The Middle Class Blames every one but themselves

Why just buffet and his type, lots of wealth tied in real state and other assets.

That is where Warren is looking.

But you are then forcing people to sell a small portion of their assets to pay the tax bill.

We already sort of do it at local level with property taxes.

I prefer to get the tax when they die with a 50% inheritance/state tax, but those are unpopular (if you tax everyone).

 

Good point. We have a wealth tax on property but not on investments.

 

Yes, it was a good point and I plan on stealing your highlighted sentence.

 

But what has government ever done about poverty?

1420509867261906948 is not a valid tweet id

 

Moochers are not working because of UB!!!

1420518153789050884 is not a valid tweet id

 

The right measures:

1402280253691727881 is not a valid tweet id

 

Something about testing welfare recipients …

He was fired when it came out he was under criminal investigation; he walked away with a $3.1 billion exit package.

He also got a $4 million PPP grant after buying a $32 million ranch https://t.co/q05xNalZNz https://t.co/RMutFmn9Mc

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) July 29, 2021

 

Developing this a tad more...

For 40 years, Republicans and Libertarians claimed that helping poor people was not a good idea, but that instead we should give more money to rich people. When we finally give money to the poor, guess what happened?

It’s embarrassing how long so much of our society bought into the lie of trickle down economics. This is what passing legislation that actually helps the poor looks like: https://t.co/KcPPWHOtdF

— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) July 29, 2021

Not only that, the economy is growing, jobs are being created, workers are realizing their power... I hope we can keep riding this wave...

 

Speaking of giving money to rich people:

If you have $750 million dollars to give away as a bonus to one employee, you don’t pay enough in taxes.

— PoliticsGirl (@IAmPoliticsGirl) August 28, 2021

 

Krugman on a roll today:

Who would think the economic record of the last 40 years, as compared with the postwar boom, was really great? Oh, wait 2/ pic.twitter.com/RQtOwLg5hH

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 17, 2021

GDP per capita is lower, but mainly because Europeans take much more vacation time than Americans do — and not because of high taxes. Alesina et al debunked that claim (and Prescott) long ago 3/ https://t.co/5P9wLSpizO pic.twitter.com/0lowYFPIiP

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 17, 2021

 

$20 burgers will sure accomplish the burger per month goal...

Dick's burgers in Seattle just upped its minimum wage to $19. It gives workers free health care, 3 weeks paid vacation, 50% 401(k) match and $9,000 for tuition/childcare.

Its basic burger costs $1.80.

But I was told that paying people a living wage would make burgers cost $20?

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) September 23, 2021

Disclaimer, I ate my fancy burger of the month on Wednesday and it set me back $13, including onion rings and a soda.

 

Let's just say there aren't any stray cats in the neighborhood.

 

I mean for their 66th anniversary, the burgers were 19 cents, now they are 1.80, oh my god the inflation!!!!

I guess it will be a good study looking at average price increases.

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/sea...9-cent-burgers-Seattle-this-week-15008874.php


BTW the McDonald's Burger costs about 1.50 right?

 

Does Joe Pesci live in the area?

 

Panama Papers are just a footnote to Pandora, apparently...

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/03/1042885263/pandora-papers-wealthy-offshore-banks-secret

When the "Panama Papers" investigation was released five years ago, some thought it would lead to reforms in offshore banking that would make it harder for people to hide their assets.

Instead, the Pandora Papers investigation reveals that the wealthy simply found new ways to stash their cash and avoid scrutiny.

The leaked documents contain details on more than 29,000 offshore bank accounts, over twice the number exposed by the Panama Papers in 2016.

The records show that those involved in offshore banking also worried about — and sought to avoid — another leak of confidential information on the scale of the Panama Papers.

One of the more surprising findings of the Pandora Papers is the explosive growth of offshore banking inside the U.S.

Specifically, South Dakota and Nevada are among the U.S. states that have "adopted financial secrecy laws that rival those of offshore jurisdictions," the journalists found.

The documents show that foreign leaders and their family members have used U.S.-based trusts to deposit personal wealth.​

 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes the economy would fall into a recession bagel if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling before a default on the U.S. debt.

 

Well I suppose Dick's Burgers is a better name than Dick's Wieners

 

Wasn't there a thread a while back about Wiener's dick?

 

Seems like workers are fighting back!

https://theintercept.com/2021/10/17/john-deere-strike-labor-market/

This strike wave isn’t the 1940s, when 1 in 10 U.S. workers went on strike in the space of a year. But it isn’t the labor lull of the 2010s, either, when large strike activity in the private sector fell toward zero. Today, workers are increasingly militant — that is, unwilling to accept bad terms of employment — but they are not particularly organized. With union density at a historical nadir, the unions are playing an inspirational role, but they aren’t the only source of the action. What we’re seeing now is strike activity beginning to rise from a decadeslong trough as the “essential” worker — a new category of worker born of the coronavirus pandemic — challenges the boss to make good on that designation.

It’s not just workers taking note of the potential power shift; Wall Street analysts also sounded the alarm on Deere’s stock price this week, with one analyst downgrading projections by 25 percent. In a section of a proprietary report titled “Pendulum of Power Has Swung,” the analyst wrote: “Members, in addition to wanting concessions from Deere regarding a new 6-yr labor agreement, could also be tying these negotiations in with their desire to change how UAW national leadership is elected, and a broader national (and if global) enhanced activism by labor as they see their increasing power in a tight labor market.”

 

Lot of strikes going on in general. There's even been a name for folks quitting called the Great Resignation.

Of course, I also think it's a shift from the mindset that's been prevalent for the last 40 years.

 

There was an incipient labor movement that knew wages were too low and that companies were not paying fair wages before 2020, but when many people changed industries during the pandemic, there was a realization that people didn’t have to work for unfair wages. Throw in the deceased plus those who can rely on additional help from government, you have a labor shortage unseen in decades.

Hopefully we all come out with universal healthcare and other perks before the wave dies.

 

Just wanted to necro-bump instead of going into the inflation thread.

Americans are borrowing at record levels to pay for their expensive cars
I know, it isn't our/their fault that cars are so much more expensive right now than they used to be. If you're trying to be responsible and get an EV, then you're out $30k, whereas an ICE can be had a little over $20k.

However, it seems odd that everyone has to have an SUV?

I really like @The Jitty Slitter 's suggestion of just renting an SUV or truck when you need it. But then you've got to keep a float of $$$ to do so when you go on vacation or heavy work done, which most US citizens don't have. Maybe that's an elitist position?

 

The jig is up, military

Republicans would like you to know that they need you to be poor so they can exploit that poverty to use you for wars, and then when you come back they’ll vote against funding your healthcare.

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 25, 2022