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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Dow Jones Industrial ^ 391.47 on 4/1
1929?...Explain to me HOW...and then afterwards, refer to this post...
k thnx, Seattle.
Yes, the rich pay the most in taxes. THEY SHOULD. They are benefiting from our current arrangements more than others. The same police protect their millions while protecting poor people's thousands or hundreds. Same with the fire department. Same with our military (if it actually protected us rather than egging on other nations).
What's more, the super rich hardly pay any taxes. I have such people in my family and they describe jokes within the circles they move about how no one pays taxes. Read David K. Johnston's "Perfectly Legal". (Note: I'm middle class and like other posters drive a used car I paid for in cash, don't have cable, bike to work, etc.)
The bottom line for people who defend the somewhat rich who pay most of the taxes is this: they don't deserve that money in the first place. It's harsh, but true. Simply because our inflated, house-of-cards market pays them a seven-figure salary doesn't mean they're worth that much. How can one claim that a CEO works harder than a single mother with two dead-end jobs? It's arbitrary. It is based on the CEO's ability to generate short term stock gains through schemes that often don't even help the company for which they work in the long run. Sure, there are people who earn six figures who work hard at honest jobs, but even there it's not entirely clear that they are being paid their value -- they are simply paid their market value in an inflated market. That's called hard work plus a lot of luck. And if the dollar collapses, these people too are fucked.
Finally, there is the moral question: even if the low-end rich (and that's the richest kind of people posting here) survive a major crisis -- which I question -- is it fair to let all of the people who will experience crushing poverty languish because "that's life?" I hope you remember that when your company turns to crap and you don't have any employable skills ("I know you have a tax law degree, but I need someone who can pick beans quickly, and you don't seem to know how to do that at all").
Unmentioned in the article were the devastating effects of the dust storms of the thirties. A contemporary equivalent, such as the great drought spreading across the southern and southwestern regions of the country, could have equally devastating effects, connecting to the residue of the housing bubble that has popped.
I think we're going to be visited by that ancient Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.
Our economy will always have corrections to correct markets that swing too far one way or the other. The basis for a depression happening is specious to say the least. And the author blames every ill in America on the wealthy. It's just another view point from a socialist. Isn't even close to the mark.
Over 50% of the US budget is entitlement money. Stop this and other wasteful government spending and we can avoid depressions.
In response to one of the letter writers ... Gee ... are we supposed to be sympathetic that someone might have to show some personal responsibility and not have a baby if (1) they have no money and (2) the country has gone into the shitter? Birthrates did drop in the U.S. during the Great Depression, which would seem to be a reasoned response when people can't put food on the table.
Wake up people, the world is frickin overpopulated with 6 billion people, and it's not expected to top out until 10 or 12 billion, depending on which dire estimates you want to look at. Giving birth is not the end all; you maybe could figure out some other way to contribute to a better world.
Yes, there are many policies which have lead to the shitstorm that's hitting this country -- which will also reverberate around the world -- but a mantra of continued growth (that includes population growth) and consumption has contributed to much of this disaster.
This is a strange article, because I imagine if you were given the forum you must have some kind of qualifications, but I am not even an economist, only a student of economics, and I saw numerous half-truths and flat out mistakes. First of all, the Fed was created in 1913, and government intervention was not created to save us from the Depression, it preceeded it. Second of all, inflation results when too much money is created. The Fed creates the money, and the Fed is responsible for inflation, not the free market.
Thirdly, while not solely responsible, the government played a part in the subprime crisis. The Community Reinvestment Act and an earlier government bailout both contributed to the mess.
I would also be very interested to see the writer quantify his statement about the 'extraordinary fragility' of the modern capitilasist system. Perhaps he is not familiar with the incredible failures of the communist/socialist systems which he seems to be slyly endorsing.
I was truly astounded at the personal bias and historical ignorance of this column. If I had more than 1,000 words I would gladly offer a better examination of these basic historical/economic facts, but as a man who is given the pulpit to influence thousands of readers, I am sure that andrew knows what he's talking about.
OK, let’s talk about bottom lines here. Who are you to say who deserves what money? The beauty of America and capitalism is that if you have a dream, you can follow it and earn a living. You lump all “Super rich” in the same boat as ghastly as a racist lumps an entire race into one fate. There are plenty of single moms that ignore their kids, shirk their responsibilities and live off of the money that I put into the system. So do not sit there and imply that a prerequisite scandalous behavior is to be super rich. Yes there are unscrupulous rich people, as there are in any tax bracket. But the bigger point is that just because someone put their resources to the test and made something of their lives should not mean that they should be raked over the coals by Mr. Reality. I honor those single moms working two jobs…why don’t we pay her more in welfare and less to the crack whores that spit out babies just to get more food stamps. You speak of morality, but that is what is void in today’s society. If you are really looking for a way to “fix” our economy…try praying to the God that our founding fathers prayed to.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
