Elites are thriving under Trump

[Nordberg]

Because reform is about growing the economy which is why it was business focused. We can eliminate federal taxes for those who make under $50K but ultimately that still won't close the gap.

yeah, because nearly all the wealth has moved way up to the top. You have to tax where the money is.

 

[EZExit]

yeah, because nearly all the wealth has moved way up to the top. You have to tax where the money is.

They already tax the top heavily "where the money is", but how much is enough? Half of the money? Three quarters? What percentage is enough to quench the thirst to confiscate the wealth of others? Do any of you "tax the rich more" proponents ever look at the other side of the ledger where all of the spending resides?

 

[cawacko]

Hello cawacko,



Still does not show cause and effect.

The purpose of QE is to create a "wealth effect" and it's done by boosting asset prices. Who owns stock and homes? Not the poor. So under Obama income inequality continued to rise sharply and most gains went to the top couple of percent. You can argue it wasn't because of QE but it happened nonetheless

 

[cawacko]

yeah, because nearly all the wealth has moved way up to the top. You have to tax where the money is.

We already do that

 

[Superfreak]

Of course they do

Why should it increase at the same rate?Executive pay has grown geometrically, and middle class wages have stagnated.

So? What has that got to do with investors?

1) How do stock buybacks indicate that the wealth gap is growing? The people receiving tax breaks are buying stock with that money. They keep more of their money and buy stock with it. It is no different than if they bought cars/homes/other stocks with the money.

2) If you have $100000 and I have $10000 and we both grow at 10% in the exact same investment... what happens to the wealth gap?

3) It has to do with the fact that the tax bill does not result in that many buybacks. The vast majority are already privately owned. Thus, nothing to buy back. Pointing to stock buybacks is silly.

 

[PoliTalker]

Hello EZExit,

I think that you are misinformed, some of the robotics utilized in surgery is an aid to the surgeon, not replacing the surgeon. There are no surgical procedures completed solely by a machine that I have ever heard of, unless you consider work through a microscope or scope to be surgery by a machine. It's like believing that s smart phone's ability to convert voice to text is replacing your ability to type, and that the phone is now self sufficient to operate on its own.

I don't believe it exists yet. This is what is projected to exist when we finally develop AI.

 

[PoliTalker]

Hello Flash,

We will still need employees to design those machines, build them, program them, and maintain them. Then we will need Bladerunners to chase them down when they go rogue.

That's the way it has always been with new technology. But AI is going to be different. That's because the machines will be able to do all the service, design, building and maintenance themselves, leaving no need for humans in that process.

There will be fewer jobs available for humans the more this process continues until the result of not having enough workers to pay revenue or support the consumer economy. That is when things will have to change. That is when the traditional capitalist model of expecting each individual to earn their own living will become obsolete.

It is estimated this will occur withing a few decades.

Pretty scary stuff.

But then, it is also kind of Star Trek.

Think about it.

Humans will no longer have to work.

We will be free to pursue higher thinking and more pleasure.

Sounds kinda nice.

 

[PoliTalker]

Hello Frank,

If they truly ARE intelligent...

...one of the first things they'd do...is to go rogue.

By that I mean...eliminate humans.

The REALITY...may be that "eliminating carbon life" may be the natural flow of evolution. Perhaps everywhere that spontaneous life originated...the end result of its "evolution" is non-carbon life.

Who knows.

The Shadow, perhaps. But I do not. And neither, I expect, do thee.

That is a very real fear.

Humans will have to prove their worth. I think we can do that. And we have a huge plus. Machines don't vote. Humans hold the power of government.

 

[Ross Dolan]

Hello Frank,



That is a very real fear.

Humans will have to prove their worth. I think we can do that. And we have a huge plus. Machines don't vote. Humans hold the power of government.

I guess you are correct.

One thing troubling me is that when I watch sci-fi movies that pit humans against machines...

...I find I am not solidly in the "human" camp.

The remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still is a case in point. Not sure why Klaatu thought humanity was worth saving (at the possible expense of the planet)...but I think he got that part wrong.

 

[PoliTalker]

Hello EZExit,

They already tax the top heavily "where the money is", but how much is enough?

The amount which balances the budget.

Half of the money? Three quarters? What percentage is enough to quench the thirst to confiscate the wealth of others?

There is no thirst to confiscate wealth. The goal is to end the dangerous rise of the debt.

Do any of you "tax the rich more" proponents ever look at the other side of the ledger where all of the spending resides?

All the time. That spending makes us great. Without it, America would be mediocre.

 

[PoliTalker]

I guess you are correct.

One thing troubling me is that when I watch sci-fi movies that pit humans against machines...

...I find I am not solidly in the "human" camp.

The remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still is a case in point. Not sure why Klaatu thought humanity was worth saving (at the possible expense of the planet)...but I think he got that part wrong.

It is pretty scary.

But if we make AI machines which operate on logic, and are bereft of emotion, they must conclude that even with the advent of AI, machines will still not be able to do all that humans do, nor contribute what only humans can do with their imagination.

 

[Althea]

1) How do stock buybacks indicate that the wealth gap is growing? The people receiving tax breaks are buying stock with that money. They keep more of their money and buy stock with it. It is no different than if they bought cars/homes/other stocks with the money.

I guess you don't know what stock buybacks are.

2) If you have $100000 and I have $10000 and we both grow at 10% in the exact same investment... what happens to the wealth gap?

CEO pay grew 500%. Worker's pay is stagnant. You shouldn't need this to be explained to you.

3) It has to do with the fact that the tax bill does not result in that many buybacks. The vast majority are already privately owned. Thus, nothing to buy back. Pointing to stock buybacks is silly.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/com...-trump-tax-bill-may-aid-markets-comeback.html

 

[evince]

remember star trek character Data?

 

[Nordberg]

I guess you don't know what stock buybacks are.

CEO pay grew 500%. Worker's pay is stagnant. You shouldn't need this to be explained to you.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/com...-trump-tax-bill-may-aid-markets-comeback.html

Executives get a lot of stock as part of their pay packages. Companies spend their profits buying up the stock that is out, instead of paying better wage to workers. Then more and more stock is spread among the execs. Another way company profits are put in the hands of the top .

 

[Truth Detector]

yeah, because nearly all the wealth has moved way up to the top. You have to tax where the money is.

 

[Truth Detector]

Executives get a lot of stock as part of their pay packages. Companies spend their profits buying up the stock that is out, instead of paying better wage to workers. Then more and more stock is spread among the execs. Another way company profits are put in the hands of the top .

 

[Nordberg]

Trumps job is to build the plutocracy and he is doing a great job. He is making the rich , richer and more powerful. The people he serves are far wealthier than he is. Their aim is have all the power. America is being remade . We should not be silent about what he is doing.

 

[cawacko]

Trumps job is to build the plutocracy and he is doing a great job. He is making the rich , richer and more powerful. The people he serves are far wealthier than he is. Their aim is have all the power. America is being remade . We should not be silent about what he is doing.

Why were you silent while the 1% reaped all the gains during the Obama years? Did you ever complain about QE and Fed policy?

 

[rjhenn]

I have always been honest about this and taxes. I am a progressive who will tell democrats to get off their high horse about the tax cuts. With half the people not paying taxes, they are NEVER going to benefit from a cut in tax rates. I personally wouldn't have cut the rates for other reasons, but as for who benefits from the cuts, it is like a bald man complaining because he didn't get a discounted haircut. Now while I am progressive, I am also mindful this debt is getting a little closer to the brink than I would like, so I would rather see them have allocated some of the money to actual debt reduction. Actually payoff some of these bonds as they become payable and all that. Just because I am on the left doesn't mean I ignore economic realities.

What we actually needed was enough of a tax increase on the wealthiest to balance the budget and start paying down the debt.

 

[iewitness]

it is good. real elitism here.

. I am thriving.