Sorry, but no. I just pointed out, based on your own posts, some truths that you find uncomfortable. And your opening post was in fact a personal attack on the many successful people on this website and accusing them of not paying their "fair share". It is never a good idea to accuse folks of things that you are guilty of.
1st, I never attacked anyone... personally. If you can find a post where I attacked anyone personally, then, by all means share it. 2nd, I never said a single word about mere success in life. I was talking about those who have tens of millions, perhaps billions of dollars stashed away. 3rd, you know absolutely nothing about me except that I have traveled a bit. Yet you continue to accuse me of greed. Shame on you. 4th, If being concerned about those less fortunate that most, then I plead guilty. 5th, I am done answering anything you post. Go and find someone else to harass.
You started this thread to complain that everyone who isn't on the dole is greedy, suggesting that the government should take their money away and give it to people who claim to be unable to work or otherwise manage their money. If you're going to accuse others, which is pretty much anyone who disagrees with your socialist ideas, of being greedy, then you have to be willing to tolerate disagreements. I know that this isn't the way of the left, but it makes for a reasonable discussion. That said, let's all be careful not to make personal attacks, but just because someone is addressing something to you, in response to something that you have said, that doesn't make it an attack. Socialism encourages people to be takers rather than contributors. Because of this, the only way that a socialist government can stay afloat is through government force, in effect putting people to work at the point of a gun or another threat. I'd rather people work because they want something that they can't get without working for it. You want the government to take from those who do and give it to those who don't, and I find that to be a crazy and abhorrent idea. If you want to interpret that as if I were calling you crazy or abhorrent, then there's nothing I can do about that. I am not addressing you with these labels, but I will address the things that you say as long as it amuses me to do so. I am coming up on 72 years of age, and I have no retirement funds other than Social Security, although I do own my own home and some other land and properties. When my relatives die, we chip in to pay for the funeral; we don't inherit money. I have what I have, not because I inherited it from a rich relative, but because I kept my eyes open for good deals. Rather than looking at real estate prices online and concluding that I couldn't afford to buy a house, I looked around and found one that I could afford without a mortgage. Rather than simply calling a realtor about the price of a hundred acres of woodland, I drove around the state, talking to people, and was able to find someone who was willing to sell it at an affordable price and self-finance it to boot. It wasn't advertised at the price I paid (it wasn't even advertised as for sale), nor was there anything offered about self-financing, but I made the offer and it was accepted. Then, my wife and I were willing to move to another state temporarily, where we could both work two jobs and pay it off. Besides being nearly 72 years old, I am working online, not full-time, but 30 hours a week, and doing other things online in order to supplement my Social Security. My wife has the same online job that I have and is driving for a non-profit service agency besides, working two or three days a week, and bringing in a few hundred dollars a week. Others here were more forward-thinking than I was, and have secured comfortable retirement plans, allowing them to live a better life than I can afford. That was on me, not them. My life was entirely my choice, and it would be preposterous of me to suggest that their retirement plans be reduced so that mine could be improved. I made my choices, just as you have made yours, and we have to live with them. I spent my working career doing things that I enjoyed doing, and, while I'd like to have a better income during my latter years, that wasn't what I chose. I have had several chances to secure a retirement program. Champion closed its paper bag plants, but I could have stayed with the company to retirement had I chosen that option. Instead, I saw the closure as an opportunity to move to Texas. I could have stayed with the next paper bag company I worked with, I'm sure, because they were happy with my work and are still in operation. Instead, I chose to change careers and become a paramedic. I could have retired as the chairman of the EMT program at the state college that employed me. It's pretty hard to get fired from a state college and, besides, I had brought that program to the point where it was the second-largest in the system. But no, I got tired of doing that and decided to do something else instead. I own my life, and I own the decisions that I made. What's more, I don't regret them. I had the pleasant experience of doing things that I enjoyed doing during my working life. When a job was no longer enjoyable, I chose to do something else for a living. I own these decisions, and I own the outcomes. There is a tiny minority of the population who are born with disadvantages that are very difficult to overcome, and government assistance should be reserved for these people when necessary, not for those who don't want to work or who are unwilling to accept the consequences of the decisions they have made in their lives.
Well. #1 - you can't unsay what you say on here. You didn't need to mention names because you were attacking any successful person #2 . You complained about how many shoes some folks have, That's not tens of millions of dollars #3. True, all we know is what you post, and respond based on what you say. And they say you contibute nothing but demand others contribute more. Sounds like Greed and/or envy to me. #4, Based on your own posts, You do nothing for those less fortunate folks. That is fake "concern". And yes you are guilty #5. Thank goodness. As an aside, we need to have a poll about how many pairs of shoes women have. Or should have.
I never said any such thing. I never once mentioned anything about people not being on the dole as being greedy. Please read my opening posts and you will soon see that I'm correct. Throughout my posts I have continued to talk about the ULTRA RICH. Not the average Mr./Mrs Jones. Under the plan I have outlined, the overwhelming portion of the people here on Senior Forums would actually pay LESS taxes. What could possibly be wrong with that ? Hmm ? When someone says that I have avoided paying taxes and that I, personally, am greedy, then THAT my friend is an attack on me.
Except the the 1st sentence of Ken Anderson's last post is WILDLY inaccurate. I never said anything about people who are NOT on the dole are greedy people.
I'm so old I can remember when there was no dole. If you got help from the government it was in the form of a box of soft cheese and a can of something they called meat that tasted like dog food smells. And if you ask me the greed is in the hands of the government not the citizens, they just can't spend enough of our money fast enough. We need work programs for those who are able bodied, not hand outs and we need to make government way more accountable for the way they spend the money they get. I have no idea how that can be accomplished but we have to find a way.
What is inaccurate in what he wrote? His own life experience? Changing jobs? His age? Preparing for retirement? Americans with average, normal capabilities should be able to provide for themselves without government involvement or handouts. Individuals who accomplish more are justly compensated for doing so. You made your own life choices and now you are living with the consequences, just like the rest of us. Thankfully, I was raised with a stringent work ethic and I have worked for everything I own my entire life. I worked for it. What I have accomplished is a point of personal pride, and I don't plan to hand any of it over just because someone else wants it. It infuriates me to see my tax dollars squandered with some of the ridiculous programs already in place. Do I want to buy a cellphone for an illegal alien?? Certainly NOT. Do I want to help hungry American children? YES, I certainly do. I have a comfortable life and I intend to leave what I don't need to my own children. And no, I am not a "billionaire," but if I were, I'd feel the same way. Unfortunately, many able-bodied individuals believe they don't need to work for a living. I find that pathetic and disgusting. (And I am in no way referring to people who for whatever reason are unable to provide for themselves.) And with that, I am finally out of this conversation.
Let me TRY to explain .... once again. The avg American worker pays aprox 13% of his/her income in federal taxes. Those people who are at the VERY TOP of the financial heap often pay 8.2 % in federal taxes. I believe it should be the other way around. Simple isn't it . For those few who see only what they want to see , I'll say it another way. Less taxes for the middle class. More taxes for the ULTRA RICH.
Geez. How many times do I have to say it ? I NEVER SAID THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOT ON THE DOLE ARE GREEDY. NOR DID I EVEN IMPLY IT.