And you with beachfront property. Stop complaining that waves from the ocean are taking all of YOUR sand. For one thing, it's our sand and for another thing it isn't becoming.
I don't think it really counts as trying to make up for your opulant birthday party if you go and carve your name into the New York Public Library (5 seperate times).
@noUpside: He's a liberal. He'll never get tired of telling people exactly how much money they should have and what they should and should not spend it on.
Flying privately, jet or not, is not a luxury because of the amenities of the plane. The luxury is the time saved and frustration avoided by skipping the waits for security frisking, baggage drop-off and pick-up, and open runways. Sure, a hot towel and glass of wine are nice, but I'd rather have the cumulative 3 hours spent getting in and out of the airport.
@CaptainFantastic: Ya know, it's weird, everyone always says how long it takes at the airport, but every single time I fly it takes me all of ten minutes to get from the entrance to my gate. I would consider the "luxury" to be not having to go all the way out and then back through security again just to have a fucking cigarette.
@CaptainFantastic: you know i get my upgrade notice via email, print out my boarding pass, leave 5 minutes late and still get through the elite status security lines 10 minutes before boarding. the days of spending hours in airports are long gone (with the exception of certain intl flights that still refuse to give you an assigned seat until you check-in).
@worth79: I fly on private Cessna-type planes for work a few times a year (it can be cheaper than last-minute coach!). I can park my car and be putting on the headphones quicker than I can run into 7-11 and buy a Gatorade.
Most of our problems have come from people's hesitance to put their savings back into consumption - instead, people are using it to pay off debt and line their mattresses. Too much unsold inventory, halted production, etc. are all huge and are why we all 'bin losing jobs. So amen - spend away you rich fucks!
@Ms. Demimsy Popington: Rich fucks' spending doesn't have a huge impact on the economy. These people are rich because they buy real estate and sock away money in securities and buy properties abroad. One of the richest guys I know drives a 20-year-old car and a mobile phone held together by duct tape; his net worth is millions (and I don't mean he's worth how much he can borrow, like Donald Trump, but more like real net worth, like Bill Gates).
The engine of the economy is middle class fucks buying shit they don't need at the mall.
What people are probably pissed off about is when Dick Cheney pays a 16% income tax rate, as he has done for years. His tax rate is actually lower than mine.
And I don't buy the bullshit about how 16% is a lot more money from a millionaire. It also hurts a lot less for the rich to pay a rate like that than it doesn't for a the middle class that often pays a higher rate because they don't have fancy accountants and tax shelters.
The big lie of the "fiscal conservatives" is, of course when they whine about 34% income tax rates for the richest peeps, they leave out the other part about being able to whittle that down in real terms through creative but legal accounting measures, tax shelters, deferrals, reductions in capital gains taxes, and even investing abroad.
The riches can give up their extravagances and still live perfectly comfortable, safe lives in which all their needs are taken care of. The struggling middle class (or the underemployed creative class) don't have that option. And while the step down from a $5-million apartment may be a $2-million apartment, the step down from an overmortgaged cottage or a one-bedroom rental might be homelessness -- or, worse, moving back in with the parents.
Sad, but true. It is very hard to downsize from my studio on the outskirt of town. Forgive me if I don't sympathize with i-bankers who are on a budget.
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Please continue to spend.
Thanks!
02/03/09
Most of our problems have come from people's hesitance to put their savings back into consumption - instead, people are using it to pay off debt and line their mattresses. Too much unsold inventory, halted production, etc. are all huge and are why we all 'bin losing jobs. So amen - spend away you rich fucks!
02/04/09
The engine of the economy is middle class fucks buying shit they don't need at the mall.
What people are probably pissed off about is when Dick Cheney pays a 16% income tax rate, as he has done for years. His tax rate is actually lower than mine.
And I don't buy the bullshit about how 16% is a lot more money from a millionaire. It also hurts a lot less for the rich to pay a rate like that than it doesn't for a the middle class that often pays a higher rate because they don't have fancy accountants and tax shelters.
The big lie of the "fiscal conservatives" is, of course when they whine about 34% income tax rates for the richest peeps, they leave out the other part about being able to whittle that down in real terms through creative but legal accounting measures, tax shelters, deferrals, reductions in capital gains taxes, and even investing abroad.
02/03/09
Or that 407(k) is killing you.
[gawker.com]
[consumerist.com]
[gawker.com]
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Not the organization I work for, though. I mean, give your cash money to my personal cause. I accept Visa, Am Ex, and steak.
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Sad, but true. It is very hard to downsize from my studio on the outskirt of town. Forgive me if I don't sympathize with i-bankers who are on a budget.
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