Income of Richest 100 Enough to End Global Poverty Four Times Over

[Skull Pilot]

In my past experience as an insurance agent then a registered investment adviser I have seen some people who make 60K a year and save the bulk of their money and I have seen some people who make 200K a year who don't have two nickels to rub together.

People are horrible with their money. Most don't know how much they have in the bank or how much their monthly bills are.

Most people spend more time planning an annual 2 week vacation than they do their retirement savings strategy.

There are hundreds of ways people could earn more, save more and spend less but for the most part they won't do any of it.

The whole notion of income inequality is meaningless when people can't even manage the income they have now.

What it comes down to is that people are exactly where they want to be for the most part. No one is holding them down except them. No rich guy is stealing their money; they piss it away all by themselves.

 

[saveliberty]

That was my experience when I held a similiar job Skull Pilot.

 

[Blooper]

Actually the Supreme Court ruled that a Government at any level can seize your property and give or sell it to someone they feel will make more money for them.

Link please.

Just Google "eminent domain abuses" for a laundry list of government seizures of private property not for public use but for other private ventures.

Oh? So you're talking about eminent domain. That makes more sense.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Link please.

Just Google "eminent domain abuses" for a laundry list of government seizures of private property not for public use but for other private ventures.

Oh? So you're talking about eminent domain. That makes more sense.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I am specifically talking about the misuse of eminent domain.

The state should not have the right to seize private property in order to give it to another private developer.

 

[skookerasbil]

Imagine if you will a world that lasts a few seconds, even less in universe time. A world in which light travels for light years and still takes a phenomenal amount of time just to reach a finite being who exists for no time at all given infinity. Now imagine this finite being exists in this world for this infinitesimal moment but presumes this moment will someday last forever. This being lasts forever, and yet this same being in this grand scale of infinity, presumes to think that what this congruence of time place and situation that exists at this moment is justified given some logic that exists only at this moment. Another moment another time another situation and nothing would be the same. "Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss." Epicurus

what a surprise.......a far left guy starting a post with the word, "Imagine"!!

No elaboration necessary.

 

[georgephillip]

Ahead of the global elite meeting in Davos next week, Oxfam is asking the rich to remember the fact that "...political equality is meaningless in the face of economic inequality."

"The 100 richest people in the world earned enough last year to end extreme poverty suffered by the poorest on the planet four times over, Oxfam has said.

"Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the charity urged world leaders to tackle inequality.

"Extreme wealth was 'economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive', the report said.

"The global economic system required reform so that it worked 'in the interests of the whole of humanity'".

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

i would like to see the list of who the top 100 are.... not just some articular alluding to them.

Here's the Forbes version.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Ahead of the global elite meeting in Davos next week, Oxfam is asking the rich to remember the fact that "...political equality is meaningless in the face of economic inequality."

"The 100 richest people in the world earned enough last year to end extreme poverty suffered by the poorest on the planet four times over, Oxfam has said.

"Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the charity urged world leaders to tackle inequality.

"Extreme wealth was 'economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive', the report said.

"The global economic system required reform so that it worked 'in the interests of the whole of humanity'".

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

Do they have numbers to back that up, or are we supposed to take their word for it because Oxfam is a cool name?

 

[boedicca]

i would like to see the list of who the top 100 are.... not just some articular alluding to them.

Here's the Forbes version.

OK. You have a list. Now how much would taking away all of their money accomplish?

To quote from another thread:

The inimitable Iowahawk strikes again. This is one of the best commentaries I've read concerning the Federal Budget Fracas.

Seems like these days I hear a lot of whiney whiners whining about "out of control government spending" and "insane deficits" and such, trying to make hay out of a bunch of pointy-head boring finance hooey. Sure, $3.7 trillion of spending sounds like a big number. "Oh, boo-hoo, how are we going to get $3.7 trillion dollars? We're broke, boo-hoo-hoo," whine the whiners. What these skinflint crybabies fail to realize is that $3.7 trillion is for an entire year - which translates into only a measly $10 billion per day!

Mister, I call that a bargain. Especially since it pays for all of us - you and me, the whole American family. Like all families, we Americas have to pay for things - health, food, safety, uncle Dave America with his drinking problem. And when little Billy America wants that new quad runner they promised, do Mom and Dad America deny him? No, they get a second job at Circle K, because they know little Billy might have one of his episodes and burn down the house.

So let's all sit down together as an American family with a calendar and make a yearly budget. First, let's lock in the $3.7 trillion of critical family spending priorities; now let's get to work on collecting the pay-as-we-go $10 billion daily cash flow we need.

12:01 AM, January 1
Let's start the year out right by going after some evil corporations and their obscene profits. And who is more evil than those twin spawns of Lucifer himself, Exxon Mobil and Walmart? Together these two largest American industrial behemoths raked in, between them, $34 billion in 2010 global profits. Let's teach 'em both a lesson and confiscate it for the public good. This will get us through...

9:52 AM January 4
Okay, maybe I underestimated our take. But we shouldn't let Exxon and Walmart distract us from all those other corporate profiteers out there worth shaking down. In fact, why don't we grab every cent of 2010 profit made by the other 498 members of the Fortune 500? That will net us another, let's see, $357 billion! Enough to get us to...

2:00 AM February 9
So we're running out of corporate cash, but look - it's Super Bowl time! As we all know, the game has become a crass disgusting festival of commercialism. So let's take all the TV ad money spent on stupid Super Bowl ads, and apply that to government needs. That would be $250 million, enough to fund us for, let's see... 36 minutes. The half time show, at least. But why stop there? Let's take every cent of ad money spent on all 45 Super Bowls, a cool $5 billion, which would cover us until...

2:00 PM February 9
Speaking of sports, why should the players be immune to our pressing public needs? Lord knows professional athletes make obscene salaries for playing a dumb game. So let's take the combined salaries of all players in the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NHL. Hey, they've got endorsement deals, they'll hardly miss it. Throw in the total winnings of everybody on the PGA tour and NASCAR, and we get $9.4 billion, enough to get us through until...

1:00 PM February 10
Okay, it's time to stop messing around. Athletes aren't the only ones greedily raking it in. What about America's rich - those fancy pants fat cats living the high life in the above-$250,000 income bracket? According to IRS statistics, these 1.93% of US households are hogging 25% of US income. And why do they need it? For crying out loud, they probably stole it anyway. I say let's take 100% of every penny they make above $250,000. They can use the rest to pay their state and local taxes. Now we're talking big bucks, brother. How much? Let's see...



A: Number of US households: 116,000,000
B: Average US household income: $68,000 (median = $52,000)
C: Total US household income (A * B): $7.89 trillion
D: Percent of households above $250k income: 1.93%
E: Number of households above $250k income (A*D): 2,238,800
F: Percent of national income earned by households making $250k or more = 25%
G: Total income of households making $250k or more (C*F): $1.97 trillion
H: Total income of households in excess of $250k (G - E*$250,000) = $1.412 trillion



Alright! Take that, fat cats! Our $1.412 trillion windfall has us covered for the next 141 days, or until...


Read the whole thing

http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/159746-feed-your-family-on-10-billion-a-day.html

 

[georgephillip]

Ahead of the global elite meeting in Davos next week, Oxfam is asking the rich to remember the fact that "...political equality is meaningless in the face of economic inequality."

"The 100 richest people in the world earned enough last year to end extreme poverty suffered by the poorest on the planet four times over, Oxfam has said.

"Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the charity urged world leaders to tackle inequality.

"Extreme wealth was 'economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive', the report said.

"The global economic system required reform so that it worked 'in the interests of the whole of humanity'".

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

The 100 richest paid to keep their names off that list. You won't find Solvay family name there yet they are the richest industrialists in the world, including pharmaceutical, mind altering drugs prozac, anti depressants, fluoride in your water? ( they made that too ) and their names never make the list. So there you have it. The list is a fake.

There's no list presented in the Oxfam link, and Forbes doesn't include a Solvay family in its top 100.

 

[georgephillip]

You don't end poverty by giving people money. If it did work that way, the trillion $$ or so of transfer payments here in the US would have ended it.

You're not addressing the question why are these people poor?

Typical liberal response to every problem.. throw somebody else's money at it.

Part of the reason these people are poor is a global economic system designed to keep them that way:

Solutions don't include taking all of Bill's and Slim's billions and "giving" them to the poor.
They do include the following:

"Closure of tax havens around the world
"A reversal of 'the trend towards more regressive forms of taxation'
"A global minimum corporation tax rate
"Increased investment in free public services and safety nets for people out of work or ill

"'As a first step world leaders should formally commit themselves to reducing inequality to the levels seen in 1990,' Ms Stocking said.

"From tax havens to weak employment laws, the richest benefit from a global economic system which is rigged in their favour.

"It is time our leaders reformed the system so that it works in the interests of the whole of humanity rather than a global elite."

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

 

[georgephillip]

Where do you think very rich people put their money?

Here's a hint: they don't keep it under their mattresses.

Here's another:

"Millions of Americans knowingly lie on their tax forms. The government loses out on roughly $300 billion a year in unpaid taxes."

But you already knew that.

The American Tax Cheat

Then shame on the government. They know all these people lie and they don't collect the taxes.

Remember Leona?

"billionaire Leona Helmsley's remark, quoted by her housekeeper, that 'we don't pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes.'"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/27/column-dcjohnston-taxcheats-idUSS1E78Q01320110927

 

[Againsheila]

If only....

 

[georgephillip]

Bunch of fucking asshole wanting to keep their own money and not get robbed at gunpoint by the government.

A bunch of greedy slaves getting a free ride on the backs of those who pay the taxes that enable private fortunes to exist.

WTF does this mean?

People who wish to keep their money are GREEDY SLAVES?

You really have mental issues. Get help.

Do you want to pay the taxes the rich avoid?

"Each year New York State lets real estate investors evade at least $200 million of taxes. In peak years the figure likely rises to $700 million, if known tax cheating in another state is any indication. Some of the investors who cheat New York State also cheat New York City out of at least $40 million annually."

FIRE sector parasites not only bribe elected politicians for the lowest tax rates on their earnings, they also view any payments to the state that licenses their private business dealings as optional. Or possibly you think no one should pay taxes?

COLUMN-Ignoring tax cheats: David Cay Johnston | Reuters

 

[georgephillip]

If only....

Maybe that kind of morality can't be legislated?

 

[Againsheila]

If only....

Maybe that kind of morality can't be legislated?

It could be encouraged, dreamed of, worked for, but instead we get the greedy bastards that do everything they can to see such a world never exists. The one's who really believe that the rich are better than the poor for the simple reason that they have more money.

 

[georgephillip]

Ahead of the global elite meeting in Davos next week, Oxfam is asking the rich to remember the fact that "...political equality is meaningless in the face of economic inequality."

"The 100 richest people in the world earned enough last year to end extreme poverty suffered by the poorest on the planet four times over, Oxfam has said.

"Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the charity urged world leaders to tackle inequality.

"Extreme wealth was 'economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive', the report said.

"The global economic system required reform so that it worked 'in the interests of the whole of humanity'".

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

Do they have numbers to back that up, or are we supposed to take their word for it because Oxfam is a cool name?

Here's a PDF with links.

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/cost-of-inequality-oxfam-mb180113.pdf

 

[georgephillip]

If only....

Maybe that kind of morality can't be legislated?

It could be encouraged, dreamed of, worked for, but instead we get the greedy bastards that do everything they can to see such a world never exists. The one's who really believe that the rich are better than the poor for the simple reason that they have more money.

As long as the greedy bastards own government it's hard to see why they would ever feel the need to change unless there's a Great Depression 2.0 in our future. I certainly don't see any way to bring about real change at the ballot box by "choosing" between Republican OR Democrat. Eternal war and endless debt seem to drive the US economy, and very few of us seem to care.

 

[Againsheila]

Maybe that kind of morality can't be legislated?

It could be encouraged, dreamed of, worked for, but instead we get the greedy bastards that do everything they can to see such a world never exists. The one's who really believe that the rich are better than the poor for the simple reason that they have more money.

As long as the greedy bastards own government it's hard to see why they would ever feel the need to change unless there's a Great Depression 2.0 in our future. I certainly don't see any way to bring about real change at the ballot box by "choosing" between Republican OR Democrat. Eternal war and endless debt seem to drive the US economy, and very few of us seem to care.

I think we're already in depression 2.0. Jobless recovery? Come on.

 

[syrenn]

Ahead of the global elite meeting in Davos next week, Oxfam is asking the rich to remember the fact that "...political equality is meaningless in the face of economic inequality."

"The 100 richest people in the world earned enough last year to end extreme poverty suffered by the poorest on the planet four times over, Oxfam has said.

"Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the charity urged world leaders to tackle inequality.

"Extreme wealth was 'economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive', the report said.

"The global economic system required reform so that it worked 'in the interests of the whole of humanity'".

BBC News - Oxfam seeks 'new deal' on inequality from world leaders

i would like to see the list of who the top 100 are.... not just some articular alluding to them.

Here's the Forbes version.

i saw that... and it is not quite accurate.


it leaves off all royal families and all middle eastern oil barons....

 

[saveliberty]

If only....

A fictious character on a tv show said this. Also, comes from a guy that photon torpedoed a ton of Klingons.