Now this socialism thing:

http://caps.fool.com/Blogs/socialist-vs-capitalist-a/330526 2010 statistics
Other than living about a year longer, it takes twice as many socialist countries to equal capitalist countries.
The debt charts missing from this article are below.---v

The things that make us fail? Taxes to pay for socialist society programs and government supported commercial bailouts.
-----> Do the math---^---v

2012 debt:
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2012/02/14/the-tencountries-deepest-in-debt/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/countries-in-debt_n_1278711.html

2013: Governments hold more debt worldwide than all:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2013/11/08/worlds-largest-debtor-governments-2013/

2014: World debt by country for comparison to 2010 statistics: (300 trillion BTW)
http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

 

[richard_daily]

Kenny Trout, Howard Schultz, Ken Langone, Oprah Winfrey, Shahid Khan, Kirk Kerkorian, John Paul Dejoria, Don Won chang, Francois Pinault to name a few. All had humble beginnings.

None of those people come from the bottom caste of society... try again.

 

[KUJACK]

what is the bottom?

None of those people come from the bottom caste of society... try again.

What is your bottom rung on the poor ladder?

 

[richard_daily]

What is your bottom rung on the poor ladder?

Bottom 20%. People living in the lower end of poverty... not "middle class", not "upper middle class". Poor. Dirt poor. The people who the wealthy make the most money off of. The people who work at walmart and mcdonalds to support a family, if they can even find those jobs.

Urban poor and Appalachians...

Show me social mobility.... prove it can happen, and not just in isolated cases... show me equal opportunity. If you can't, it's a broken system.

 

[KUJACK]

Going lower

Bottom 20%. People living in the lower end of poverty... not "middle class", not "upper middle class". Poor. Dirt poor. The people who the wealthy make the most money off of. The people who work at walmart and mcdonalds to support a family, if they can even find those jobs.

Urban poor and Appalachians...

Show me social mobility.... prove it can happen, and not just in isolated cases... show me equal opportunity. If you can't, it's a broken system.

Bottom 20%, $18,500 yearly
Billionaires now, born poor.
Ursula Burns
Leonard Delvecchio

 

[BotanyBoy]

Bottom 20%, $18,500 yearly
Billionaires now, born poor.
Ursula Burns
Leonard Delvecchio

That's it? LOL why can't you just admit we have shitty upward mobility in the US? Too much flag waver pride??

 

[possum123]

Bottom 20%, $18,500 yearly
Billionaires now, born poor.
Ursula Burns
Leonard Delvecchio

$18,500 a year in some places would seem like being a millionaire.
Even in in the U.S. there are places like that.

 

[PayDay]

Bottom 20%. People living in the lower end of poverty... not "middle class", not "upper middle class". Poor. Dirt poor. The people who the wealthy make the most money off of. The people who work at walmart and mcdonalds to support a family, if they can even find those jobs.

Urban poor and Appalachians...

Show me social mobility.... prove it can happen, and not just in isolated cases... show me equal opportunity. If you can't, it's a broken system.

Mobility is possible. You can go from barefoot poverty is a million a year, it's not easy per se, whether or not a standard of living is acceptable is up to you.

Just because the poverty % hasn't changed does not mean people are stuck poor. Maybe some people like being lazy and poor?

Also, there is no 'caste' system in the USA, economic rating brackets just make it seem that way.

Granted, it would be hard to go from nothing to billionaire, but it's not impossible.

Look at your average actor who gets a good role or two due to talent: They become millionaires overnight.

The system is broken because it does not easily allow for wealth gains unless you already had extreme wealth, this is mostly due to a double zero (single no dependants) tax rate being the same as the tax rate for the highest earners.

 

[BotanyBoy]

$18,500 a year in some places would seem like being a millionaire.
Even in in the U.S. there are places like that.

LOL name one place in the US where 18k lets you live like a millionaire.

You can't because youz full of shit....only place that flies is in a 3rd world shit hole.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Mobility is possible. You can go from barefoot poverty is a million a year, it's not easy per se, whether or not a standard of living is acceptable is up to you.

Just because the poverty % hasn't changed does not mean people are stuck poor. Maybe some people like being lazy and poor?

Also, there is no 'caste' system in the USA, economic rating brackets just make it seem that way.

Granted, it would be hard to go from nothing to billionaire, but it's not impossible.

Look at your average actor who gets a good role or two due to talent: They become millionaires overnight.

Yes, it's POSSIBLE...but not very probable.

Everything you talked about here is a freak luck occurrence that happens to a micro percentage of the population. That's like saying "You can move up in the world, people win the lottery every week!"

The system is broken because it does not easily allow for wealth gains unless you already had extreme wealth, this is mostly due to a double zero (single no dependants) tax rate being the same as the tax rate for the highest earners.

This I do agree with...our Tax system has all kinds of "WTF!!!" going on.

 

[PayDay]

LOL name one place in the US where 18k lets you live like a millionaire.

You can't because youz full of shit....only place that flies is in a 3rd world shit hole.

With $18k a year you could rent an apartment and have a car payment and comprehensive isurance and paid bills and food every day, just not in Manhattan.

His OPINION was valid.

In Slower Lower Delaware, $18k is living large.

 

[BotanyBoy]

With $18k a year you could rent an apartment and have a car payment and comprehensive isurance and paid bills and food every day, just not in Manhattan.

Not in the vast majority of habitable residences in this country....

His OPINION was valid.

In Slower Lower Delaware, $18k is living large.

No...it's not...18k isn't living large anywhere, keep lying to yourself as if that wouldn't be scraping by in some shit hole apt./single wide and on food stamps.

18k = living large...LOL

 

[PayDay]

Not in the vast majority of habitable residences in this country....



No...it's not...18k isn't living large anywhere, keep lying to yourself as if that wouldn't be scraping by in some shit hole apt./single wide and on food stamps.

Keep thinking your opinion is the only valid one, that's what got us from Constitution to clusterfuck.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Keep thinking your opinion is the only valid one, that's what got us from Constitution to clusterfuck.

The constitution has fuck all to do with the subject, put it down you aren't going anywhere with it.

You seem to think the US is a 3rd world hole where 18k goes like a million.....and you're full of shit. 18k which isn't making it in the majority of America and barely scraping by in the tiny broke ass spots where 18k isn't so bad. It's not an opinion, it's a fact...18 = broke as sum bitch.

 

[PayDay]

The constitution has fuck all to do with the subject much less the economy and even further less to do with income disparity and where the "poverty" line is.

You seem to think the US is a 3rd world hole where 18k goes like a million.....and you're full of shit. 18k which isn't making it in the majority of America and barely scraping by in the tiny broke ass spots where 18k isn't so bad. It's not an opinion, it's a fact...18 = broke as sum bitch.

So then you're batshit partisan crazy. Gotcha.