US continues to go forward

[cowboyinexile]

I don't feel I am defending them at all. Everything I said was about her, not them. All I'm saying is if her level of wealth can call them out as excessive, why can't I call out her level of wealth as excessive, too?

Why are you ok with a multimillionaire calling out billionaires saying "Why are you a billionaire" but are not OK with a barely millionaire at retirement age calling out a multimillionaire 20-year-old saying "Why are you a multimillionaire?"

What is the cutoff? Is it $999 million? Does age matter at all?

I would say action matters. I agree with you alot but if someone who is a millionaire at the age of 23 gives away 1/3rd of their wealth that's pretty meaningful. She's not an idiot so she understands what has happened to a bunch of famous people that have came before her and were millionaires in their 20's but bankrupt in their 40's. And she still says that this is worth doing. Someone who is a billionaire at 70 isn't going to be concerned about that. Heck even the ones that have said they will donate most of their fortune when they die-that's really noble for them to give away billions but what's a few million now? 1300 people x 10 million each could feed a lot of people for a few weeks.

And I know most of them are not liquid billionaires. They may be worth more money than we can comprehend but most of it is tied up in stocks. That is what it is, but nothing says they can't donate that. If Elon Musk gifted 1 billion in stock to Ronald McDonald house he wouldn't notice the difference in net worth but the dividend checks would be a significant source of funding for them. Imagine what a couple hundred K in stock would do for a local food bank.

 

[milehighpoke]

I can't even imagine having so much money that you could fix a LOT of humanities problems, and just saying "no". Musk could go down as one of the greatest human beings to ever live. But he'd rather hoard wealth, and buy twitter just to be a racist and make dick jokes.

 

[GratefulPoke]

I don't feel I am defending them at all. Everything I said was about her, not them. All I'm saying is if her level of wealth can call them out as excessive, why can't I call out her level of wealth as excessive, too?

Why are you ok with a multimillionaire calling out billionaires saying "Why are you a billionaire" but are not OK with a barely millionaire at retirement age calling out a multimillionaire 20-year-old saying "Why are you a multimillionaire?"

What is the cutoff? Is it $999 million? Does age matter at all?

You are welcome to call out her level of wealth as excessive, that is not the issue I take here. My issue is that you are in essence telling her to "shut up" as if she does not have a leg to stand on. Compared to the people in that room, she absolutely did and does have a leg to stand on. They are also much more likely to listen to her than you or I.

And it is way more of a leg to stand on than Josh Huepel, which was the example used criticizing CFB players from getting large checks in NIL when he is making more than them and is only just a couple years removed from making more than his entire roster made that year.

Also, when it comes to liquidity, they are a lot more liquid than one might assume. Mainly because they can borrow against their assets (shares, properties, etc) with low interest loans. Since this is technically, not income they are not taxed on it. This has to change. I don't agree with taxing unrealized gains (it would be an absolute mess for everyone), but I do think that we could tax these loans in creative ways, since the whole purpose of them is to bypass taxation in the first place.

 

[steross]

You are welcome to call out her level of wealth as excessive, that is not the issue I take here. My issue is that you are in essence telling her to "shut up" as if she does not have a leg to stand on. Compared to the people in that room, she absolutely did and does have a leg to stand on. They are also much more likely to listen to her than you or I.

And it is way more of a leg to stand on than Josh Huepel, which was the example used criticizing CFB players from getting large checks in NIL when he is making more than them and is only just a couple years removed from making more than his entire roster made that year.

Also, when it comes to liquidity, they are a lot more liquid than one might assume. Mainly because they can borrow against their assets (shares, properties, etc) with low interest loans. Since this is technically, not income they are not taxed on it. This has to change. I don't agree with taxing unrealized gains (it would be an absolute mess for everyone), but I do think that we could tax these loans in creative ways, since the whole purpose of them is to bypass taxation in the first place.

But isn't that what sort of you are doing to me about her?

Again it is about perspective. I'm seeing a 23 yo fabulously wealthy person up on a high horse pointing fingers at even more fabulously wealthy people. You are seeing a person fighting the inequity in the world. I think there can be a little of each. I think someone having a few music hits having $50 million at 23 shows just as much problem in our system as old business owners having $2 billion at 70.

I can tell you one thing for sure as an older person, give me the choice of being 23 with $50 million or 70 with $50 billion, and I'll choose what she has over the people she is calling out every single time.

Agree completely on all the other stuff.

 

[steross]

On a similar but somewhat unrelated topic, in the next few years we plan to do a lot of world travel. In multiple places we have traveled, I have noticed the poor sell trinkets or gum/candy rather than panhandle like here. Often you can tell it is a family or a grandmother/kids etc. This is common in tourist areas but we see it in cities even with little tourism.

Something I have considered doing is negotiating to buy a bracelet or whatever for the 50 pesos they are worth then giving them the equivalent of $1000 USD in their local currency. My thinking in doing that instead of just a little to a lot of people is that it is possible that a significant amount could possibly lift one or two out of deep poverty. No, I'm not going to record it for social media or that type nonsense.

I've had some naysayers.
1. Use real charities.(already do)
2. You are putting a target on them for crime.
3. They are hard workers and don't want charity.
4. Give in America....

I still like the idea. Thoughts?

 

[Stillwaterman]

8 years ago, we bought a starter home in our area for about double what you listed in an ok neighborhood. Keep in mind, most other neighborhoods were well above that price and we could not afford at that time. Since then, it doubled in value, plus interest rates have gone up. If we refinanced our home now, we would pay about $1000 more a month on the same principal. Which is still much lower than the value of the home today. It is even more of an unaffordable market today and gen z/younger millennials are rent trapped, even if they are working professionals with a college degree. Add in AI price fixing which is rampant and it is even worse.

Homes are one of the main ways Americans build wealth and it is one of the few assets that Americans understand. Pushing an entire generation back by 6-10 years when purchasing their first home makes a huge difference with compounding interest over their lifetime. And that is for people who ultimately can afford to own a home! Now we have predatory payday lending apps that people are using to just pay for groceries. 1 in 8 Americans are on SNAP and 70% of those people work full time! If we don't address this, we are going to have an economic collapse.

I agree with you.

But none of these changes the fact that there are 10's of millions of capable young people out there making dumb lifestyle choices in a period where it’s even more critical to make smart ones. Just can’t throw out all accountability because the game is harder. It’s the 23 year olds driving 60k trucks, throwing down 100 restaurant tabs that I dontfeel for. And I’m talking about a lot of kids…..probably most complaining in that video.

 

[GratefulPoke]

But isn't that what sort of you are doing to me about her?

Again it is about perspective. I'm seeing a 23 yo fabulously wealthy person up on a high horse pointing fingers at even more fabulously wealthy people. You are seeing a person fighting the inequity in the world. I think there can be a little of each. I think someone having a few music hits having $50 million at 23 shows just as much problem in our system as old business owners having $2 billion at 70.

I can tell you one thing for sure as an older person, give me the choice of being 23 with $50 million or 70 with $50 billion, and I'll choose what she has over the people she is calling out every single time.

Agree completely on all the other stuff.

If she was in a room full of retirees worth between 1 and 10 million talking about how people need to donate more money, her comments would be inappropriate and I would 100% agree with you. But that wasn't the room she was in and I think that matters.

Would the message be more powerful coming from someone who is still in poverty working 55 hours a week? Yes, but the other people in that room would not be sharing the room with that theoretical person, and they certainly would not let them speak to them on this topic, not to even mention hear them.

 

[KK10]

On a similar but somewhat unrelated topic, in the next few years we plan to do a lot of world travel. In multiple places we have traveled, I have noticed the poor sell trinkets or gum/candy rather than panhandle like here. Often you can tell it is a family or a grandmother/kids etc. This is common in tourist areas but we see it in cities even with little tourism.

Something I have considered doing is negotiating to buy a bracelet or whatever for the 50 pesos they are worth then giving them the equivalent of $1000 USD in their local currency. My thinking in doing that instead of just a little to a lot of people is that it is possible that a significant amount could possibly lift one or two out of deep poverty. No, I'm not going to record it for social media or that type nonsense.

I've had some naysayers.
1. Use real charities.(already do)
2. You are putting a target on them for crime.
3. They are hard workers and don't want charity.
4. Give in America....

I still like the idea. Thoughts?

My 0.02
If you feel compelled to give, do so. Don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong or how to do it better.
If they think they know better, they're free to do it their way too!

 

[Stillwaterman]

I can't even imagine having so much money that you could fix a LOT of humanities problems, and just saying "no". Musk could go down as one of the greatest human beings to ever live. But he'd rather hoard wealth, and buy twitter just to be a racist and make dick jokes.

I think he is actually doing what HE thinks will save humanity.

 

[KK10]

I think he is actually doing what HE thinks will save humanity.

COLONIZE MARS

 

[Polds4OSU]

JUST IN: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s order requiring documented proof of U.S. citizenship on federal voter registration forms, calling the mandate unconstitutional.

Fox News (@foxnews) on Threads

JUST IN: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s order requiring documented proof of U.S. citizenship on federal voter registration forms, calling the mandate unconstitutional.

www.threads.com