Good thing Obama isn't a financial advisor...

Originally Posted by SamIngram

Jimmy,
Are you saying that the parents were born in to it too? Someone, somewhere, at sometime, did something to generate wealth that they were able to pass on... One of the basic tenants of the American Ideal is that you can keep the results of your efforts and can pass it on to your children if you so choose. This is the very basic idea of personal/private property. In a totally socialist country you can not pass your wealth on to your kids. If my father didn't teach me the basics of the economy, business, and right from wrong in addition to helping me start my business I would have had a much harder time becoming successful, but I still could. For example, he didn't know anything about the logging business, or how to syndicate real estate development, but we still figured those things out. We didn't have anyone giving us anything in those areas...

In the United States of American more people are able to climb the economic ladder than anywhere else. Have you ever talked to an immigrant regarding opportunity here? More immigrants own their own business in the US than in any other country.

I don't disagree with anything you've said above but the fact of the matter is most wealthy people got there by less than honest means. That is evident. Just because someone was born with a silver spoon in his mouth does not make him any more of a person. Just a luckier one. Even if every single person had a PhD there are not enough good jobs to make everyone wealthy.

I don't care what the circumstances, the top 1% should not own well over 70% of all assets. And this inequality gap continues to grow. Once the wealth is concentrated into the hands of a few people... good luck getting those tables to turn.

Also, someone above said, "50% of wage earners pay no federal income tax. That's fair?" Yeah, that is fair. They don't pay taxes because they don't earn enough to pay. AKA they are POOR.

So again, people rarely become wealthy on their own merits. Furthermore, people don't get to pick what family they are born into. You could have just as easily been born into a poor family with a dead beat dad. Had you been, I can guarantee your chances of success would be far less.


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