I do not hate rich people

[DaveJ]

But I am 100% aware that the things people acquire are not often equivalent to the quality of the work they produce. So I am not a member of the blind sheeple who unconditionally admire the rich, regardless of party affiliation.

When it comes to money, I think people come to the realization they have been screwed over by the system at different points in life. Some do not come to that realization until they retire, some come to that realization when they are kids growing up in poor families, and the others realize that sometime in between. People who grew up in poor families often end up best off because they came to the realization sooner, but nobody is better or more deserving, and people should get the assistance they need regardless, in order for this to be a "fair" (try not to laugh) society.

True character is evident in someone when they become financially affluent, but can still say "I was fortunate and would like to thank others" and not "I worked for everything I have and nobody ever did anything the help me." I do not hate the people in the latter category, but I have no respect for them either.

Even though I am not exactly rich, I can admit that I am fortunate for what I have. I thank people who have less than me for making sacrifices to push me up. Even if they do so without realizing it, or involuntarily, I understand that it is the sacrifices of those who have less that contribute to the affluence of others.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Excellent! We need to get back to the mindset of the Post WWII era that considered "Public Works"

programs fully AMERICAN and for "the common good."

The right wing in this country have morphed anything that's not done strictly "for profit" as Evil Socialism. If you truly want to talk strict *socialism* many USA Military and Government Programs follow the nut case right wing's definition. Plus many republicans don't realize that they suck off of the government teat every time they receive a Military Retirement paycheck or enjoy, less than ideal but FULLY COVERED medical care offered to Military and Government Employees.

Our illustrious US Legislators are COVERED under a universal health care plan, it's long past time to crack down on the HMO's stranglehold on bloated profits in order to offer this to *All Americans.*

My belated father was sent off to The Civilian Conservation Corps in the mid and late 1930s beginning at the age of 16 y.o. (he was 40 years older than me) in The Black Hills of South Dakota. He, like many young men were allowed to keep $5 and send $20 dollars back home to their families on the midwestern farms and ranches. The CCCs was one of the greatest "Public Works" programs and so was that blessed GI Program for returning Veterans after WWII.

To this day, many programs that support military veterans and government employees have helped them move from working poor into the middle classes. That's not socialism, but a "common good" step up for fellow Americans.

If anything, we need to UNITE in a genuine AMERICAN "loving thy neighbor" attitude instead of a "more for me as an investor."

Every time I see that LOON, Dennis Hopper do an commercial for an investment company I yell at my TV, "You just don't get it a**hole! There will be nothing left to treasure, not even your self-centered *personal dreams* ... nothing left for even the investor classes in this once great country if we kill-off all *People and Community Oriented - Common Good* Programs ... and as a horrific consequence, gut our middle class.

The foregoing is creating a huge underclass of "working poor" and a much smaller "merchant class." And BTW, Dennis Hopper, you Blue Velvet freak? How about sucking-up some more nitrous oxide as you mercifully get the hell off off my TV screen?" Heaven knows what substances has pickled Hopper's already freakishly arrogant "little mind" over low these past 30 years." :crazy: But I digress. :blush:

Our beloved country has already slipped into a plutocracy catalyzed by the strangle-hold of the M$M by the corporate media. IMO, the ONE SMALL SHRED of HOPE for reclaiming our Democratic Republic is to, over time, vote out the representatives who prove to serve corporations before their average hard working constituents. :shrug:

We must first work in the grass roots, aim small and keep faith - our children's future depends on what we do now.

Vote Out Incumbents Democracy http://voidnow.org

No, I won't deny that it's sometimes TEMPTING with horse's patooties like Dennis Hopper and Donald Trump to want to "eat the rich." :blush: But I do my humanly best to NOT, by default, loathe rich people. However, I have noted over the years that the more money people acquire ... when they can truly build up "wealth" far too many of them CHOOSE to vote republican and/or hold onto fiscally conservative values (third way, blue dog democrats, etc.). IMO if the investor classes wish to deny programs to benefit American Communities and Society as a whole, they are my enemy regardless of their political stripes.

[Odin2005]

7. Great post. I am fucking sick of the "I've got mine, fuck you" attitude.

n/t.

[ShortnFiery]

8. Thanks, I'm also tired of the "be docile," "watch survivor" and "go to the mall" memes from the M$M

[Odin2005]

10. ROFLMAO!!! n/t

[DaveJ]

12. ...

I believe that it's more about character than strictly rich vs poor. And when it comes to a French style class war, that may be more difficult to justify here. I know rich people who inherited everything, yet they maintain a very humble attitude about it, and are the most unpretentious people I've ever met. They provide good jobs to a lot of people and treat all their employees like family.

Yet I tend to get bad vibes from the typical McDonald's assistant manager types, who just have a slight advantage over others and do everything they can to rub it in others' faces. I've also met a few rich kids like that too.

Maybe it comes down to whether people are really being rewarded for the quality of their work, or are they being rewarded for being bullies. If we can start rewarding people for really doing good work, the money we invest will go a lot further and we will all live better lives. It should be difficult to get rich just with a scheme, but easier to do so by having talent.

Plus, we should help others at every stage in life, not only kids and elderly. Ignoring people in need just make the problems worse. So the economy tends to do better with Democrats in control. They actually help people up, and as a result the economy starts rolling along as it should.

[raccoon]

2. K&R. This society is too much into the "I've got mine, the hell with you," mindset.

IME, most people who say "I worked for everything I have and nobody ever did anything the help me,"

are mistaken. Perhaps they went to college on the GI bill. They got a VA loan to buy their house. Social security survivor's benefits paid their way through college (that was my case, mine and my sibs. St. Ronnie's admin put a stop to that.)

K&R--great post. My sentiments exactly.

[CTyankee]

3. You are so right! My Repub. BIL is a case in point.

He actively works for and votes Republican as a real die hard. He talks dismissively about how his parents "died paupers."

So he made it the "Republican way"? Well, er, no. He went to college and law school on the G.I. Bill and bought into real estate with his VA loan. When I tell him he can thank Harry Truman for those two initiatives that brought thousands of WWII veterans out of poverty, he just sniffs. Now of course he is on SS and Medicare, thank you FDR and LBJ. I think he is a freakin' hypocrite as he would not have been where he is today if it weren't for that "socialism" he was so opposed to!

God, it makes me mad...

[DaveJ]

4. Thank you - this post started sinking like a rock

This was motivated by a response I made to a thread last night that got locked called "Why does the DU hate rich people" or something like that. People were all chiming in saying how they don't hate rich people, some have more than others, what's the big deal. They just seemed like a bunch of followers to me, to tired or otherwise unwilling to question WHY it is their neighbor might have a million dollar home and get to go on vacations, and they don't. It's not about greed, just about fairness, and reward that actually equals the true quality of the work being performed, since that is what our economy is supposed to be about after all.

[ShortnFiery]

6. It probably will again ... unfortunately it's not considered "sexy" to care for others

in America. Every thing that comes at us from the media is poisonous one-ups-man-ship.

Is it any wonder we're always at one another's throats? :(

[ShortnFiery]

5. Yes, tis true.

I forgot to mention that if it wasn't for the $8500 VEAP (Veterans Education Assistance Program) money that I built up over my almost 4 years AD Army service (2 for 1 contribution by the government), I would have not had the means to have returned to college and earned my Masters Degree, i.e., yes, including Thesis. ;)

I've been so blessed that my father was raised up by The GI bill, I later had educational benefits ... and now we are truly blessed to maintain medical insurance and military retirement pay from my husband's honorable service to the Corps.

Let's not continue to *drown government programs* which prove to benefit many good people and permit them to live a quality of life that lifts up both them and their children?

I suggest that "The American Dream" is BASIC - it's making ends meet (making one's mortgage payments) without acquiring untoward debt. To me, it's not being wealthy enough to solely hyper-focus on one's wealth portfolio and retirement income. It's also participating in society and government ... to be part of a community of people working together in order to enrich the lives of those around them. :shrug:

[Odin2005]

9. There is really no such thing as a "self-made man."

Everyone relies on society for support. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar, a survivalist nut like the Unibomber, or a Randoid wacko. We are all in this together. Aristotle once said that anyone who does not rely on others for support must be either a beast or a god.

[ShortnFiery]

11. When I see Arrogant "I've got mine" and "I've earned it" people, I reflect

on the lyrics of Everclear, "Like a California King"

I see you have made yourself a brand new life
Such a cool blue star with a bright new shine
I see you wear your checkered past
Just like a shining suit of gold
I know you think you look so special

I am told you have found yourself a brand new time
Watch the world stand still as years go by
I know you think you are so new and different
But it makes no sense to me
There is nothing new about you
Just another self-made man
There is nothing new that I see
Enjoy it while you can
I know you think you look so special

What makes you think you are so special?
What makes you think you are unique?
I see you smile and I get angry
As I watch you go colossal
Like a california king

I hear you gave the world a brand new voice
Such a happy melody with a new wave whine
Yeah I see you hide behind your own noise
I think we've seen enough

I will find you in the crowded room
I will knock you off your feet
I will burn you just like teenage love
I will eat you just like meat
I will break you into pieces
Hold you up for all the world to see
What makes you think you are better than me?

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