Always something to remember:
The poor cannot choose to be rich unless they are absurdly lucky.
but the rich can choose to be poor within seconds if they wanted to (hint: charity donation)
So [censored] them, if they feel so hard done by they can change their status at any time they wish, no sympathy whatsoever from me.
Iām from the most regressive one, yay! (mostly because thereās no local income tax, only sales tax)
The super rich donāt earn most of their money as ordinary income, they earn it as interest income or carried interest. The associated tax rates are less progressive than those for ordinary income.
Oh, you and your FACTS!
Isnāt it mind blowing? Talk about voting against your own self interests. And hey, Iāll even compromise, investment income shouldnāt be taxed above ordinary income, it should be ordinary income.
There USA, I just raised $200B a year for the treasury. Now college is free.
Edit
I totes forgot.
America, youāre welcome.
Which would result in more taxpayers making higher salaries, which in turn means higher tax payments, which in turnā¦
Sorry to be the wet blanket today, but it strikes me that capital gains is deliberately not scrutinized in most conversations about wealth inequality. āPay no attention to the man behind the curtain,ā as it were.
nodding head gif
Oh, it certainly is ignored. And if you want to go deeper, there are a host of other things to consider that tend to get ignored in this sort of conversation.
weāre talking about income, but wealth is distributed less equally than income
income-bearing wealth is even more unequally distributed than wealth.
if al of your income is unearned, there are entire taxes that donāt apply
Inherited wealth is always at the top of the protected list for some reason
Iām exorbitantly wealthy (Heeeeeeeyyyyy LLLLaaaaaddddiiiiieeeeessss) and every time I give money to the poor, I only give them silver dollars.
Because theyāre really heavy, and when you hit some homeless fuck with one of those coins, theyāre gonna know it! And on top of that, they roll a long way so you get to watch those poor bastards scampering and fighting after the coinā¦SO FUN!!
As for advice for my less-wealthy friends, 1) quit complaining about the god-dayum estate tax, youāre fucking dead and you should have adequately prepared your children for the world beforehand, and 2) capital fucken gains. Unfuckingbelievable that Iāve heard presidential candidates whining that the capital gains tax should be lower. Go DIAF, whoever the fuck said that.
Excellent! Please support the WFP, they have not enough funds to feed Syrian refugees*. They asked for $240m, but as the US is interested more in bombing Syria ($10m/day) and the rich donāt pay the taxes hundreds of thousands people are starving.
*) One example of many. Itās a shame.
Oh my god. āDeath Taxā, and all the imbecilic commentators sagely weighing in on how the stupidest thing ever fucking said is ābrilliant messaging that changed the debateā.
ACH! Iāve just had my manservant contact the feeeemail telephone operator to speak with my accountant firm, and it appears Iām $239,998,999 shortā¦
And after writing that, I feel like a shit (and threw a little cash toward the WFP to assuage my guilt). While I am wealthy family and friend-wise, Iām not actually wealthy (cash-wise), and given my job and motivations, itās highly unlikely Iāll ever earn that title.
So let me correct that little errorā¦
That said, of the two people I know personally who Iād consider wealthy, one is probably the unhappiest person I know, and the second doesnāt actually care about money except to save it (and itās actually his wife who makes all the moola).
All told, you and @japhroaig are on point with what sad, wealthy people can do (other than DIAF). Be a positive member in your community who advocates for changes that affect everyone positively, help others when and where youāre able.
Fucking hell, just stepping outside our horrible godamn buy-everything, stay perpetually young-looking, newer-is-always-better culture should be enough to brighten anyoneās day for a few moments.
The notion of mood of the rich tying into gender theory is intriguing, and it makes me wonder if there are implications on a global scale. For example, depression rates are higher in richer countries. Those of us who are American are, globally, in the 1%. Those of you who have crappy plumbing, trouble just paying the lighting and/or grocery bills, and so on, rather than get angry, stop and think about how goddamned depressing it is that youāre comparatively far wealthier than almost all of humanity. And I think I just hit the nail on the head on part of it by saying ālightingā. Some of yāall know what Iām talking about: you buy or rent a house in town, youāre probably required to have electricity, running water, sewer service, etc. So you can have a globally high amount of money, have all these great things that arenāt available, but still feel like you have nothing.
And now Iām depressed. Perhaps Iāll dry my eyes with a dollar bill, which is the average of what 36% of people in southeast Asia earned today.
There are a lot of tech and entertainment point-one-percenters who contribute bigtime to Democrats and to liberal causes in general. Start talking loud about capital gains, or -wealth- inequality as opposed to income tax rates, and watch those revenues start drying up.
Late to the party, but as a Canadian, in a country that is still part of the Commonwealth I find it āamusingā when Americans talk about paying taxes. Seems to me that country was built by people who really didnāt want to pay taxesā¦ its in your DNA. 
/s
Pundits and economists mention it only in hushed tones. Clearly, thereās a vested interest in maintaining an unequal, duel system of taxation.
Well, much of it was built by slaves, but I see what you mean. And hey, congrats on your countryās recent elevation of a left-talking rich man! Hereās hoping heās not just another pretty face who doesnāt mean most of what he says.
Left-talking, centre-standing, rich white SON of a rich white man who also led the country.
Iād say something about democracy vs monarchy and sons, but who am I kidding, we love it.
The history of the Puritans and their tax avoidance is also interesting. Lotsa smugglers mixed with religious fervour. Super interesting. (Also, go see The Witch for super terrifying puritans in the New World!)
Holy shit (ha), that does look good, thanks!
