99% vs The 1%-What's your opinion?

I don't know if I know enough about the Topic to make a thread of it, but here goes!

A member of the 99% approached me (a fellow member) and said, "The pay wages, for everyone, should be between $10-$100! They have no right to make any more than that!"
I realised that this is eerily similar to 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell. This is Socialism in my opinion because it inspires laziness.
So, What's your opinion is the %99 vs %1 similar to socialism or is it just me?

 

The 99% vs. 1% was inspired by a letter from CitiGroup Financial higher-ups that stated that the 'West' had become a plutocracy. A plutocracy being a government that is ran by those (The 1%) who hold all the money. The letter, which can be found on the internet, details that the only thing that the 1% is afraid of is that in a democratic system everyone gets one vote no matter what.The problem with what conservatives refer to as the 'Trickle Down Effect' is that they believe by cutting taxes on the rich the effect will trickle down to the poor and increase economic activity. This was proved a terrible model during Bush's terms in office because as you can see the economy tanked.

Comparing it to socialism would be a misjudgment, it is really more of a movement to reform several of the economic institutions in the west. The reason is that the top 1% of the world's population holds most of the worlds money, and that the rest of the 99% don't. In principle it is a worthy cause, but in reality it is futile. It will always be, as Marx described, a class struggle. We can clearly see it now, but without some form of free market economies will fail. It is impossible to plan an economy, and that isn't an overstatement. Even the 80's USSR and modern China recognize this as they had/have let free market aspects into their economy even though it is strictly regulated by the state.

It's an interesting dichotomy, and will be something that we will always face as long as there is a class system.

 

In my opinion, the 99% shouldn't be complaining.

If you have a computer and can read this, and you have a house, you are among the richest people in the world (percentage wise). I don't see why they are complaining about the rich making more money than they do while many people in Africa live on less than 1 USD a day.

 

Not when the farmers take over again.

 

Just like how women shouldn't have complained about not having the vote when in other countries they were not even allowed to go outside without a man or work at all? They should have just been happy that they were better off than other women and sat down and shut up. They still shouldn't even have the vote today. Other people have it much worse so they have no right to stand up and say they demand the vote.

 

Not at all...

But the 1% made their money somehow - Through hard work. People who inherited the money inherited the money because their ancestors made money - through hard work. I do agree that they should be taxed more. I don't think there should be such a mess because people are angry that there are people who are richer than them.

 

This made me laugh.

If it were those who worked hard to obtain what they wanted, it would be one percent.

There always someone f***ing someone to get ahead. The 1% proves that. They did use hard work, they used manipulation and loopholes to abuse a system favoring the rich. Now it is even harder to pay for college, making it harder for other classes to go up the ladder. They always get money, whether they use someone or they f*** up (bailouts and such that they use for personal things instead of fixing their mistakes.) We always pay the price while they get a slap in the hand due to their money.

Hard work should be what gets you to the top but not by devious and evil means.

 

If you consider avoiding taxes and controlling the stock market "hard work" then sure. Not to mention a lot of the "1%ers" are usually born into rich families and just inherit all of their wealth. It's not the case for every single one. I'm not talking low-billionaires, I'm talking about those that have enough money to make decisions that affect a whole nation.

 

You have to realize that only a fraction of the 1% took bailout money, and fucked people over. I'll just list a few of the richest people -

Bill gates - Hard work
Warren buffet - Hard work.

If you look at a list of the rich in the United States, the majority did not make the money because they scammed someone else...

Also, as I said, I do favor taxes on the rich. What I don't support is movements like Occupy wall street, who use the fact that the rich are rich as an excuse to be thugs. Link

Being born into rich families still counts. The money has to have come from somewhere. Their parents, or whoever made the money had to work to get it. Therefore, it is not unjust that they have the money.

 

To me I think we shouldn't blame the 1% for getting lucky and getting the chance that we all dream of, I do agree that they should pay more taxes though.

 

Someone's been reading The Communist Manifesto.

 

Then there's those who made millions or a hell lot more lying to people making them ignorantly sign contracts that they could not honor in the end. Yeah, it is people's fault that they didn't read the fine print but it doesn't take the blame of the deceiving money hungry a holes.

They also don't abide by the law, they find ways to "save" money but really its loopholes and being cheap in projects that later cause damage to the public not them.

The protests have bad apples but it does not spoil the bunch, they simply are not what the whole thing was about. To be honest, in the end there will be violence for change. It is inevitable, for a change it won't be government and their private security beating us.

It's not an excuse, it that were tired of them making all the decisions without anyone's approval, especially when they affect us. They keep evading taxes, starting ponzi schemes and frauds, or just plain out being cheap on projects causing damage to others. What's their punishment? A slap in the hand, yet there's people being incarcerated for violated minor laws without giving it a thought.

The US is now near the top of the list for the worse things. Incarcerations are ridiculous, military funding is inexcusable (private parties contribute to obtain personal gains), our ranking in education is not so well, taxes are imposed at will (All energy sources are monopolies, food taxes are just ridiculous), the public has no privacy no more (with or without consent), and it's not surprising the rich profit of everything (our misery, our dreams, our goals).

Debts keep getting bigger because they increase the cost of living not just through taxes, outrageous increase of cost for college studies, no opportunities to invest when all money goes to basic necessities and obligations. Credit rates are ridiculous unless you have perfect credit which is only obtainable after paying excessively for small items. It harder to progress for those who are as fortunate as those with money. They decide our fate as we keep silent.

These last few years have proved that the rich don't suffer for their consequences while the less fortunate get f***** over for every penny we have.

We don't work to provide for ourselves anymore, we work to provide for the rich. We are slaves.

As for Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. One stole the hard work of others and the other made scams and tax fraud...

Common actions by the one percent.

That is in no way hard work.

The US is a police state.​

 

How did Bill gates steam the hard work of others, and how did Warren buffet make scams and tax fraud?

If you think that Bill Gates took the work of others, then you're really just a pure marxist, and don't want a capitalistic country? Because having workers and making a profit is stealing their money?

 

Bill Gates did achieve his fortune through hard work, but do you know how rare that is? Extremely - there is no idyllic American dream that people talk about - read any Hunter S. Thompson work (He spent 30 years trying to write a book on the American dream.). Most wealthy people part of the '1%' are born into, and being born into a wealthy family isn't hard work - you're just mooching off what your ancestors have done. You don't have to work hard and make your own fortune if you are born into, and being born into a wealthy family usually leads to an inborn sense of deserving.

 

You're uh...putting words in my mouth. Funny how certain people try jumping at "you're a socialists" bs. You assumed a whole lot of bs out of thin air.

Read about Warren. Read on how both of them manage their money. They know how much control they have. Yes, they donate a few pennies here and there but look into it.

As for Bill Gates, you can argue he didn't I guess. But him and many others made their programs/software in shady ways but with "legal" bs ways. Not really getting permission.

 

Bill Gates doesn't donate a few pennies here and there, he donates billions.

I'm left wing too. And name one shady but legal bs way. His programs & microsoft aren't exploiting any loopholes... you need permission to make a company now?

 

That's why I like's Carnegie's philosophy on the matter.

 

That is very interesting. I hadn't heard of that before and thanks for mentioning it. Andrew Carnegie was the equivalent of a billionaire for his time and for him to write a piece such as that is incredibly interesting. Pretty much what he says is that the state should set high taxes on inheritance and that those who get large inheritances should circulate it back into society for the greater good because they do not have the mentality to have the large amount of money. They have no sense of accomplishment. He didn't want people to just give money to the poor who wish not to better themselves he wanted people to use the money to create opportunities for people to move up the class ladder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_Wealth

 

Being born into a wealthy family means, that at some point in your past, your ancestors had to do hard work to get where they were. Merchants, who usually were rich-er in past times risked their lives trading to give their offspring a better chance.

Are you saying that there should be no inheritance at all?

 

No I was simply refuting the point that being born into wealth means that you have done hard work to get it. There is no hard work with being born into wealth. What have you done to earn it? Nothing. You were just lucky enough to be born into it. My argument is that generally those born into wealth have little to no respect to where their wealth came from and no concept of hard work because they have everything handed to them.