Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
?Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairytale.?
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/12/05/ed-asner-blasts-rich-people-in-new-video/
A new video featuring Ed Asner that calls for raising taxes on the wealthy is drawing fire from some critics. The Emmy-Award winning actor is the voice behind the California Federation of Teachers? video ?Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairytale.? In the nearly 8 minute video, the star of ?The Mary Tyler Moore Show? and ?Up? offers up a cartoon history of how rich people have gotten richer through tax loopholes, tax evasion and shipping jobs overseas. ?In 20 years, rich people doubled their share of the land?s income: schools, public safety, roads, parks, libraries, public transportation all went into decline,? he says in the video. ?The rich people didn?t care, they said everyone gets what they deserve. And, they bought their own teachers, police, garbage collectors and transportation, they also bought something else, elections.? The video has been praised by some, but has come under fire from conservative critics. Former GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain blasted the video saying ?This is what?s being ?taught? in our schools.? What do you think of the video? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Re: ?Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairytale.?
I detest that people making $200k or even $500k are being made out to be the enemies of our nation. Even millions each year. They really aren't bad. They are already paying their share. I don't fall into this category, but folks like doctors, farmers, lawyers, small business owners do fall into this category. These are backbones of society, yet we treat them like they are scum and owe, owe, owe. These people aren't filthy stinkin' rich.
What sets them apart is their drive, education, skills sets and fortitude, yet with higher taxes and being made to feel guilty for their talents and success they are being pushed down, disencouraged.
If you worked really hard at your job and then were told that no matter how much you worked compared to the next gal, and yet you both got the same treatment and pay always even though she slacked off and did crap work, would that motivate you to be better and to excel? I'm guessing not.
I cannot take peoples' hard earned money away from them and not expect them to keep their noses to the grindstone. Humans just don't work that way.
Taxes have to exist in some form, I accept that, but this demonizing of the wealthy hard-working people has GOT to cease.
Come on. You can't seriously be under the impression that the rich are richer than everyone else because they're all more talented and hard-working.
Even if they're paying more in taxes, they will still have a hell of a lot more money than the middle class. You think that suddenly they're going to stop trying to make money because they have a little less each year? That's just not how it works.
Actually, when you take peoples' incentive to do good work for higher pay away, they don't do as well.
Also, I can cite the aviation industry as an example. There is a looming pilot shortage approaching...within the decade. People just haven't been influenced (by the perks, incentives, pay, etc.) to go fly as much anymore as they once were like in the last decade. There are also fewer military pilots joining the ranks of the commercial airlines, but there are fewer of them overall anyway. But, overall military recruits to commerical airlines aside, there are fewer pilots.
Thousands of pilots are getting ready to retire as they hit 65 (mandatory retirement age set by the FAA for pilots), but they have not yet been replaced by new hires.
When companies take away the benefits of certain jobs, the incentive to do the jobs goes down. It works this way in other areas of life too - school classrooms, the office place, taxes etc.
Here's another example. In my nephews' public school in Iowa, they have decided to do away with student government because having elections (these kids are in elementary school), isn't fair to everybody. Everybody needs a fair chance. I agree that student council probably isn't needed so young, but it has taught him that he needs to win at everything...if he loses, someone cheated or got ahead of him...it's not fair if there's only one winner. Everyone needs a prize. His classmates are this way too.
Having everybody getting a "good gade" to make people feel good down grades the entire system. Everyone can have a shot at excelling, but not everyone will rise to that occasion. It works with kids and adults.
When you take an incentive to win, to do well, to acheive something and to be better than others in your work (in a healthy way, through healthy competitiion) you down grade the innate human desire to excel and you don't have excellence anymore. It isnt human nature to want to do well just because it's the best thing to do. It IS human nature to want to do well for some form of benefit - pay, good grade, a governmental win, a prize, verbal acknowledement, etc. If you take away incentives for smart people to excel in their talents and at highly-skilled jobs, requiring fine-tuned abilities then you will have a decrease in those fields.
Making demons of the wealthy and placing guilt on them for their salaries, doesn't move people into advanced fields.
Also, you seemed to state that I assumed that other people aren't skilled who make lower salaries. I did not say this, however, the skill set it takes to be a surgeon, a pilot, a lawyer, an engineer and even a farmer, in many, many ways are more fine-tuned than a teacher, office manager, or basic banker (like I was before SAHM life).
I'm not saying these jobs aren't valued and important or highly respected, they just don't require the same mental aptitude, hand-eye-coordination, or memory ability. Sorry they just don't.
Taxing the wealthy more and making them feel bad for their higher incomes, is just crazy especially when there are other viable options for cutting the debt, like reigning in on spending.
This is basic, so very basic budgeting 101. To cut a debt, you stop spending and you generate more money to throw at it. Taxes will always be a part of life. But, we cannot approach this as a one-sided problem. The Democrats seem to be doing just that.
Being a teacher takes years of education, teacher training, ongoing education, the ability to teach (which is inborn; very few people who aren't naturally teachers can learn to do this), and an in-depth knowledge of mental development, pedagogy, and a specialized subject.
So, ya know, no. Teachers are absolutely just as skilled and "fine-tuned" as lawyers, doctors, or pilots. They just get paid a lot less, because most teachers are women.
Ding ding ding!
ML, people aren't paid based upon mental aptitude or skill. They're paid based on "the sell" and profitability.
Politely, I disagree. People are paid based on mental aptitude and skill level and/or skill sets. People with higher salaries, in general, have higher, more advanced degrees or associated training. To get such degrees people must have higher aptitudes and skills than others. Plan and simple. I could not get into an Ivy League school. If my aptitude or skills were better, I could have.
These extra levels of education means they can get higher salaries. If a person has a higher degree, in most cases, it does bump him/her into a higher pay bracket. Some jobs won't even consider certain degrees.
Masters versus Bachelors.
Doctorate or MD versus Masters.
Or skilled training that sets one apart from the general populous...like pilots in flight school.
Sure, some people interview better than others "AKA the sell" as you called it, but they wouldn't get an interview if they didn't first meet the minimum job requirements, as in degrees (comes out of aptitide and skills).
And regarding profitability, I guess I don't see how that fits in. Do you mean companies, hospitals, etc. hire the least costly people possible to remain profitable? If this is what you mean, then I disagree here too, politely, of course.
The professions we're discussing generate significant dollars for their companies and their own pockets, so it makes sense that the companies and hospitals involved would hire the best...since in many cases significant assets, lives, and multimillion dollar machines are at stake.
To NastieAnnie: I love teachers and think the world of you all. I think you have tough jobs too and I'd like to see you get some more income measurable with your daily tasks and what you have to deal with in today's youth being so difficult.
I also politely disagree here too. While teachers, and bankers, and office managers, as well as others, are so important and valued, they are not comparable with other professions that do require rarer skill sets.
Yes, "rarer," is better word choice. Not better. Just rarer...harder to come by. People are paid based on degrees and skills that they possess that are harder to come by in the general population.
The number of people that can do a surgury is less than the number of people who could be a banker (my old job). The number of people that could fly a plane with 200 on board in wind shear weather at Denver International Airport and still land safely without batting an eyelash is less than the number of people who can run an office.
These people with rarer skill sets deserve higher pay and they don't deserve to feel bad about it either.
I just spoke with DH tonight, he said that most captains he flies with want to chip in and help out with the taxes thing. Most wealthy Americans ARE this way.
It's just that the Democrats and Obama are making them out to be awful, greedy people overall. It's called class warfare. And, all these wealthy Americans, with rarer skills want, is to be seen as helping and to understand that when they give away what they've worked hard to earn isn't going to be pissed away on a bridge or a trip to the moon.
I'm not a teacher, actually. I'm a researcher, and I teach college composition for money while I complete my research. But I know teachers, and yeah, the ability to actually teach people things *is* rare. Good teachers are hard to find, and they are harder to keep, because they get paid sh!t.
If our country cared half as much about educating people as we do about punishing people, we might end up with MORE doctors, lawyers, and pilots. Of course, we'd end up with more teachers too.
Lol, DH has a phd and I have a masters. We each have experience in both the private sector and academia. The private sector paid significantly more because there's money to be made and people are rewarded accordingly. Quite frankly, in our fields academia is harder, does more good, and pays less.
If the world worked the way you said, we would be much much more well off than we are.
Another topic entirely.
if you are referring to the justice system and prisons, etc.
Teaching is a skill, no doubt. I guess I'd let way more people near my kids who say they can teach them than I'd let people near my kids who say they can cut them open with a scalpel. The skill sets are rarer.
Eh, you should be more selective. A bad surgeon can only kill someone. A bad teacher can ruin them for the rest of what could be a very long, miserable life.
No. I was a social worker. I am now a lawyer at a hospital. I am around a lot of doctors. It does not take a skill set. It takes a good foundational education which a lot of students don't have in America b/c their parents can't afford to live in the best school district. I worked at a medical and pharmacy school. I was on the admissions committee. We could take people with a PCAT or MCAT in lowest 10% of scores and produce students graduating with honors and getting into the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, etc. There is nothing magical about being in the professions you listed except a strong foundation (or the ability to help those without a strong foundation) and a strong support system.
While we could go on all day about this topic I won't. For me, it all boils down to everyone paying their fare share and as it stands, the wealthy are not doing that. Why should they be rewarded loop holes and tax breaks just because they make more money than I do. I have a real problem with that. If I have to ante up, so should they.
ETA: I'll just tell you. At a major (big) airline, the average starting salary is about $36,000. At a regional airline (those small planes you fly when you go from, say Boston to Buffalo), it's about $20,000.
But at the same time, airlines are turning record profits, thanks to their millions (sorry, billions) in fee revenue, which is tax-free. But crew and maintenance aren't getting paid more. I wonder where that money is going...
Maybe that has something to do with the shortage?
http://willflyforfood.com/airline-pilot-salary/188/United-Airlines.html
United FO pay for the first year is $32.61 an hour, with a 70 hour guarantee for reserves. That's $27,392 a year, plus the per diem, so not that far off from $35k.
Delta FO pay for first year is $52/hr, 70 hour guarantee, plus per diem. That's $43,680 plus per diem and extra hours. Higher than $35k, yes.
American FO pay is $35/hr, 73 hour guarantee plus per diem so $29,400 plus per diem/extra hours. Not that far off from $35k.
USAir $39.41/hr , 72 hour guarantee + per diem. $34,050 a year plus pd and extras.
I realize some of those numbers are a couple years old, but I doubt that salaries have jumped $30k since 2010.
No, it's not. Those are business expenses. They get deducted from gross revenue, and what's left over is net revenue, or profit. PROFIT has increased dramatically over the last couple of years i.e. what the company gets to keep after paying for equipment and salaries.
Law is one of the worst fields to be in right now. There are not enough jobs available for the number of lawyers who are graduating law schools these days. So considering law to be a field that simply requires smarts to succeed is ridiculous.
There are a lot of people out there who work hard and do not make it financially. Becoming rich isn't pure smarts. It takes a lot of luck and a world where you begin your life ahead of everyone else, which is why the majority of CEOs are white men.
I don't have a beef with the rich. I have a beef with a system that rewards people simply for the jobs they perform, not how well they perform them.