Should there be a cap on attainable wealth?

This is authoritarian communism non-sense talk. This leads to The Giver type society. But hey, colors are overrated.

• A person with a BILLION dollars.. how does that person help the rest of us, how does him holding his money inside of a bank help anyone?​
  
  

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People with money have it invested in businesses, stocks, etc. Billions of dollars doesnt just *sit* in banks. That is the first misconception.

Secondly, when a person buys a 30 million dollar house, it helps the economy by providing jobs, taxes & secondary purchases such as furniture that keeps people employed.

Finally, the economy is not a fixed amount of money. Just because one person has a billion dollars does not mean they took it from someone else. Billionaires CREATE wealth and make the pie bigger for everyone.

So yes, a person should be able to earn a trillion dollars if they can...

Whoops voted wrong..... Derp.

Should people who seek assistance from tax payers or shun others for their success be allowed to participate in internet forums instead of doing something productive?

Legally? Depends on whether or not you catch them. Right now most of the TBTF banks have been doing illegal shit all the time, everyday they get implicated in muti billion dollar scams, so we fine them millions and let them keep the rest.

If I sold you a stock knowing it was worthless and then bet against you because I knew what I sold you (and told you it was valuable)was worthless and made a shit ton of money in the process, I have just engaged in an illegal activity called fraud. Fine me a million or 2 if you must, but I get to keep the $13 trillion I stole.

If you don't let me keep it I will destroy the economy overnight and cause all banks to shut their doors and you will all pay severely. So the government (Which relies on me for all her spending money) is going to do what I say and make all you poor fuckers pay me even more. A giant fuck you to you and extortion to the nation. I win no matter what.

I vote that this the most stupid question, yet. How can the Rich pay more thru the nose, 95% in some places? Going there again in America, I'd say.

So, for whatever good reason, 45%+ don't pay federal taxes. Another big percent won't pay anything. They earn but the IRS has to track them down, if they can. Drug profits, Organized Crime, tax cheats. Another big percent gets all the dispensations to pay less tax if the income is extra-ordinary. From Investment, say.
Another big percent, we pay them in Tax Credits and other social tinkering. This is outside of actual Dole.

The top little percenters of earners pays for most of it already. So, shot your own foot? Is that what this is?

Padawanbater2 said:

I don't expect this to be a friendly thread.. This is probably one of the most controversial issues we could discuss.. All I can hope for is a little civility. Don't call people names, don't use personal attacks.. Just use your adult voice and keep in mind, we're indoors!

Should people be allowed to obtain any amount of money they can, provided it's obtained legally?

This seems to be the ultimate goal of capitalism, and by association, most Americans. But is it right, is it wrong? Do the consequences matter regarding a business perspective?

Shareholders buy stock in a company, it's that company's responsibility to provide the best environment to ensure those stockholders increase their profits, meaning the stockholders come first and the customer comes second, regardless (often times) of what might be best for American interest or the environment or international interests, etc.. Is this something we should be involved with, is it something that could be done better, more efficiently, more humane? Are profits the ONLY thing that matter today?

A person with a BILLION dollars.. how does that person help the rest of us, how does him holding his money inside of a bank help anyone?

What about a person with $5 million who wants to buy a home worth $10 million? Should that person have the right to buy a $10 million home? What if it was 25 rooms, 18 bathrooms? Some huge mansion, do you think, whether necessary or not, that person should have the right to buy whatever kind of home he wants if he was able to raise enough money to purchase it, legally or not? What if the line between 'legal' and 'illegal' is finer than you think? Someone like Al Capone, dude made millions from illegally trafficking alcohol, should he have been legally allowed to purchase a home worth more than most people's annual salaries at the time? Politicians, same deal..

Is there a point where it eventually gets to 'too much'? Where 'too much' hurts you personally?

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Between this and earning the right to vote...dude 1940's Germany called, they want their Fuhrer back.

Let me ask this...

Should there be a cap on short term wealth gain?

I mean, we have movie stars raking in 20 million for a movie that takes them less than 3 months to make.

We have football players entering into hundred million dollar contracts and NONE of them has a season that lasts all year long.

Should there be a cap on their pay?

Harrekin said:

Between this and earning the right to vote...dude 1940's Germany called, they want their Fuhrer back.

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Don't forget this one;

https://www.rollitup.org/politics/564853-hitler-2012-a.html

NLXSK1 said:

Let me ask this...

Should there be a cap on short term wealth gain?

I mean, we have movie stars raking in 20 million for a movie that takes them less than 3 months to make.

We have football players entering into hundred million dollar contracts and NONE of them has a season that lasts all year long.

Should there be a cap on their pay?

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Yes.

Only caps I can think of should be how much you can hold onto without people ripping you off, and how much you can hold on to after you die.

Does the fact the richest 400 Americans hold more wealth than the lowest 150,000,000 combined bother any of you?

http://rwer.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/the-400-wealthiest-americans-now-own-more-than-the-lower-150-million-americans-put-together/

-Nearly two-thirds of net private assets are concentrated in the hands of 5 percent of Americans. In comparison, the upper 5 percent of Germanyhold less than half of net assets. In 2009 alone, at the same time as the US was being convulsed by mass layoffs, the number of millionaires in the country skyrocketed.

-even the CIA has concluded that wealth disparity is greater in the US than in Tunisia or Egypt.

-the US has entered a new Gilded Age, a period of systematic inequality dominated by a new class of super-rich.

-the development is also accelerating. In the years of economic growth between 2002 and 2007, 65 percent of the income gains went to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. Likewise, although the productivity of the US economy has increased considerably since the beginning of the millennium, most Americans haven’t benefited from it, with average annual incomes falling by more than 10 percent, to $49,909 (€35,184).

-1 percent of American society now controls more than half of the country’s stocks and securities.

-the average income for securities traders has steadily climbed to $360,000 a year.

-In 1980, American CEOs earned 42 times more than the average employee. Today, that figure has skyrocketed to more than 300 times.

-Last year, 25 of the country’s highest-paid CEOs earned more than their companies paid in taxes.

-Wall Street bosses and CEOs have successfully arranged extensive deregulation for their industries.

-Warren Buffett earned $63 million last year but was only required to pay 17 percent in taxes.

-studies show that increasing inequality and political control concentrated in the hands of the wealthy elite have drastically reduced economic mobility and that the US has long since fallen far behind Europeon this issue.

Padawanbater2 said:

Does the fact the richest 400 Americans hold more wealth than the lowest 150,000,000 combined bother any of you?

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It does but, introducing a law that would cap wealth, idk, doesn't really rub me the right way. What are we gonna do when the law goes into effect? Drain rich people's bank accounts? They won't like that shit.

To the OP. A simple reason this can't work.

Take wars. Wars are endorsed by government. The government can't exist without people.

If you want to maintain freedom, who pays for the equipment, including soldiers, weapons, etc. Right now the most used fighter is the F-16. We have about $24 billion worth of them. That doesn't include R&D, etc. Who pays for that?

We can give aptitude tests and force people into jobs. Then not count everything needed for those jets as part of your wealth cap. But then you have a form of communism, socialism and/or fascism.

Or you some sort of genius and have this all planned out to end all wars?

This is just one example. There are often far reaching consequences to what we first think is a simple suggestion.

The rich simply would keep their money in their businesses. What then? A cap on business assets?

Rich people dont roll over and take it, they figure out ways to beat the system. BTW, most of the congress and senator's are millionaires. You think they are going to cut their own throats?

billybob420 said:

how much you can hold on to after you die.

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You anticipating a zombie problem? That's why I've always endorsed Vermin Supreme.

NoDrama said:

Legally? Depends on whether or not you catch them. Right now most of the TBTF banks have been doing illegal shit all the time, everyday they get implicated in muti billion dollar scams, so we fine them millions and let them keep the rest.

If I sold you a stock knowing it was worthless and then bet against you because I knew what I sold you (and told you it was valuable)was worthless and made a shit ton of money in the process, I have just engaged in an illegal activity called fraud. Fine me a million or 2 if you must, but I get to keep the $13 trillion I stole.

If you don't let me keep it I will destroy the economy overnight and cause all banks to shut their doors and you will all pay severely. So the government (Which relies on me for all her spending money) is going to do what I say and make all you poor fuckers pay me even more. A giant fuck you to you and extortion to the nation. I win no matter what.

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I tend to agree.

By the balls.

Padawanbater2 said:

Does the fact the richest 400 Americans hold more wealth than the lowest 150,000,000 combined bother any of you?

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To be honest, I never give it a thought.
I'm curious as to how this affects you personally, does it stop you from bettering yourself?

beenthere said:

To be honest, I never give it a thought.
I'm curious as to how this affects you personally, does it stop you from bettering yourself?

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I dont think he has any idea what *hold more wealth* actually means...