Eat the Rich

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Vrede too
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Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are among the 156 billionaires on the Forbes 400 who have given less than 1% of their wealth to charity

... Although the pandemic era's surging stock market has ballooned the fortunes of billionaires to new heights, the wealthiest people in the world have chosen not to keep pace with their charitable giving, according to the Forbes Philanthropy Score....

Of the 400 billionaires on this year's list, just 19 have given away 10% or more of their wealth, while a record high 156 have given less than 1%.
:obscene-birdiered: :obscene-birdiered:
... While Bezos and Musk have yet to crack out of the 1%, MacKenzie Scott has left them in the dust by giving away 13% of her fortune. Even with her pace of giving, Scott is wealthier now than she was last year....

Warren Buffet continued as the list's most generous giver, having parted with $4.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock in June to bring his lifetime total to $44 billion. He's now halfway through his pledge to give away all his Berkshire shares.

The most prolific giver in the Forbes ranking was George Soros, whose $16.8 billion of giving has outsized his $8.6 billion net worth. Former president Donald Trump was not ranked, since he fell $400 million shy of making the top 400 list.
The Forbes Philanthropy Score 2021: How We Ranked Each Forbes 400 Billionaire Based On Their Giving
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O Really
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by O Really »

It would be a nice and kind thing for them to spend more of their money to make others' lives better, but I'd be happy if they just had to pay the same proportionate amount in taxes - real dollars, not smoke and mirrors - as the rest of us.

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Vrede too
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

O Really wrote:
Mon Oct 11, 2021 1:17 pm
It would be a nice and kind thing for them to spend more of their money to make others' lives better, but I'd be happy if they just had to pay the same proportionate amount in taxes - real dollars, not smoke and mirrors - as the rest of us.
:thumbup: As a side benefit of this there would be fewer billionaires to rank their stinginess.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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neoplacebo
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Re: Eat the Rich

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Vrede too wrote:
Mon Oct 11, 2021 1:21 pm
O Really wrote:
Mon Oct 11, 2021 1:17 pm
It would be a nice and kind thing for them to spend more of their money to make others' lives better, but I'd be happy if they just had to pay the same proportionate amount in taxes - real dollars, not smoke and mirrors - as the rest of us.
:thumbup: As a side benefit of this there would be fewer billionaires to rank their stinginess.
Damn skippy. Income tax should be levied just like sales tax; a percentage of your total income no matter the source and no deductions.

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Vrede too
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

Countries decry 'vaccine nationalism' as poorer nations struggle for access to shots

Seventy-five countries around the world called for an end to what they describe as “vaccine nationalism” in a joint letter to the United Nations this month.

The letter, spearheaded by China, demands that COVID-19 vaccines be treated as a global public good for health, arguing that richer countries should not be allowed to stockpile their resources while poorer countries go without.

“The pandemic knows no borders,” the letter says in part. “The only solution lies in global solidarity, unity and multilateral cooperation. ... At this critical time, it is crucial to step up our joint efforts to leave no one behind.”

The concept of vaccine nationalism refers to the signed agreements a number of countries made with the vaccine manufacturers before the shots became available to the general public, allowing them to buy up large amounts, which in turn makes the initial supply of vaccines unaffordable and inaccessible to poorer countries....

Mexico, Egypt and North Korea were among the countries that signed the joint letter. Noticeably absent were the U.S., the U.K. and Canada....

Sixty-five percent of the population of high-income countries had received at least one vaccine shot as of Sept. 9, while just 2 percent of the population of low-income countries had received at least one dose, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

This summer the European Union secured 900 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and reserved an option to double this amount by 2023. Even without exercising that option, the EU could give all its citizens at least six shots each. The U.S. has secured more than a billion shots, enough to inoculate every American at least five times. Meanwhile, residents of many smaller and poorer nations have yet to receive a single dose.

Vaccination rates in countries like Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain less than 1 percent, according to Reuters tracking data.

The disparity in vaccination rates also comes with a hefty price tag. A National Bureau of Economic Research study determined that uneven distribution of the vaccine could cost upwards of $3.8 trillion globally, while vaccinating the world’s most vulnerable fifth of the population would cost less than $40 billion....

Poor and middle-class countries have accrued enough vaccines through 2023 to vaccinate at most half their populations, while the majority of rich countries have secured more than 350 percent of the doses needed for their populations, according to UNICEF data....

Infectious disease expert Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman of Malaysia says the longer people remain unvaccinated, the more potential there is for the virus to mutate into an even more dangerous strain....

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres lambasted the entire world on vaccine inequity, calling it an “obscenity” and saying, “We are getting an F in ethics.”

... As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 3.75 billion people worldwide have received a dose of vaccine, accounting for just under 49 percent of the global population, according to the New York Times tracker. But more than 50 countries missed the WHO’s September target of 10 percent, with most of them located in Africa, whose overall vaccination rate remains under 5 percent....
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billy.pilgrim
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by billy.pilgrim »

Have you read

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine

I think this is where I read about Debris Cleanup contracts after Katrina.
The original FEMA contracts were absurdly high, maybe $200/cubic yard, and were awarded to our big war machine cleanup companies like Haliburton.
Then Haliburton officers would create shell companies and buy and sell the contracts among themselves, each taking their 30% on each sale until the price dropped to the $10 or $15 per yard that they could get struggling out of work locals to accept.

I've never seen who makes them or what we pay for those damn MREs that they pass out by the truckload.
I had Day Labor workers still eating MREs 2 years after Ivan.
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”

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O Really
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Re: Eat the Rich

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I wouldn't dispute the conclusions or hypothesis of the illustrated article, but it looked a bit lame on substance. F'rinstance, if you have a rich person and a poor person stranded in a flood, then the same amount of money, time, and effort should be expended to rescue them. IF - they're stranded under the same circumstances. If one is in a tree close to the edge, and another is in a basement about to collapse, maybe the money, time and effort would be different - but not based on whether they're rich or poor. If a rich person and a poor person is hungry, they ought to get the same food distribution. All that is disaster response and relief. But if a program is intended to make a person affected by the disaster whole again, then it doesn't seem like the person living in a tent before the flood would necessarily be entitled to a new house after the flood.

I just thought the article - whether or not it is correct - made too many sweeping and unsupported givens.

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Vrede too
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

O Really wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:45 am
I wouldn't dispute the conclusions or hypothesis of the illustrated article, but it looked a bit lame on substance. F'rinstance, if you have a rich person and a poor person stranded in a flood, then the same amount of money, time, and effort should be expended to rescue them. IF - they're stranded under the same circumstances. If one is in a tree close to the edge, and another is in a basement about to collapse, maybe the money, time and effort would be different - but not based on whether they're rich or poor. If a rich person and a poor person is hungry, they ought to get the same food distribution. All that is disaster response and relief. But if a program is intended to make a person affected by the disaster whole again, then it doesn't seem like the person living in a tent before the flood would necessarily be entitled to a new house after the flood.

I just thought the article - whether or not it is correct - made too many sweeping and unsupported givens.
Adequate support for the givens may or may not be found here:

Image

Idk why they chose the graphic format, but I did read the whole thing.

I think the authors would argue that the problem is with the concept of "make a person affected by the disaster whole again," in that it uses our resources to perpetuate race and class inequality. An alternative would be to make assistance more equal. Beyond the rescue necessities that you mention, why should our govt choose who is more "deserving"?
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
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1312. ETTD.

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O Really
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by O Really »

Representing the Devil, I don't know that it is or should be the purpose of a disaster relief program to perpetuate or change race and class inequality. I don't understand enough about "buyout programs" for anyone to pay attention to my opinion, but I doubt that a flat rate payment would make many people happy, either.

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Vrede too
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

O Really wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:49 pm
Representing the Devil, I don't know that it is or should be the purpose of a disaster relief program to perpetuate or change race and class inequality. I don't understand enough about "buyout programs" for anyone to pay attention to my opinion, but I doubt that a flat rate payment would make many people happy, either.
The authors would argue that FEMA and other agencies have chosen perpetuation and even exacerbation. As you know from employment law, often one only has to prove outcomes, not necessarily intent.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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O Really
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by O Really »

Vrede too wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 2:44 pm
O Really wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:49 pm
Representing the Devil, I don't know that it is or should be the purpose of a disaster relief program to perpetuate or change race and class inequality. I don't understand enough about "buyout programs" for anyone to pay attention to my opinion, but I doubt that a flat rate payment would make many people happy, either.
The authors would argue that FEMA and other agencies have chosen perpetuation and even exacerbation. As you know from employment law, often one only has to prove outcomes, not necessarily intent.
Yes, but in discrimination and wage-hour, unintentional violations are treated much less harshly than intentional. Anyway, I'm not talking about intent, I'm talking purpose.

If a rich guy wrecks his Tesla, he's going to get a lot more in settlement than the poor guy who wrecks his beater Taurus. Neither will get 100% of their car's present value. But the rich guy can still get a nice car while the poor guy will probably be worse off. In acting in accordance with its contract, the insurance company has perpetuated and exacerbated the inequality. Sure, you can say "difference in private industry and government" but the principle is the same. It's not a purpose, stated or implied, for FEMA to work toward economic equity or make people's lives better than they were before the disaster.

Defending the Devil notwithstanding, I think all disaster programs should be administered fairly and equally, and that people should not have greater or easier access to the programs because of their economic status. Equal access. Equal and fair decisions. Doing that, however, still won't equate to equal benefit received.

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billy.pilgrim
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by billy.pilgrim »

O Really wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:08 pm
Vrede too wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 2:44 pm
O Really wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:49 pm
Representing the Devil, I don't know that it is or should be the purpose of a disaster relief program to perpetuate or change race and class inequality. I don't understand enough about "buyout programs" for anyone to pay attention to my opinion, but I doubt that a flat rate payment would make many people happy, either.
The authors would argue that FEMA and other agencies have chosen perpetuation and even exacerbation. As you know from employment law, often one only has to prove outcomes, not necessarily intent.
Yes, but in discrimination and wage-hour, unintentional violations are treated much less harshly than intentional. Anyway, I'm not talking about intent, I'm talking purpose.

If a rich guy wrecks his Tesla, he's going to get a lot more in settlement than the poor guy who wrecks his beater Taurus. Neither will get 100% of their car's present value. But the rich guy can still get a nice car while the poor guy will probably be worse off. In acting in accordance with its contract, the insurance company has perpetuated and exacerbated the inequality. Sure, you can say "difference in private industry and government" but the principle is the same. It's not a purpose, stated or implied, for FEMA to work toward economic equity or make people's lives better than they were before the disaster.

Defending the Devil notwithstanding, I think all disaster programs should be administered fairly and equally, and that people should not have greater or easier access to the programs because of their economic status. Equal access. Equal and fair decisions. Doing that, however, still won't equate to equal benefit received.
I've worked FEMA. No more- terrible money.

In no way do they try to put you back like you were, as private insurance does. Lots of limits on everything from beds, refrigerators, carpet and out buildings including garages. Nothing below grade - whole houses denied because of funky grade issue at one corner. And those beach houses with their huge sprawling sprawling staircases and decks - 2 more than two 4 ft wide staircases and no decks. And no matter who or what you are or how many millions your house is worth, the most FEMA pays on residential claims is $250,000.


I've expressed my problems with FEMA before, but the really absurd waste is at the governmental level cozy as usual with the big boys and cops getting double time for endless hours hanging around a coffee pot.

And this - Escambia County had a 1 mile section of the old Bay Bridge that was used as a fishing pier damaged during Ivan. FEMA paid 25 million to replace it with a shiny new one.
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”

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Whack9
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Whack9 »

It's hard to visualize how much billionaires are really worth compared to the average middle class person. Here's a handy graphic.

Wealth shown to scale:

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
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Vrede too
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Vrede too »

Whack9 wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:22 pm
It's hard to visualize how much billionaires are really worth compared to the average middle class person. Here's a handy graphic.

Wealth shown to scale:

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
:shock: :puke-left: :x

I only made it through Bezos, which is bad enough. I don't have the stomach for "400 richest Americans ($3.2 trillion)".
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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Ulysses
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Ulysses »

Here in Skankytown, we're getting a little taste of what's wrong with local government.

Example: We get our garbage picked up every Wednesday, unless in the rare cases when that's a holiday. Sometimes, but not always, if a holiday falls on a Monday, our collection will be put off a day. BFD.

But next Wednesday we are informed that our street will be "slurry sealed" and no parking allowed between 7 am and 5 pm. I got to thinking about how the garbage collection will go, so I called two numbers for the city (street paving) and also the garbage company.

The result was less than fully satisfying. One dodge was that the garbage would be collected at 6 am. OK, fine, but we have three different trucks for three different types of containers: household garbage, recyclables, and yard (organic) waste. Typically it will take the garbage company until mid-afternoon to pick up the third bin. It would not surprise me if the company has the same driver running each type of vehicle. Anyway, the city guy called me back and said what they might do is delay the slurry seal until about 9 or 10 am. Fine. We'll see.

I didn't mention to him that I heard that the repaving of the street about 10 years ago was, in the words of a neighbor who should know, a botched job. Which is probably why it's failing now. The city guy did say the sealing should last 5-10 years. I'm guessing five years max. And then we get to enjoy this again.

Meanwhile if one goes up into the hills and looks at the streets in the wealthier part of the city... the streets are pristine year after year. No botched repaving jobs up there. And so it goes. Maybe I'll complain to St. Peter if and when I see him.

Oh, and my friend Rich says to say hi.

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Ulysses
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Ulysses »

Whack9 wrote:
Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:22 pm
It's hard to visualize how much billionaires are really worth compared to the average middle class person. Here's a handy graphic.

Wealth shown to scale:

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
Wow. Thanks for posting that.

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Whack9
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by Whack9 »

One thing that weirded me out about the silicon valley area was all the stuff the big tech companies owned. Like basketball courts, bicycles, and a bunch of other stuff for employees.

Felt like little corporate fiefdoms.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 05a2cd2d78
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by GoCubsGo »

Whack9 wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:28 am
One thing that weirded me out about the silicon valley area was all the stuff the big tech companies owned. Like basketball courts, bicycles, and a bunch of other stuff for employees.

Felt like little corporate fiefdoms.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 05a2cd2d78
They keep cutting our wages
Time after time,
Where we once had a dollar,
We now have a dime;
While our souls are near famished,
And our bodies are sore,
We are paid off in checks,
On the company store.

Though hard we may labor
But little we have;
We are robbed of our rights,
Though we fought for the slave.
Monop'ly keeps grasping
For more and still more;
They will soon own the earth,
Through the company store
.
Eamus Catuli~AC 000000 000101 010202 020303 010304 020405....Ahhhh, forget it, it's gonna be a while.

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billy.pilgrim
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by billy.pilgrim »

GoCubsGo wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:56 am
Whack9 wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:28 am
One thing that weirded me out about the silicon valley area was all the stuff the big tech companies owned. Like basketball courts, bicycles, and a bunch of other stuff for employees.

Felt like little corporate fiefdoms.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 05a2cd2d78
They keep cutting our wages
Time after time,
Where we once had a dollar,
We now have a dime;
While our souls are near famished,
And our bodies are sore,
We are paid off in checks,
On the company store.

Though hard we may labor
But little we have;
We are robbed of our rights,
Though we fought for the slave.
Monop'ly keeps grasping
For more and still more;
They will soon own the earth,
Through the company store
.
Not much has changed in 126 years
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”

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GoCubsGo
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Re: Eat the Rich

Unread post by GoCubsGo »

billy.pilgrim wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:14 pm
GoCubsGo wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:56 am
Whack9 wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:28 am
One thing that weirded me out about the silicon valley area was all the stuff the big tech companies owned. Like basketball courts, bicycles, and a bunch of other stuff for employees.

Felt like little corporate fiefdoms.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 05a2cd2d78
They keep cutting our wages
Time after time,
Where we once had a dollar,
We now have a dime;
While our souls are near famished,
And our bodies are sore,
We are paid off in checks,
On the company store.

Though hard we may labor
But little we have;
We are robbed of our rights,
Though we fought for the slave.
Monop'ly keeps grasping
For more and still more;
They will soon own the earth,
Through the company store
.
Not much has changed in 126 years
Instead of coal it's data packets.
Eamus Catuli~AC 000000 000101 010202 020303 010304 020405....Ahhhh, forget it, it's gonna be a while.

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