Redistribution

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
I grew up in California mostly, though I've lived in Alaska and South Carolina as well. I moved a lot, at first into progressively smaller and more obsolete living spaces.

For a time I lived in a shack large enough to fit two beds in the mountains outside Santa Barbara side by side with other shack dwellers. I had no shoes. Only one of us on that mountain had electricity or plumbing, he was wealthy, he owned the land, he did not share his wealth, he charged us rent, but none of us were bothered by this relationship. We ate blackberry's ripened in the sun and felt great freedom, he worked hard and lived a very stressful life and his body suffered for it. We figured he would die young, like his father did. Some of us had a hole in the ground to shit in. Most of us on that mountain felt fortunate in our ignorance. Most felt they deserved nothing more then the existence they lived and so kept going, year after year, living in squalor, asking for nothing more in their lives, unable to even form the question. You could say they were lazy, yes... but they had no sense of entitlement. Perhaps they simply chose to have less because they didn't know how to attain more.

But my mother was selfish, she attended college and received government aid while we lived in that shack. At some point she was able to move back down into the city and save herself a long commute but because she no longer qualified for some of the aid she received in the past she had to make a difficult choice, to either: 1) continue to live desperately poor and keep her children close at all times 2) Continue to work hard, and send her children off to live somewhere else temporarily until circumstances are better.

For a time I didn't get to live with either of my parents. I don't like to talk about that time, but let me just say this: if I could have lived with my mother during that time I probably never would have received the bulk of my mental scars.

I don't blame her, however, because she accomplished what she set out to do, and took us back, and set me up to live the life I have now. I don't blame society either, because without help from the tax payers of this nation I might very well still be stuck on that mountain... or worse.



You exaggerate the scope of my argument, so of course it seems foolish.

I made no claims about using big sums of raw cash, or about poor folk making it big. I talked about using tiny sums of cash to pay for food, shelter, medicine, education... and for the sake of making it far enough to find a more valuable function in society then bloody worthless peasant.



I have read most of Kiyosaki's books. You do know the stories in his book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" are fiction, right?

I've also read Robert Allen, Timothy Ferris, George Clason, David Bach, and Paul Getty... and lots of books and writings from authors with similar messages. It is exactly their principles which re-affirms my belief: that by managing expenses balanced with a careful and judicious re-investment of wealth you can increase it.



I agree, there are a lot of people out there who are not equipped with everything they need to be responsible. Many probably don't care. But your few experiences are overshadowed by the fact MOST poor people in this country do work most of their lives, but because they have no wealth the moment they fall short...

The people you describe encountering have no job, and probably for good reason as you state. But these are not the majority of poor folk. These are a minority.



Repeat one statement of mine where I blame society? From this point forward, please stop assigning your warped perspective about others onto me or this conversation will go nowhere.

I have joined in the fight. I volunteer my time and energy helping suicidal kids who come from abusive homes. Believe me, I know the considerable cost it takes to even attempt to help lift someone up. In all your preachy claims, what have you done, besides pay taxes and complain about it?

I'll leave the insult to my mother alone, but only because the insult to my blood father is valid and you're too ignorant to see the difference between them, all you can see is your own prejudice against poor folk.



I had no choice, and neither did you. No one has a choice in where they start.

For the record, I have yet to meet one person who comes from a wealthy but abusive and dysfunctional family. I'm not saying it's impossible for the two to exist together, but it seems to me you're the one with the imagination.
At this point it's pretty clear everything you are saying is bullshit and you are deliberately wasting my time. People do not live in shacks in the mountains with no water or electricity unless they want to. People lived like this years ago up in the Appellations, but nobody lives like that today. If they do, they must be pretty fucking dumb because even the most poor and hopeless manage indoor plumbing and electricity.

Honestly, I don't believe anything you say at this point. Where exactly up in them there hills did you live Mr Clampet?
 

vh13

Well-Known Member
At this point it's pretty clear everything you are saying is bullshit and you are deliberately wasting my time. People do not live in shacks in the mountains with no water or electricity unless they want to. People lived like this years ago up in the Appellations, but nobody lives like that today. If they do, they must be pretty fucking dumb because even the most poor and hopeless manage indoor plumbing and electricity.

Honestly, I don't believe anything you say at this point. Where exactly up in them there hills did you live Mr Clampet?
I don't have a clue where it was exactly, I was a child, and I have no intentions of going there.

You don't have to believe me, from Wikipedia:

"The agricultural central counties have some of the highest poverty rates in the U.S."

The generous people of California, who pay #6 in highest of state taxes, invested in my family, and now my siblings and I will live here and raise families of our own in the world's 1/8th largest economy. Feel free to ignore me.
 

vh13

Well-Known Member
Rick thinks he understands everything about poverty and poor people because he buys gas in downtown detroit and sees people buying booze, cigarettes, blunt wraps and lottery tickets. If only they were smart enough to invest all that cash they blow on such frivolous pleasures into mutual funds and stock options, they would all be millionaires in no time.

It's also funny how conservatives are always talking about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, but if someone actually does that, they start bitching about affirmative action, welfare and 'it's only because he's black or only because she's a woman'. Obama for instance is only president because he's black and not at all because he was smart and worked hard.
Or maybe he just ignores their existence completely.

+rep for predicting the future.
 

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
Typical, someone tries to explain their position to good ol' Rick and he's so above and beyond their opinion he can no longer have his time wasted!

Bravo vh13, you definitely came out on top in this one.
 

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
Anyone who can't figure out that vh13 is making this stuff up is one ignorant SOB.

You guys really believe people in the US live like rice farmers in rural China? That just goes to show how un-knowledgeable you are about the world.


Nearly 13% of Americans have incomes that place them below the official poverty line. But what does that mean in terms of their daily lives? The fact that 95% of them may have a refrigerator tells only part of the story.


The Census report also compares, from 1992 through 1998, people's perceptions of whether basic needs were being met. More than 92% of Americans below the poverty line said they had enough food, as of 1998. Some 86% said they had no unmet need for a doctor, 89% had no roof leaks, and 87% said they had no unpaid rent or mortgage.

Two-thirds of those in poverty had air conditioners in 1998, up from 50% in 1992. Personal computers have grown increasingly ubiquitous. Where fewer than 20% of homes had them in 1992, nearly 60% did in 2002 (more than own dishwashers).

These statistics are 8 years old.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/PovertyNowComesWithAColorTV.aspx
 

vh13

Well-Known Member
Typical, someone tries to explain their position to good ol' Rick and he's so above and beyond their opinion he can no longer have his time wasted!

Bravo vh13, you definitely came out on top in this one.
Thanks. I get into conversations like this with wealthy people all the time. My thoughts on all this stuff do not come entirely from rubbing elbows with poor folk, I have mentors. :mrgreen:

It's always seemed funny to me that it's the poor folk who rise up and make something of themselves (using the public school system no less) who are the most steadfast opponents of helping other poor folk rise up too.
 

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
Actually, I am dyslexic and was therefore systematically excluded from success in school. Back then, they didn't have computers and most dyslexics can not write well, if at all with pen and paper. I went back to school as an adult and put myself through college. After that, I started my own business which I run to this day. I did this all on my own.

vh13, having grown up around poor people, I know for a fact that everything you are saying is nothing but one big fat lie. The fact that you believe the poor in the US live in shacks with no running water or electricity proves that you don't know, nor have you ever met any poor people. I'd bet dollars to dough nuts you a white suburban kid sitting in your parents basement posting bullshit and making up lies. You certainly don't know squat about how the poor live in the US.
 

vh13

Well-Known Member
Actually, I am dyslexic and was therefore systematically excluded from success in school. Back then, they didn't have computers and most dyslexics can not write well, if at all with pen and paper. I went back to school as an adult and put myself through college. After that, I started my own business which I run to this day. I did this all on my own.

vh13, having grown up around poor people, I know for a fact that everything you are saying is nothing but one big fat lie. The fact that you believe the poor in the US live in shacks with no running water or electricity proves that you don't know, nor have you ever met any poor people. I'd bet dollars to dough nuts you a white suburban kid sitting in your parents basement posting bullshit and making up lies. You certainly don't know squat about how the poor live in the US.
If you insist on denying my history and offer up no more talking points then I'm afraid I have nothing more to offer and this really is a waste of my time.
 

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
If you insist on denying my history and offer up no more talking points then I'm afraid I have nothing more to offer and this really is a waste of my time.
You had nothing to offer to begin with. You are a liar.
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
Of course it did, trickle down worked amazingly well! Top level management wages have skyrocketed and the majority of workers wages have actually gone down in proportion to the cost of living. :dunce:
Then start a company and pay the wages that you think are fair...
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
Redistributing of others possessions can be rationalized as good, but if the redistribution is against the will of the person that produced the goods, money or service it is theft. Logically if a person disagrees with the statement above, they must believe that none of us "own" anything and government has the right to whatever we produce.

The good of "giving" via forced redistribution is negated by the act of the forceful taking. Charity is willful or it is not charity.

If somebody "makes up your mind for you" in determining the use of your possessions and you have no say in it, then the "redistribution" becomes a form of theft.
 

ink the world

Well-Known Member
vh13, having grown up around poor people, I know for a fact that everything you are saying is nothing but one big fat lie. The fact that you believe the poor in the US live in shacks with no running water or electricity proves that you don't know, nor have you ever met any poor people. I'd bet dollars to dough nuts you a white suburban kid sitting in your parents basement posting bullshit and making up lies. You certainly don't know squat about how the poor live in the US.

Rick, first you stated that YOU grew up poor. A few posts later you state you grew up around people that were poor. Which is it?

You then state that the poster doesnt know how poor people live, after reading your posts I think that either you didnt grow up poor, or you forgot what is was really like.

I grew up in a shithole of a small city. My cities claims to fame when I moved out was the highest teen pregnancy rate and car theft rate in the US. All in the same year it made the cover of Time magazine for a racial riot.

There were and still are pimp, hookers, dope dealers and gangbangers everywhere. There were also hard working people trying to lift themselves from poverty.


I never considered my family poor, I knew what poor really was. I knew people that had cardboard for their windows in New England. And guess what Rick, it wasnt their fault. It was because the absentee landlord wouldn't replace them.

Rick youb also posted about not being able to find a hard working adult for $10 and hour. And then blame it on laziness. While that is partially true there is something that you are neglecting.

How would you expect a 30 year old person to support a family on $10 an hour? I'll tell you how, he'll go without windows because his asshole absentee landlord couldnt care less about the living conditions. And he'll probably qualify for food stamps and maybe section 8 rent assistance. All draining tax dollars yours and mine.

Here's a novel idea,,,,why not pay a living wage if you want a responsible 30 year old person. I find it amusing you offer poverty level wages and expect Ivy League employees.


So I guess in a way Rick, you contribute to the problem by offering poverty level wages and forcing families to use public assistance.:idea:
 

dukeofbaja

New Member
This conversation has gotten ridiculous. Keep going Rick, this has to be the most amusing thread I'v ever read and you're to thank.
 

dukeofbaja

New Member
Redistributing of others possessions can be rationalized as good, but if the redistribution is against the will of the person that produced the goods, money or service it is theft. Logically if a person disagrees with the statement above, they must believe that none of us "own" anything and government has the right to whatever we produce.

The good of "giving" via forced redistribution is negated by the act of the forceful taking. Charity is willful or it is not charity.

If somebody "makes up your mind for you" in determining the use of your possessions and you have no say in it, then the "redistribution" becomes a form of theft.

You should move to some place that has absolutely no taxes whatsoever. Like Antarctica, or Warlord City, Africa. See how life is there for a while. Then you may come back and engage in debate. All you ever do is push this concept that taxes are extortion at the tip of a gun, when in reality it is taxation WITH representation, and it is in EVERYONE'S best interests to have them. If you want to debate how much and what to spend them on, that is one thing. To keep pushing this same old tired refrain is getting VERY old though.
 

Leothwyn

Well-Known Member
Rick - I have to wonder if you're calling vh13 a liar because you don't like his arguments and are looking for an easy way to discount them, or are you really out of touch? There are people in this country who live without electricity and water. I have some friends who live out in the hills (northern California), and have a generator that they use sparingly, and get water piped into a tank from a spring (in the summer they run out of water). They do chose to live that way (though theirs kids don't have a lot of say in the matter). There are plenty of people in CA. who live that way - I even know of places in southern Cal. that are like that. Have you seen much of CA.? It's not all like San Francisco and Orange County.

I haven't followed all of this thread, and am not taking either side, but I was surprised to see your out of touch claims about CA and about how poor people live. (In fact, I've known people who back up some of your claims pretty well - on welfare, lazy, and seemingly with no desire to make their lives better). Still, if you want to ignore vh13's points, go ahead... but you ought to come up with a better reason than that you can't believe that poor people live any in way other than what your limited perspective has shown you.
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
You should move to some place that has absolutely no taxes whatsoever. Like Antarctica, or Warlord City, Africa. See how life is there for a while. Then you may come back and engage in debate. All you ever do is push this concept that taxes are extortion at the tip of a gun, when in reality it is taxation WITH representation, and it is in EVERYONE'S best interests to have them. If you want to debate how much and what to spend them on, that is one thing. To keep pushing this same old tired refrain is getting VERY old though.
Fair enough Duke, I agree that I do continue to harp on the extortion thing. Rather than dismiss me, why not consider the arguments I make and refute them using logic rather than emotion?

Can extortion only be performed by Mafia types? Does the meaning of extortion somehow change when the identity of the extortionist becomes the government?

You say there is Representation, implying we have a government of consent. How was this "consent" acquired? Can somebody long dead give your consent for you?
I don't think so. I think only YOU can give your consent for you, and I for me.

You say it is in EVERYONE'S best interest to have taxes? All of them? Is it in your best interests to pay for something you do not agree with or use? Please explain how this is.

How is funding the DEA that wants to prosecute me, in my best interest? How is funding bombs to kill people that have never harmed me or you in OUR best interests?

Asking people to leave the country if they don't go along with YOUR concept of how to spend the money extorted is intellectually shallow. I think you can do better than that Duke.

The reason I continue to harp on it, is I hope to get people to realize that the best person to determine how you will live, what you will and will not contribute to, is you.

When others make your decisions for you and leave you no choice but to comply, how is that not at the point of a gun? Really I'd like to hear you explain that.

Besides I've been to Antarctica, weed doesn't grow there very well.
 

figtree

Active Member
Faith, Hope and CHARITY! Imagine if everyone did do their part to help out a fellow human being instead of being so selfish, we sure would be a great country that takes care of its own on our own. People got too used to making money at someone else's expense and that changed the way people looked at each other. Charity is a good thing, unless your selfish.

It blows me away that people with, have been refusing to help people without.
 
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