Quote from: El on February 05, 2012, 04:46:16 PM
I agree with that, and that the 1% should bear the majority of the burden but its up to every one of us to try and make a difference

They already do bear the burden.

In the United States, the top 1% pay 40% of all income tax revenue.  The top 10% pay 67% of taxes.  The bottom 40% pay nothing.

Lol but being at the top hardly means they put in a proportionate amount of effort to get there. Most of that 1% did sweet FA of any worth to get that money while you have carers and people who make a real difference scraping by just over the poverty line. Its a travesty that even one person should go hungry in a bloated rich country like the US of A

The whole premise of the question is just absurd. If you were to take that mentality then we should all by bicycles intead of cars and live in in mud huts instead of "wasting" our money to get the luxuries such as homes and vehicles to drive.

You know I want to be able to help other and be a blessing to them when I can as do most other people. You can call me selfish but I don't work hard for my money to just say to heck with my happiness all together.

Quote from: El on February 07, 2012, 12:09:11 PM
Lol but being at the top hardly means they put in a proportionate amount of effort to get there. Most of that 1% did sweet FA of any worth to get that money while you have carers and people who make a real difference scraping by just over the poverty line. Its a travesty that even one person should go hungry in a bloated rich country like the US of A

If all persons were manual laborers, you might have a point.

Ask Bill Gates, who arguably changed the world, whether his riches were somehow undeserved.  One's ideas, realized, have value.

Quote from: Jamie D on February 07, 2012, 02:57:32 PM
If all persons were manual laborers, you might have a point.

Ask Bill Gates, who arguably changed the world, whether his riches were somehow undeserved.  One's ideas, realized, have value.

Bill Gates was born wealthy. It's a lot easier to act on one's ideas in that kind of context. A lot of bright ideas get shoved to the side in favor of survival and simple coping.

Quote from: Felix on February 07, 2012, 10:13:31 PM
Bill Gates was born wealthy. It's a lot easier to act on one's ideas in that kind of context. A lot of bright ideas get shoved to the side in favor of survival and simple coping.

True, Gate had the advantages of a wealthy family, but his success was based on his talent and hard work.

How many examples of "rags to riches" do you want.  I could have easily use Steve Jobs - born out of wedlock, adopted, grew up in the suburbs, dropped out of college, started Apple.  Or Bill Hewett and Dave Packard, who started their company during the Great Depression, in a garage.

How about J K Rowling (author of Harry Potter series)?  Or Richard Branson (Virgin Records)?

Sheldon Adelson - son of a cab driver who borrowed $200  to get started.  Oprah Winfrey - whose under-educated teenage mother mis-spelled her first name.

Industrialists Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockerfeller, Henry Ford.  Started with next to nothing.

Ingvar Kamprad (who?) - started out selling matches from his bicycle, moved on to ball point pens, and eventually started IKEA.

Walt Disney, who quit high school, joined the ambulance corps as a driver, and built on his cartooning interests.  Started his first company and promptly went bankrupt.  Came to California with $40 and proceeded to draw ... Oswald the Rabbit.  (Micky Mouse came later).

Lots of examples of people who succeeded who weren't born with a silver spoon.

I didn't ask for rags to riches examples. I was one once. I went from homeless to acing the GRE and headed for a scholarshipped md/phd program. I had great ideas, and it took a lot of ingenuity and hard work to implement them.

Just saying Bill Gates is a bizarre example.

Quote from: Felix on February 08, 2012, 01:19:58 AM
I didn't ask for rags to riches examples. I was one once. I went from homeless to acing the GRE and headed for a scholarshipped md/phd program. I had great ideas, and it took a lot of ingenuity and hard work to implement them.

Just saying Bill Gates is a bizarre example.

You are to be commended!

One of the reasons I mention Bill Gates is that I once read he never took a day off while he was in his 20's.  He certainly earned his wealth.  And now he is giving much of it away.  Poster El's complaint was that the very successful did not "earn" it.  I disagree.

  I agree that Bill Gates should be commended despite the occasional blue screens of death.  The same for his competitor, the late Steve Jobs. 
  Joelene

I pretty much lucked into all my money, I'm still not entirely sure how I've ened up with such a good job! Doesn't mean I'm not gonna spend it on the things I want to spend it on though, sometimes that is charity, but I'm not under some moral obligation to do that. You have to look after yourself first and then do what you can for others.

Quote from: Jamie D on February 08, 2012, 01:15:41 PM
You are to be commended!

One of the reasons I mention Bill Gates is that I once read he never took a day off while he was in his 20's.  He certainly earned his wealth.  And now he is giving much of it away.  Poster El's complaint was that the very successful did not "earn" it.  I disagree.

I do adore Bill Gates and I'm glad he did the work he did. On top of helping along the digital revolution, he helped make nerds look cool.