It's the typical mean spirited ***** I've pointed out about the left. The lot of them lack class.

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1993 300E 2.8 185k miles
2006 Mustang Convertible 4.0 Eaton Supercharged

You sound really undecided

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1993 300E 2.8 185k miles
2006 Mustang Convertible 4.0 Eaton Supercharged

On Tuesday's Newshour, economist Sam Bowles said:
"America is distinct in the extent to which inequality is inherited from generation to generation. The kids of rich parents have a strong tendency to be rich. And the kids of poor parents are very, very likely to be poor, to a far greater extent than is true of any other country, except for England.

That's a huge discrepancy from what we think of as the land of opportunity."


Here's his description of the Reagan economic policies - which have been essentially carried out by both parties since Reagan was first elected:


"Policies were adopted on the idea that the way to stimulate the economy was essentially to help the rich get richer on the grounds that that would stimulate investment, risk-taking, and also the fact that the ladder would get a little steeper and the rungs farther apart. That was going to stimulate people to work hard to move up that ladder."

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1984 300TD

I think someone greased the steps.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

That guy is a freaking idiot. Is there anywhere on the planet, other than a worker's paradise, where inherited wealth does not exist.

BTW, I think inherited wealth is a very difficult problem for society. It concentrates wealth into th hands of people who didn't earn it.

OTOH, people like me work their whole lives in order to live a good life, have an easy retirement and put aside an inheritance for my kids. You betcha, I work to improve the lot of my descendants. I think that is a good and noble thing.

I do not believe that there is a simple solution to that conundrum.

What part is idiotic? Wealth is inherited. Poverty is inherited. According to him, poverty is inherited to a far greater extent here than anywhere else but England.

People like you who work their whole lives in order to live a good life, have an easy retirement and put aside an inheritance for my kids. And work to improve the lot of my descendants are pursuing a god and noble thing. It is unfortunate that so many people like you are unable to do so. The great myth of the poor is that they are lazy. Most of them work very hard to improve their lots and their kids' lots. They just can't get it done.

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1984 300TD

The gentleman has apparently never heard of 4/5ths of the planet's population nor of history. Most of the population is born into poverty as were their ancestors. We few, we happy few are allotted greater economic freedom, political liberty, health, and general welfare than has ever been present in human history. To suppose that health and general welfare are a result of state action is a cataclysmically thick-headed denial of history.

Our current estate is a direct result of increasing economic freedom, not the reverse. Is it unequal? You betcha it is.

B

He said 'extent' of inherited poverty. Not that America was the only place it happens. He did not say that anything was a result of state action.
If his statement about the extent of inherited poverty is accurate, it would seem that we are in fact not the beneficiaries of the greatest economic freedom, etc..

He did describe the theory of Reagan policy. And it turned out not to be a great engine of upward mobility.

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1984 300TD

So is the solution "redistribution" of wealth?

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1993 300E 2.8 185k miles
2006 Mustang Convertible 4.0 Eaton Supercharged

He didn't say. IMO, some 'redistribution' of wealth is necessary. I'm in favor of a progressive tax. It isn't direct redistribution, but I am also in favor of some programs designed to aid the poor not be poor.

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1984 300TD

Is it possible to " help the poor not be poor"? In general, it is a grand-sounding purpose, but as in all things political, with huge funds available, the devil is in the details.

We can all cite examples of how some program or other helped some poor person become less poor, but we can also cite examples of rampant waste and fraud. How do you help the deserving without also promoting more people to try to become poor to take advantage of the help? How do you weed out the cheats?

I do construction inspections. I see the results of minority and women-owned business set-asides on a regular business. The whole scheme is full of corruption. Men sell their businesses to their wives who may have little knowledge or involvement just to qualify for women owned set-asides.
Large successful businesses will often open a minority-owned company using all the same personal, but with a black as a front person.
Some of the true minority-owned business I see are among the most poorly run--they only survive because government contracts require them to get a % of the work. Several large General Contractors I know, plan to actually redo all the work of certain minority-owned businesses because their work is shoddy, but their involvement is required by the government.
I see a lot of parallels with the mortgage crisis--government involvement ( with all good intentions) allows greedy people to take advantage of government largess, and cost the taxpayers more money.

The question is how to do the commendable stuff w/o also doing the corrupt stuff.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Oh, who freakin' cares.

People who believe that taxation is unfair and that government is increasingly the master of the people rather than the servant of the people.

B

ANYONE (Right, Left, media - whoever) anyone who would attack Joe for asking tough questions and aspiring to own his own company would attack any of us for aspiring to anything greater than the status quo.

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1987 300D (230,000 mi on a #14 head-watching the temp gauge and keeping the ghost in the machine)
Raleigh NC - Home of deep fried sushi!

And surprise he's Charles Keating's son-in-law..... And has a $1200 tax lien..
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=64946&cat=14

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Sharing my partner's 2012 Forte 5dr SX til I find my next 123 or 126..
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Do I miss being a service advisor ???