The Four Biggest Right Wing Lies About Income Inequality

[desert dude]

You do know it was a socialist institution that helped you out of the poverty trap don't you. Go socialism, I mean Army.

At least that's the story for your persona, not sure that I believe that its you.

I am gonna take a wild guess that you didn't avail yourself of those socialist benefits. Am I right?

My total income from three years of army service was less than $12,000. My total GI bill benefits during four years of college was a little more than $10,000.

The current GI bill is much more generous. Tell your kids to grab some of those freebies! My oldest son did.

 

[desert dude]

Refer to post #11. It's a lot more than people being lazy or not taking personal responsibility and it would benefit you to acknowledge that. We live in a system where everyone can't win, no matter how hard everyone tries, there will always be those that fail, even though they tried just as hard as the ones that succeeded. Instead of condemning them as lazy/stupid/or whatever else to demonize them, imo we should work on improving the system that allows hard working people to fail.

I have no disagreement with what you said. I suspect we would disagree on the methods.

 

[see4]

I grew up fairly well off. My father, who graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from Duke, started a pharmaceutical company which subsequently sold to Merck. He then started another and sold that to Albany Molecular Research. My mother, who graduated magna cum laude at UNC Chapel Hill Law School, became a lawyer, along with most everyone else in my family. My first car was a Land Rover.

I now make lots of money, own several homes, several vehicles, tons of guns, and go on vacation whenever I want.

I'm pretty awesome.

 

[Padawanbater2]

Piketty has been thoroughly eviscerated regarding the accuracy of his ideological assertions.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/09/understanding-thomas-piketty-and-his-critics

"eviscerated" by... The Heritage Foundation...

That's like NASA being "eviscerated" by the flat earth society, so forgive me if I don't put too much weight into your claim


I did notice you didn't bother to actually examine or dissect each of the four lies Reich lays out, why was that? Claiming it's already been debunked doesn't offer any legitimate criticisms, especially when the source you provided is politically biased

 

[desert dude]

I grew up fairly well off. My father, who graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from Duke, started a pharmaceutical company which subsequently sold to Merck. He then started another and sold that to Albany Molecular Research. My mother, who graduated magna cum laude at UNC Chapel Hill Law School, became a lawyer, along with most everyone else in my family. My first car was a Land Rover.

I now make lots of money, own several homes, several vehicles, tons of guns, and go on vacation whenever I want.

I'm pretty awesome.

Be careful. There are lots of personal details in your post. Some members here are known to collect such details to identify you. There are probably some skin-head organizations that would be willing to pay for such information.

None of what you posted is surprising. I always had you pegged as the self-entitled frat boy type; a lot like George W.

 

[Padawanbater2]

Source? also, what's your point? Are you suggesting that we put all children, not just wealthy ones, into nice schools and provide a richer learning environment where they can learn better how to succeed?

I'm not sure if this was directed at me but if it is, I posted the source at the bottom of the OP. The point is the system we live in unfairly favors the wealthy class in every facet of our lives, from the cycle of poverty to the war on drugs to the politicians we elect to represent us. I'm suggesting we work to change this system to suit the interests of the majority of Americans, not just the wealthy elite.

 

[nitro harley]

I grew up in a ghetto. Went to a crappy elementary school. Dropped out of high school in the 9th grade because it was a fucking battleground. Joined the Army the day after my 18th birthday. Went to college after the Army three years later on the deferred compensation portion of my Army employment known as the GI bill.

My father was an unemployed alcoholic, and my mother supported the family working a low paying job. Mine was the poorest family in a poor neighborhood. We were never on the dole as far as I know, though we surely qualified.

Got a BS CS/Chemistry/Math and went to work for an aerospace company in California. Slowly worked my way out of poverty.

I am not saying that everybody in such circumstances can do it, most cannot. I am just saying that it can be done.

Life ain't fair. If you are born into poverty you have to work your ass off to get out of it. Most won't make it.

Chelsea Clinton, Malia Obama, and George W Bush are going to be wealthy no matter what happens. They are all going to go to the best schools and corporate CEOs are going to fall over each other trying to be the first to offer them pots of gold. None of these aristocratic kids is anything special, heck one of them is illegitimate. Like I said, life ain't fair.

Hey DD, I see we are sharing life stories and mine was a little different. I grew up in a military family and finished the tenth grade before my father gave me the boot for partying to much and smoking dope in the house. So then I went on a journey across america from the west coast and ended up in New Orleans for Mardi gras in 73/74. I slept under over passes and at missions in the city, gave blood for some cash and did some serious partying for awhile and then after seeing what road I was going down I decided to go back to the west coast before I got killed or in jail. And I did get thrown in jail before I left that city for about ten days.

And that experience made me decide what road I wanted to go down later in life, and when I look back I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. When a person has a good look at what the bottom looks like it helps you make better decisions the rest of your life.

 

[UncleBuck]

Robert Reich...lol

Piketty has been thoroughly eviscerated regarding the accuracy of his ideological assertions.
He is clearly not the be all and end all that you so obviously and desperately wish he were.
His ruminations are far from sacrosanct.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/09/understanding-thomas-piketty-and-his-critics

A society that puts equality—in the sense of equality of outcome—ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom.… On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, as a happy by-product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality.1

http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolio.../Cole-Milton-Friedman-on-Income-Inequaity.pdf

quality job with the copying and pasting.

 

[UncleBuck]

Joined the Army the day after my 18th birthday. Went to college after the Army three years later on the deferred compensation portion of my Army employment known as the GI bill.

i'm glad to hear that socialism worked out so well for you!

 

[UncleBuck]

Hey DD, I see we are sharing life stories and mine was a little different. I grew up in a military family and finished the tenth grade before my father gave me the boot for partying to much and smoking dope in the house. So then I went on a journey across america from the west coast and ended up in New Orleans for Mardi gras in 73/74. I slept under over passes and at missions in the city, gave blood for some cash and did some serious partying for awhile and then after seeing what road I was going down I decided to go back to the west coast before I got killed or in jail. And I did get thrown in jail before I left that city for about ten days.

And that experience made me decide what road I wanted to go down later in life, and when I look back I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. When a person has a good look at what the bottom looks like it helps you make better decisions the rest of your life.

then you went back home and your daddy gave you a boat.

classic boot strap success story, champ.

 

[see4]

Be careful. There are lots of personal details in your post. Some members here are known to collect such details to identify you. There are probably some skin-head organizations that would be willing to pay for such information.

None of what you posted is surprising. I always had you pegged as the self-entitled frat boy type; a lot like George W.

Very unlikely you could pin me down based on the information provided. But by all means, give it a try.

Frat boy, yes, but nothing at all like Dubyah - my IQ likely doubles his.
Self-entitled? What have I said so far that leads you to believe that? Or are you just trying to stereotypically make jabs at me?

 

[nitro harley]

Very unlikely you could pin me down based on the information provided. But by all means, give it a try.

Frat boy, yes, but nothing at all like Dubyah - my IQ likely doubles his.
Self-entitled? What have I said so far that leads you to believe that? Or are you just trying to stereotypically make jabs at me?

Probably nothing. You seem to like Bucks lies about people so it is hard to tell when you are not lying to be honest.

 

[UncleBuck]

Probably nothing. You seem to like Bucks lies about people so it is hard to tell when you are not lying to be honest.

does your wife fuck a whole bunch of black people on the boat your daddy gave you?

 

[whitebb2727]

Refer to post #11. It's a lot more than people being lazy or not taking personal responsibility and it would benefit you to acknowledge that. We live in a system where everyone can't win, no matter how hard everyone tries, there will always be those that fail, even though they tried just as hard as the ones that succeeded. Instead of condemning them as lazy/stupid/or whatever else to demonize them, imo we should work on improving the system that allows hard working people to fail.

I'm sorry I don't see that. I just told you I lived in the ghetto. The kids there went to the same school I did living in a middle class home growing up. I lived in a town that offered ten years tax free for businesses. There were several industrial parks. There was a pretty even ratio of black/white upper middle class.

I will tell you that the poor have a lot of programs to help pay for school. Child care, food, computer, you name it and there is a way to get it.

I left home at 16 and supported my self. I joined the military, came close to job corp. In 2008 I lost everything. So bad we moved in with my mom. I walked to work for 3 months and paid cash for a car. Fast forward to now. I own my own place and rental property. I have a savings and an emergency fund. All from nothing. The sweat of my brow.

We as humans, have adapted to live in the harshest environments. People are out there living with sticks and stones, so excuse me for the poor people of america.

I will add this. When I was at my lowest and needed help, guess what. I got help. I used those social programs for a little while. I know that it is available to people.

Now I also acknowledge your statement. Its mostly forgotten that the main arguments are from the far left and right here. I say most fall in the middle. We are two sides of the same coin.

I am not a hard ass. I help my fellow man. We all should do more of it. Religion or not. Treat others as you would treat yourself.

I acknowledge that, yes, there people oppressed and the deck is stacked against them. Now will you acknowledge that when there is a will there is a way.

 

[Wavels]

"eviscerated" by... The Heritage Foundation...

That's like NASA being "eviscerated" by the flat earth society, so forgive me if I don't put too much weight into your claim

I did notice you didn't bother to actually examine or dissect each of the four lies Reich lays out, why was that? Claiming it's already been debunked doesn't offer any legitimate criticisms, especially when the source you provided is politically biased

You cite Reich, and then belabor my reference to Heritage? Reich has no political bias?

'Nuff said!

Substance?
Nope...just dismiss Heritage...see so easy!
Reich is consistently incorrect as is his ideological brother, the woefully inaccurate and consistently misguided ideologue Paul Krugman.

 

[Padawanbater2]

I'm sorry I don't see that.

If you don't see it, how can you acknowledge it exists at the end of this post?

I will tell you that the poor have a lot of programs to help pay for school. Child care, food, computer, you name it and there is a way to get it.

I acknowledge that, yes, there people oppressed and the deck is stacked against them. Now will you acknowledge that when there is a will there is a way.

"Lie number three: Anyone can make it in America with enough guts, gumption, and intelligence. So we don’t need to do anything for poor and lower-middle class kids.

The truth is we do less than nothing for poor and lower-middle class kids. Their schools don’t have enough teachers or staff, their textbooks are outdated, they lack science labs, their school buildings are falling apart.

We’re the only rich nation to spend less educating poor kids than we do educating kids from wealthy families.

All told, 42 percent of children born to poor families will still be in poverty as adults – a higher percent than in any other advanced nation."


No, I will not acknowledge that because it's not true and I don't believe it. I will acknowledge that some people can become financially successful through hard work alone, but not all, and I'd say not even most. Most people can't, that's why you see people working more than one job to pay their bills. If hard work is all it took, these people would be living better than most. The economic system we live and work under was designed off the back of feudalism, instead of serfs and lords of the past, we have economic elites and an entire population of impoverished citizens, the only thing that's changed is the names of the groups. Inherent in its structure is a way for a small group of people to become extremely wealthy and use their wealth to garner more wealth - which is exactly what we see happening today; the overwhelming majority of economic gains going to the very tip top of the pyramid and everyone else fighting for the scraps. The average person working minimum wage has no control over the system which put him there.

The answer? Campaign finance reform and a progressive tax policy that taxes the 0.01% at similar rates to the golden age of capitalism in the 1950's under New Deal legislation. Under these policies, deficits decrease, wages increase, unemployment decreases and prosperity is enjoyed by all citizens at a more reasonable distribution. People can save and spend, boosting the economy.

 

[Padawanbater2]

You cite Reich, and then belabor my reference to Heritage? Reich has no political bias?

'Nuff said!

Substance?
Nope...just dismiss Heritage...see so easy!
Reich is consistently incorrect as is his ideological brother, the woefully inaccurate and consistently misguided ideologue Paul Krugman.

So what is he incorrect about? Let's examine it

 

[theexpress]

How does a rich kid born in an upper class wealthy neighborhood and a poor kid born in a ghetto have equal opportunity to get an education?

By going to college

 

[nitro harley]

I'm sorry I don't see that. I just told you I lived in the ghetto. The kids there went to the same school I did living in a middle class home growing up. I lived in a town that offered ten years tax free for businesses. There were several industrial parks. There was a pretty even ratio of black/white upper middle class.

I will tell you that the poor have a lot of programs to help pay for school. Child care, food, computer, you name it and there is a way to get it.

I left home at 16 and supported my self. I joined the military, came close to job corp. In 2008 I lost everything. So bad we moved in with my mom. I walked to work for 3 months and paid cash for a car. Fast forward to now. I own my own place and rental property. I have a savings and an emergency fund. All from nothing. The sweat of my brow.

We as humans, have adapted to live in the harshest environments. People are out there living with sticks and stones, so excuse me for the poor people of america.

I will add this. When I was at my lowest and needed help, guess what. I got help. I used those social programs for a little while. I know that it is available to people.

Now I also acknowledge your statement. Its mostly forgotten that the main arguments are from the far left and right here. I say most fall in the middle. We are two sides of the same coin.

I am not a hard ass. I help my fellow man. We all should do more of it. Religion or not. Treat others as you would treat yourself.

I acknowledge that, yes, there people oppressed and the deck is stacked against them. Now will you acknowledge that when there is a will there is a way.

Good post.

 

[whitebb2727]

If you don't see it, how can you acknowledge it exists at the end of this post?


"Lie number three: Anyone can make it in America with enough guts, gumption, and intelligence. So we don’t need to do anything for poor and lower-middle class kids.

The truth is we do less than nothing for poor and lower-middle class kids. Their schools don’t have enough teachers or staff, their textbooks are outdated, they lack science labs, their school buildings are falling apart.

We’re the only rich nation to spend less educating poor kids than we do educating kids from wealthy families.

All told, 42 percent of children born to poor families will still be in poverty as adults – a higher percent than in any other advanced nation."


No, I will not acknowledge that because it's not true and I don't believe it. I will acknowledge that some people can become financially successful through hard work alone, but not all, and I'd say not even most. Most people can't, that's why you see people working more than one job to pay their bills. If hard work is all it took, these people would be living better than most. The economic system we live and work under was designed off the back of feudalism, instead of serfs and lords of the past, we have economic elites and an entire population of impoverished citizens, the only thing that's changed is the names of the groups. Inherent in its structure is a way for a small group of people to become extremely wealthy and use their wealth to garner more wealth - which is exactly what we see happening today; the overwhelming majority of economic gains going to the very tip top of the pyramid and everyone else fighting for the scraps. The average person working minimum wage has no control over the system which put him there.

The answer? Campaign finance reform and a progressive tax policy that taxes the 0.01% at similar rates to the golden age of capitalism in the 1950's under New Deal legislation. Under these policies, deficits decrease, wages increase, unemployment decreases and prosperity is enjoyed by all citizens at a more reasonable distribution. People can save and spend, boosting the economy.

I don't know, here in Ky they are building new schools. My daughter in first grade had access to a computer lab and tablets. Tablets. The poorest kids in the county go there.

We as a nation glamorize ignorance and stupidity.

My statement holds true for the areas I lived in. All the community colleges in Ky are now under one system to make it easier to go to school. Lottery money is funneled in the school system. The lottery also pays a garunteed amount based on your grades.

The community colleges and even k-12 schools have access to the latest technology and new school books.

Ky just completely overhauled the teaching and grading system. The schools here are going in the right direction.

Obviously that doesn't hold true other places or your home.

So I don't know what to tell you. I lived with the poor. Have you? If not anything you say is hearsay.

The government will give you food stamps, welfare check, and even a cell phone. There are programs out there.

Some school districts are not in shambles.