Why does Leo stay in America?

[diamondpenguin]

6 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

@Haumea2018 GOD how much I unironically wish for China to overtake the United States.

I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy. @Husseinisdoingfine murica is much too developed to get overwhelmed by china. 

[Haumea2018]

15 minutes ago, diamondpenguin said:

 

Instead of hating on my ideas. Why dont you help come up with some better ones. You know what they say, the only way to deal with a problem is solving it. It's like moving a mountain trying to convince anyone anything. Because everyone always thinks their right. 

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm "hating on your ideas"? So much drama.  Here's an idea: people of those states should stop voting for lunatics who raise their taxes and piss them away.

8 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

@Haumea2018 GOD how much I unironically wish for China to overtake the United States.

If you think this would be a better world if China overtook the United States, I can't really help you.  There's too much programming to be undone.

[DocWatts]

As an aside, I do find it interesting that the vast majority of millionaires in the United States consider themselves to be 'middle class'. Just being honest about the fact that you're Rich is something that's difficult for most wealthy people to admit, since our perceptions are so heavily shaped by comparisons against our peers.

Of course this argument can be extended more broadly to people who happen to be living in developed countries (when compared to the rest of the world), but even a wealthy country like the US contains millions who are unable to meet thier basic needs (something we should feel shameful about).

[diamondpenguin]

As the world becomes more automated it will be easier to survive. That's are only option. 

[mmKay]

5 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Most people who are socialist are socialist simply because they are poor. As soon as they become rich they will start question socialism a lot more. Vice versa with capitalists. Especially if you work hard for your money.

This right here explains 95% of peoples political beliefs

[mmKay]

3 minutes ago, mmKay said:

This right here explains 95% of peoples political beliefs

Besides mine, I want to reap the  benefits of socialism whilst cutting my taxers to a minimum lmao

 

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by mmKay

[Hulia]

9 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

GOD how much I unironically wish for China to overtake the United States.

Tell this the people of Hongkong..

[StarStruck]

Bigger danger in US is danger of civil war. I get the sense that people are just itching to jump at an opportunity to whip out their guns and start shooting "the other".

Edited December 31, 2020 by StarStruck

[LordFall]

@diamondpenguin Yay, let's have a free market. Where is the money gonna come from for healthcare, infrastructure, social safety nets, etc?

I don't think the % of taxes is the problem, just pure corruption and low consciousness. Quality of life is way higher in Canada than in America for most people and we have way less money.

[DocWatts]

17 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I don't mind paying higher taxes if every rich person pays it, but I'm not gonna be enthusiastic about it.

How come I pay more taxes than this asshole Donald Trump??

That's fair, but I think it's a mistake to assume that people only support higher taxation for completely self serving reasons (ie because they're poor, and will change thier tune if they ever become wealthy).

Having myself experienced working class poverty for much of my adult life, I'm much more empathetic towards the struggles of people who depend on social services to get by, and see the higher taxes that I now pay as my social responsibility to people who haven't had the same opportunities I've had. 

Once you have more than enough to live a happy and fulfilling life, bitching and moaning about having to give something back seems really petty imho.

[Leo Gura]

55 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

Having myself experienced working class poverty for much of my adult life, I'm much more empathetic towards the struggles of people who depend on social services to get by, and see the higher taxes that I now pay as my social responsibility to people who haven't had the same opportunities I've had. 

There's a difference between that and being enthusiastic about paying more taxes when you don't have to.

You're not exactly sending the IRS bonus money, are you? Why not?

[DocWatts]

40 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

There's a difference between that and being enthusiastic about paying more taxes when you don't have to.

You're not exactly sending the IRS bonus money, are you? Why not?

I suppose I would counter that I prefer to use that 'bonus money' to support charitable causes that are doing good work (rather than having a portion of that money diverted to the Military or Corporate Subsidies), but fair point.

I wasn't enthusiastic when Michigan started charging Sales Tax for online purchases, but I understood the reasons for it, so I don't begrudge the few extra dollars that I end up spending when I buy something on Amazon. Ditto for things like tipping at restaurants; yeah it's an extra cost on my end, but it's justified. Not something I would go out of my way to avoid either.

Edited December 31, 2020 by DocWatts

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, DocWatts said:

I would counter that I prefer to use that 'bonus money' to support charitable causes

Which is exactly what every billionaire capitalist believes.

[Inliytened1]

7 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Which is exactly what every billionaire capitalist believes.

You don't have to be a billionare.  When you  truly hit the higher egoic stages - honestly money literally has no meaning beyond basic survival.  So it circles back to when you just need enough to eat and cloth yourself.  Whatever else literally has no relevance to you.    I make way beyond getting a stimulus check as well but i honestly have no interest in any of it.  

[Leo Gura]

54 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:

You don't have to be a billionare.  When you  truly hit the higher egoic stages - honestly money literally has no meaning beyond basic survival.  So it circles back to when you just need enough to eat and cloth yourself.  Whatever else literally has no relevance to you.    I make way beyond getting a stimulus check as well but i honestly have no interest in any of it.  

That's because you have no creative plans that require capital.

[captainamerica]

@Leo Gura

[Hello from Russia]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

That's because you have no creative plans that require capital.

That's so 100% true. 

I found for me even millions of $ is not enough, need more, way more!!

And I was always finding these antimaterial people who say you only need like 50k/y or 100k/y and then DON"T MAKE ANY MONEY, BRO, IT WON"T YOU MAKE HAPPY!! highly deluded

Edited January 1, 2021 by Hello from Russia

[DocWatts]

15 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Which is exactly what every billionaire capitalist believes.

Do they though? For every Bill Gates or Warren Buffet who follows through on that by pledging to give away almost all of thier wealth, there are a lot more who actively lobby to defund the government (and pull the rug out from under ordinary people through reduced assistance and poorly functioning services), so they can get away with not paying taxes. If the person claiming this dies a billionaire, it should be evident that this is a Bad Faith argument.

Edited January 1, 2021 by DocWatts

[DocWatts]

5 hours ago, Hello from Russia said:

That's so 100% true. 

I found for me even millions of $ is not enough, need more, way more!!

And I was always finding these antimaterial people who say you only need like 50k/y or 100k/y and then DON"T MAKE ANY MONEY, BRO, IT WON"T YOU MAKE HAPPY!! highly deluded

Once someone has far more than they need to live a happy and fulfilling life, should the creative aspirations for one individual take precedent over many more people whose basic needs aren't being met, who don't have access to affordable housing, a decent education, or basic healthcare (things funded by taxation)? How many more people aren't meeting thier creative potential because all of thier time and energy is expended just trying to meet thier basic needs?

But hey, in some cases maybe it really is the case that a wealthy individual's creative plans bring enough value to society (Elon Musk with SpaceX, or Leo with actualized.org) for that argument to be plausible. But would you say that's the case for most, or even a majority, of people? And also even under a much higher rate of taxation, extremely wealthy individuals are still in a much better position to achieve thier individual ambitions than virtually everyone else in thier society.

Edited January 1, 2021 by DocWatts

[Hello from Russia]

17 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

Once someone has far more than they need to live a happy and fulfilling life, should the creative aspirations for one individual take precedent over many more people whose basic needs aren't being met, who don't have access to affordable housing, a decent education, or basic healthcare (things funded by taxation)? How many more people aren't meeting thier creative potential because all of thier time and energy is expended just trying to meet thier basic needs?

But hey, in some cases maybe it really is the case that a wealthy individual's creative plans bring enough value to society (Elon Musk with SpaceX, or Leo with actualized.org) for that argument to be plausible. But would you say that's the case for most, or even a majority, of people? And also even under a much higher rate of taxation, extremely wealthy individuals are still in a much better position to achieve thier individual ambitions than virtually everyone else in thier society.

Ehhh, dude, you you demonize money & money holders too much

Unless you're highly unethical you won't really make it far in business without providing a lot of value to people. And when you do - you contribute to society directly and kinda deserve your money, really. Now you can create even more shit with it, which usually means - more value to people