Trump wants a totalitarian regime

[estreet]

None of that detracts from my comments above for why certain rich people keep getting richer and the role that the lower 80% play in helping with that. Facebook, Uber, AirBnb, Amazon etc and the people who own them were not handpicked by elites to take the torch. They rose to the prominence they have now because they disrupted the market with a superior product and in turn, the public voted with their dollars and eyeballs. The profit margins possible with tech magnify that disparity even more than industries of the past, especially because it also allows for the top 1.1-10% to do that much better than the rest.

That government and politicians like Trump favor big business over the working class doesn't detract from people being successful in business?

 

[Ifallalot]

So if I add my federal, state, property, and state sales taxes paid (I estimated $8K), my total tax burden for last year was 25%.

Methinks you need a better accountant.

No, you're adding it up wrong

You have to think how every single purchase and item has the tax compounded multiple times, causing everything to be more expensive than it should be. Also, don't forget the city and county sales taxes on to of the state as well as the other taxes besides sales tax, like the $1.50 you pay on every gallon of gas

And if you spent $100k, than that means you're at least in the 22% Federal, which is 9.3% California getting ripped off the top of each check. Maybe you have Prop 72 helped property taxes, so those keep you at a decent rate there

All that aside, i'll repost the statement again with your math, and it still makes sense "What do I expect? Is close to one quarter of our household income going to taxes and other government fees "nothing?"

 

[grapedrink]

That government and politicians like Trump favor big business over the working class doesn't detract from people being successful in business?

Of course the government favors the wealthy, and I've stated that several times, because the rules are written by the wealthy.

Doesn't change the fact that the founders and higher up employees of the companies that I listed above, some of whom are among the richest people in the world, got to that level of riches because the masses voted for those companies with their wallets. In our daily spending and habits we make those people richer everyday, and much of that is voluntary/discretionary in nature.

 

[hammies]

Marginal rates != tax burden. In this example, the taxpayer is in the 22% bracket but pays only 12% total tax.

 

[Ifallalot]

Marginal rates != tax burden. In this example, the taxpayer is in the 22% bracket but pays only 12% total tax.

View attachment 173795

On income tax

Don't forget your social security and medicare too

If you want to look at your real income burden, take your last paycheck of the year, add up all of that which was taken out, and do the math compared to your total

I guess we're not just talking income tax, but overall burden. No matter how you add it up, the ROI is not there

 

[estreet]

Of course the government favors the wealthy...

Point is that people like Trump contribute to the wealth gap by weakening the position of the working class and strengthening the elite class like himself.

Aside from this, Trump apparently wishes to weaken as many checks on power as he can get away with. He openly argues that he should have complete immunity from prosecution, for instance.

The topic is about Trump 'wanting a totalitarian regime', I should remind you.

 

[Kento]

Maybe he meant Total Aryan Regime.

 

[grapedrink]

Point is that people like Trump contribute to the wealth gap by weakening the position of the working class and strengthening the elite class like himself.

Yes, and that can also be true in combination with what I said above.

 

[estreet]

Yes, and that can also be true in combination with what I said above.

The topic is not about equality or equity, moron.

 

[grapedrink]

The topic is not about equality or equity, moron.

You brought up the wealth gap and I expanded on a major component. Moron.

 

[estreet]

You brought up the wealth gap and I expanded on a major component. Moron.

There’s been wealth inequality since civilization began; you didn’t expand on sh!t.

 

[grapedrink]

There’s been wealth inequality since civilization began;

Of course there has been . .. What are you even arguing

you didn’t expand on sh!t.

I expanded on one of the primary drivers for why the wealth gap has expanded so dramatically in the last few decades. Consumers vote with their dollars, and tech specifically enables that gap to widen even more.

 

[estreet]

I expanded on one of the primary drivers for why the wealth gap has expanded so dramatically in the last few decades. Consumers vote with their dollars, and tech specifically enables that gap to widen even more.

Amazon, Facebook, and the rest of the brands you mentioned haven’t even been around for a few decades, nevermind your free-market fundamentalism or whatever you’re babbling about by ‘voting with dollars’.

 

[grapedrink]

Amazon, Facebook, and the rest of the brands you mentioned haven’t even been around for a few decades, nevermind your free-market fundamentalism or whatever you’re babbling about by ‘voting with dollars’.

Uh, Facebook came out in 2005. That spans 3 calendar decades (00s, 10s, 20s) and just shy of 2 full decades from founding until now if you want to split hairs. Amazon is from the 90s, so yeah, decades. Holy fook you are dumb

And yes- every time you (or anyone else) orders an Amazon package you are voting with your dollars to make Bezos richer and widen the wealth gap.

 

[hammies]

My wife is doing her personal best to keep Bezos in yachts and mansions.

 

[estreet]

Uh, Facebook came out in 2005. That spans 3 calendar decades (00s, 10s, 20s) and just shy of 2 full decades from founding until now if you want to split hairs. Amazon is from the 90s, so yeah, decades. Holy fook you are dumb

You’ve been so well-trained by our corporate overlords that you literally believe that 19 years is three decades, and that Amazon was making huge profits in the 90s.

And yes- every time you (or anyone else) orders an Amazon package you are voting with your dollars to make Bezos richer and widen the wealth gap.

You’ve been so well-trained by our corporate overlords that if someone were rich and corrupt enough to buy politicians, courts, regulatory agencies, etc., to work to their advantage you wouldn’t blame any of them, you’d blame consumers for ‘voting with their dollars’.

 

[grapedrink]

You’ve been so well-trained by our corporate overlords that you literally believe that 19 years is three decades, and that Amazon was making huge profits in the 90s.

19 years spans three calendar decades, dipshit. Just like the last 7 days would cover part of 2 weeks on the calendar Even if we set that aside- 19 years it is more than 1 decade, is it not? Hence the plural. Or is your grammar at a 3rd grade level just like your math skills
"FACEBOOK IS ONLY 1.9 DECADE(no 's') OLD!"

The fact that you are arguing about Facebook being 1 year shy of a full 2 decades shows that you are splitting hairs in search of a desperate gotcha over a tiny detail that I'm technically not wrong about. It's pathetic. And yes- most of that wealth disparity has grown in the last decade, and tech is a major component of what has enabled that. That's the broader take home message that your dumb red herring is attempting to derail from.

You’ve been so well-trained by our corporate overlords that if someone were rich and corrupt enough to buy politicians, courts, regulatory agencies, etc., to work to their advantage you wouldn’t blame any of them, you’d blame consumers for ‘voting with their dollars’.

Yes- because consumers make a conscious choice to buy crap off of amazon, much of which they don't need, instead of supporting local retailers. It's not like we are talking about gasoline or other essentials where you are more less stuck with a small oligopoly of companies that are basically the same to fulfill our basic needs and go to work. However you can survive without string lights or a new instapot, and even if you think you do you have dozens of options for retailers.

Then again, you are the poster who argued against free will in a long thread that ended with you admitting how bad your wife cucked you at the dinner table. It must suck going through life feeling powerless about your ability to make your own decisions, with a wife who browbeats you over it on top of that. Sad!

 

[Pico]

Of course the government favors the wealthy, and I've stated that several times, because the rules are written by the wealthy.

Doesn't change the fact that the founders and higher up employees of the companies that I listed above, some of whom are among the richest people in the world, got to that level of riches because the masses voted for those companies with their wallets. In our daily spending and habits we make those people richer everyday, and much of that is voluntary/discretionary in nature.

Truly off topic

 

[estreet]

Then again, you are the poster who argued against free will in a long thread that ended with you admitting how bad your wife cucked you at the dinner table. It must suck going through life feeling powerless about your ability to make your own decisions, with a wife who browbeats you over it on top of that. Sad!

Yeah, like I’m going to admit something like that on a forum like this. It must be weird going through life only seeing what you want to see.

Btw, just like a woman to always bring up irrelevant ancient history in a dispute. Sorry you felt the need to do that.

 

[Sharky]

Fluffing up a a word salad always indicates a valid point will not be on the menu.
Did you not learn anything from Surfrog?

OK, we have fluffers, salads...

OUT before the fisting happens.

Freaks.