You guys will love this: Survey -- Rich are different and not in a good way.

[juiceweezl]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44084236/ns/health-behavior/

You guys will love this one. I was in tears laughing. Here are some good lines. I don't know how to link it to just show the article text, so I'll put the lines in as quotes.

Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the rich really are different, and not in a good way: Their life experience makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish.

In other words, rich people are more likely to think about themselves. “They think that economic success and political outcomes, and personal outcomes, have to do with individual behavior, a good work ethic,” said Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

LOL So you mean that my intelligent behavior, smart decisions, hard work in school all those years and now at my job didn't lead to my success afterall? Go figure!

Because the rich gloss over the ways family connections, money and education helped, they come to denigrate the role of government and vigorously oppose taxes to fund it.

Just how do they think family connections, money, and education come to be for those people? Somewhere along their family line, someone worked hard enough, made good decisions, and put them where they're at today. Why is that a bad thing?

According to Gallup, Americans earning more than $90,000 per year continued to increase their consumer spending in July while middle- and lower-income Americans remained stalled, even as the upper classes argue that they can’t pay any more taxes. Meanwhile, the gap between the wealthiest and the rest of us continues to grow wider, with over 80 percent of the nation’s financial wealth controlled by about 20 percent of the people.

So it's okay for someone on unemployment to go buy smokes, booze, $150 sneakers, etc. but yet I can't take a 5 figure bonus check and go buy a new sofa? WTH!!!

There is one interesting piece of evidence showing that many rich people may not be selfish as much as willfully clueless, and therefore unable to make the cognitive link between need and resources. Last year, research at Duke and Harvard universities showed that regardless of political affiliation or income, Americans tended to think wealth distribution ought to be more equal.

So wealthy = stupid, huh? Someone needs to nut punch this idiot. We're not equal, nor should we be. If someone doesn't like their situation, do something about it. When my sons graduate from high school, they won't be eligible for any type of Stafford loan or Pell grant for college. They won't be eligible for a scholarship from the UNCF. There won't be a "bailout" for them to go to school. They won't be eligible for anything that is "needs" based. Instead, someone who missed more school, made lower grades in easier classes, etc. will get the "free money." Education for my boys will be paid by the wife and I and whatever loans they take out. Do I think it should be more equal? Absolutely -- The "less fortunate" should get less money and kids like mine should get some of that. They should be able to get "free" money for school just the same. I don't see anyone writing columns complaining about that. Instead, it's more of the same old violin -- the rich are ignorant, selfish, and uncaring. I'm not rich as I've said before, but I'm certainly not poor. I've had little to nothing at times in my life, but I never worried about paying my bills or going hungry. I always worked and found a way to get by. I'll be damned if I'm going to give that away now so some crackhead can have a "free" ride. If that means I'm "different -- and not in a good way," then so be it. I guess I'll just change my middle name to different.

[Hobie]

While there are some good points there is too much slant/bullshit.

There are a lot of people born on third base that think they hit a triple, but...

“They think that economic success and political outcomes, and personal outcomes, have to do with individual behavior, a good work ethic,”

IS THIS NGA HIGH - ???

Also, why even bother mentioning someone earning 90K and above when talking about wealth? What are the terms here? He keeps talking rich this and poor that.

Earning 90k isn't rich, earning 5 times that isn't "rich" - It's hard to define where the line is. If you can spend 7 figures a year for the rest of your life without having to lift a finger for it you're rich. If you are the CPA doing that guy's taxes you're not.

[juiceweezl]

Earning 90k isn't rich, earning 5 times that isn't "rich" - It's hard to define where the line is. If you can spend 7 figures a year for the rest of your life without having to lift a finger for it you're rich. If you are the CPA doing that guy's taxes you're not.

I LOL'd. You're 100% correct. Before the crash, we had a household income over $170K and only had a house note of $700/month (no escrows). By no means were we rich. We didn't struggle, no do we now. That's because we're smart with what we spend. We've been married 13 years now. Our first year filing a joint income tax return, we earned less than $50K. We didn't expect anything to be given to us either.

[Hobie]

It's sort of funny though, I've got one bud I've known for ~15 years that was born fairly well off. He is one of those born on 3rd that thinks he hit a triple.

On the other hand I guess I'm the opposite. My mother and I got gov't cheese and some sort of welfare (I was too young to really know) when I was 4-5. From that time I remember we didn't own a TV and I ate spam with the unmeltable cheese.

(Government cheese came in this big rectangular block. You stood in a long line in some drab gov't building with a bunch of hobos and were issued your block. I would microwave pieces of the block on my spam until the spam was poppling, crackling, scalding hot. The cheese was barely droopy at the corners, far from melted. WTF was that shit???)

He sort of fits the mold that article is painting. I told him about a charity I thought would be cool to start and his opinions were that it should be a scam I should profit from. He feels the same way about churches. It's almost like he can't comprehend why anyone would want to do something selfless for someone else. If you're not enriching yourself, don't do it.

[GhostTX]

Originally Posted by Brian Alexander
There is one interesting piece of evidence showing that many rich people may not be selfish as much as willfully clueless, and therefore unable to make the cognitive link between need and resources. Last year, research at Duke and Harvard universities showed that regardless of political affiliation or income, Americans tended to think wealth distribution ought to be more equal.

Isn't that every democrat in office, too? And the President?

[juiceweezl]

Isn't that every democrat in office, too? And the President?

Yes, and a lot of republicans as well. In fact, I think you could say that almost every politician meets this criteria.

[CJ]

Class warfare/class envy. If the Liberals are going to win this next election, that's one of the few tools they have. Looks like the liberal media are already preparing themselves for the upcoming election. If you have any idea what this kind of mentality breeds - look at London.

[Broncojohnny]

I love how the article builds the assumption that if you don't pay taxes to the government then you are obviously greedy and don't give a shit about your fellow man.

I also like how the article talks about poor people who "give more". Exactly how do poor people give more than say, Bill Gates who spends millions on causes? oh, that's right, the liberals have to skew the argument by saying the poor person gives more of their income on a percentage basis, therefore Gates is "greedy".

This article is nothing but horseshit and is really just a thinly veiled ad for the class warfare that thrives in the supposedly "progressive" left in this country. These people aren't progressive at all, they are actually fucking liars and political hucksters disguised as humanitarians. They want to turn this country into a socialist paradise at the expense of the middle class.

[ceyko]

Wth...90k is not rich at all. Isn't that like solid lower middle class?

Although his points made sense if you watch talk to those self entitledrich brats at the galleria.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[juiceweezl]

I love how the article builds the assumption that if you don't pay taxes to the government then you are obviously greedy and don't give a shit about your fellow man.

I also like how the article talks about poor people who "give more". Exactly how do poor people give more than say, Bill Gates who spends millions on causes? oh, that's right, the liberals have to skew the argument by saying the poor person gives more of their income on a percentage basis, therefore Gates is "greedy".

This article is nothing but horseshit and is really just a thinly veiled ad for the class warfare that thrives in the supposedly "progressive" left in this country. These people aren't progressive at all, they are actually fucking liars and political hucksters disguised as humanitarians. They want to turn this country into a socialist paradise at the expense of the middle class.

Couldn't have said it any better. This should be the article instead of that crock he wrote.

[slow99]

Wth...90k is not rich at all. Isn't that like solid lower middle class?

Lol, no.

[Denny]

"Rich" and "middle class" aren't comparable terms.

Rich and poor

Upper class and middle class

[slow99]

Fyi, the median household income for the U.S. is around $52,000.

[Denny]

Damn, that's like 30oz of gold a year! LOL

[slow99]

Damn, that's like 30oz of gold a year! LOL

Lol. We're above what's considered "wealthy" from an annual income perspective and not even close to what I'd consider "upper class". Comfortable, ok. Of course the cost of living in SF (or wherever you are) plays a huge role in that. You can't touch an average house - say 1500 sq feet - in a decent neighborhood for less than $800k here. Now, my boss makes anywhere from $2MM to $3MM (depending on how badly we fat cat, cigar smoking bankers want to fleece the public at that point in time) a year, and has for 15 years.

That's "upper class", but he still looks at people we deal with on a regular basis and says, "that person is on a whole other level".