[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I will say that at some point in the FUTURE, a cryptocurrency might prove useful. Everything EVOLVES and someday may replace credit cards. Whatever shape that would take, it would need government blessing and regulation. The Wild West was less than 2 decades long, yet it has been internalized by modern Americans as practically a Religion of Individuality. Today's cryptocurrency advocates seem to share that rugged INDIVIDUAL mentality from the past. Just like believing that ONLY jack Welsh could run GE. And ONLY Elon Musk could do what Musk has done (and singlehandedly without any staff help). Most every aspect of modern life demands groups working together, NOT individually.

Maybe if Musk had treated the workers at Twitter with some dignity and shown some class in his takeover.........maybe (?) I could have some respect for him. What he did at that Company is the kind of thing that FORCES some workers to become Unionized. And Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing. The German economy does fine with Unions - which helps Germany AVOID these "dumpster fires" that we are talking about in the US. It all goes back to the base question...... is the US strong and does it have a strong middle-class.

Maybe if the employees at Twitter has less distain for the 1/2 of the American people, and hadn't worked behind the scenes to cripple our democracy, they wouldn't have been fired...

[Hardlyworking]

In lieu of prison, surrender her car, golf cart, and license permanently, pay restitution to the victims, two years community service.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Normal

Tesla and Musk bought into Bitcoin a couple of years ago, but soured on the currency investment later on and sold it off before the crash. I’m not sure where your Musk assertion comes from? Currently the firm is into Dogecoin which is increasing its footing in the cryptocurrency market. Most companies he has invested in our blossoming beyond expectations. Space X has only upward prospects.

"Space X has only upward prospects".......is interesting because I ASSUME that it was stated as a fact - because it is ALSO a humorous pun. Obviously, they do not fire their rockets DOWNWARD into the ground.........TEE HEE

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

So, basically, you are saying that I do NOT deserve to have an OPINION. You attack me RELENTLESSLY no matter what the topic or what my opinion on that topic is. It has become a GAME with you. But, I stopped playing THAT game long ago. I have NOT recently gone out of MY way to disparage what you write. I have come to the conclusion that you and everyone else here are ENTITLED to HAVE an OPINION. I have no problem with that.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Your OPINION is based on false information. As I've explained to you (and showed you the actual facts), several times, "the rich" in the 50's actually paid less of a percentage of their income in taxes as they do today. The 90% tax rate (that you continually point to) was a fallacy, due to the MASSIVE tax deductions available.

In the 50's, the middle class carried more of the tax burden than they do today,. and the poor paid more in taxes, where almost 50% of todays earners pay ZERO federal income tax...

As someone once said, you are entitled to your own opinions, but you are NOT entitled to your own facts...

In the 2nd paragraph of the post - "In the 50s, the middle class carried more of the tax burden than they do today".......That is true. And the reason for the middle class paying a large share of the total US taxes is well known. Historically, the US was basically a MANUFACTURING country in the 50s and the workers in those mills had UNIONIZED (after fighting for them). People left the farms to work in the mills because the PAY was HIGH. The middle class had MONEY, so therefore they paid a LOT of the US taxes. ......THEN,
.........without going into ALL the detail, the uber-rich mill owners and stockholders FOUGHT back against the Unions by moving the location of PRODUCTION. They 1st moved to the US South, then Mexico, and finally to countries like Viet Nam and primarily China. This caused the US middle class and Unions to be virtually eliminated today. Effectively the money flowing to the US middle class in the 50s was now (today) sent to create a STRONG Chinese middle class and a STRONG Chinese country.

It seems to be ironic today to BLAME the middle and poor classes for NOT paying enough taxes ......when the US did that to itself because of GREED. Note.....the same case can be made for keeping school budgets LOW and school taxes LOW. It has ALL eaten away at the STRENGTH and fabric of the American dream. In the 1950s people would say that the NEXT generation will be better off than the PRIOR generation. Today, no one says that.......which sort of PROVES what I am saying .......does it not ?

I have some doubts that the last part of the 2nd paragraph is TRUE. But even if it IS, We, the US has only ourselves to blame. Also, paying taxes is a "pay-as-you-go system". So, the US collects the tax money from the working poor beginning in January. So, the Federal Government receives the interest on that money (the time value of money). Then, for the end of the year the worker files their tax form. Depending on exemptions and other factors, they may owe more or get a refund. It is UNFAIR to criticize their refund that they may have gotten because Congress makes the tax laws and part of their consideration may be SOCIAL STABILITY. Personally, I would not reward taxpayers for child exemptions greater than 2, but that IS the law and has BOTH advantages and disadvantages to society. Many people believe that poor and middle-class taxpayers CHEAT on their taxes. To me, this is a smokescreen for the REAL cheats .........the uber-wealthy and their uber-wealthy tax lawyers.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

I'm sure he does. He wanted to ensure the Keystone Pipeline was shut down...

Now why would he do that?, you may ask...

Because without the pipeline, the oil that was destined to carried via pipeline will now be carried by rail THAT HE OWNS... At a higher cost and higher risk and with more damage to the environment...

So very altruistic of him...

As everybody knows, the Keystone pipeline, as proposed, crossed over Native American lands and would have hurt and compromised their lives. Warren Buffet lives in Nebraska and, as such, may be MORE empathetic toward Native Americans than someone living on the East Coast or an OIL stockholder living in New York City.

MR. Buffet is known for his philanthropy, NOT his GREED.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

Before you criticize Elon Musk, please post your CV so we can see what you have accomplished in your working career. I am willing to bet it falls well short of Musk. You actually need a hero?

So, that's another version of "I don't deserve an OPINION". I thought that America was about everyone having freedom of speech and therefore an OPINION. Just like no one is above the law. If I would have to show credentials to be able to CRITICIZE Elon Musk, then that would say that ONLY rich CEOs and the uber-wealthy are allowed to express ANY criticism. What kind of society would that be? Was not the Constitution set up to encourage individual OPINIONS?

[tuccillo]

You seem to have a reading comprehension problem. You can post your opinion about Musk but you should also post your CV so we can see your accomplishments. I think that is only fair since none of your criticisms of Musk have any validity. Also, stop shouting, it is rude.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

So, that's another version of "I don't deserve an OPINION". I thought that America was about everyone having freedom of speech and therefore an OPINION. Just like no one is above the law. If I would have to show credentials to be able to CRITICIZE Elon Musk, then that would say that ONLY rich CEOs and the uber-wealthy are allowed to express ANY criticism. What kind of society would that be? Was not the Constitution set up to encourage individual OPINIONS?

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

As everybody knows, the Keystone pipeline, as proposed, crossed over Native American lands and would have hurt and compromised their lives. Warren Buffet lives in Nebraska and, as such, may be MORE empathetic toward Native Americans than someone living on the East Coast or an OIL stockholder living in New York City.

MR. Buffet is known for his philanthropy, NOT his GREED.

So your telling us now that Mr. Buffet is down to a million dollars and isn’t greedy? How would you know personally any of these details? Compromised native American land is a real reach. So native Americans don’t benefits from the use of fossil fuels and all the products produced from said oil. There is so much stretch in this argument being presented.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

You seem to have a reading comprehension problem. You can post your opinion about Musk but you should also post your CV so we can see your accomplishments. I think that is only fair since none of your criticisms of Musk have any validity. Also, stop shouting, it is rude.

"since none of my criticisms of Mr. Musk have any validity"......IS it NOT possible that some OTHER readers just MIGHT consider my criticisms VALID ? I also think that capitalizing some words in a sentence shows which words I chose to emphasize. I suppose I could use italics instead. But, that might slow down the TYPING process.

Also, I am NOT sure what the abbreviation CV means in this case. I doubt that Corona Virus or Constant Velocity joint is what was intended?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Aces4

So your telling us now that Mr. Buffet is down to a million dollars and isn’t greedy? How would you know personally any of these details? Compromised native American land is a real reach. So native Americans don’t benefits from the use of fossil fuels and all the products produced from said oil. There is so much stretch in this argument being presented.

I put forth my OPINION about the Oil Pipeline situation. There was a different post that had a different OPINION. Unless myself or another poster can READ the MIND of Mr. Buttet, then we are all just stating OPINIONS, which is what a social forum would be about mostly.
.........and even posting links are often just some other person's OPINION on a subject and NOT some "fixed in stone" scientific or mathematical fact. Most statements are really merely opinions. When people vote, that is just a tabulation of opinions. Is there a God? Some say that it IS a proven FACT. Others disagree. Is the Bible's version of things superior to Native Americans' idea of a Great Spirit? Maybe or ???????

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I put forth my OPINION about the Oil Pipeline situation. There was a different post that had a different OPINION. Unless myself or another poster can READ the MIND of Mr. Buttet, then we are all just stating OPINIONS, which is what a social forum would be about mostly.
.........and even posting links are often just some other person's OPINION on a subject and NOT some "fixed in stone" scientific or mathematical fact. Most statements are really merely opinions. When people vote, that is just a tabulation of opinions. Is there a God? Some say that it IS a proven FACT. Others disagree. Is the Bible's version of things superior to Native Americans' idea of a Great Spirit? Maybe or ???????

You prefaced your post in question with: “Everyone knows”. You just admitted we don’t know and you were only putting forth your opinion. You are creating dialog stating what you are saying is everyone’s truth. It’s not.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

In the 2nd paragraph of the post - "In the 50s, the middle class carried more of the tax burden than they do today".......That is true. And the reason for the middle class paying a large share of the total US taxes is well known. Historically, the US was basically a MANUFACTURING country in the 50s and the workers in those mills had UNIONIZED (after fighting for them). People left the farms to work in the mills because the PAY was HIGH. The middle class had MONEY, so therefore they paid a LOT of the US taxes. ......THEN,
.........without going into ALL the detail, the uber-rich mill owners and stockholders FOUGHT back against the Unions by moving the location of PRODUCTION. They 1st moved to the US South, then Mexico, and finally to countries like Viet Nam and primarily China. This caused the US middle class and Unions to be virtually eliminated today. Effectively the money flowing to the US middle class in the 50s was now (today) sent to create a STRONG Chinese middle class and a STRONG Chinese country.

It seems to be ironic today to BLAME the middle and poor classes for NOT paying enough taxes ......when the US did that to itself because of GREED. Note.....the same case can be made for keeping school budgets LOW and school taxes LOW. It has ALL eaten away at the STRENGTH and fabric of the American dream. In the 1950s people would say that the NEXT generation will be better off than the PRIOR generation. Today, no one says that.......which sort of PROVES what I am saying .......does it not ?

I have some doubts that the last part of the 2nd paragraph is TRUE. But even if it IS, We, the US has only ourselves to blame. Also, paying taxes is a "pay-as-you-go system". So, the US collects the tax money from the working poor beginning in January. So, the Federal Government receives the interest on that money (the time value of money). Then, for the end of the year the worker files their tax form. Depending on exemptions and other factors, they may owe more or get a refund. It is UNFAIR to criticize their refund that they may have gotten because Congress makes the tax laws and part of their consideration may be SOCIAL STABILITY. Personally, I would not reward taxpayers for child exemptions greater than 2, but that IS the law and has BOTH advantages and disadvantages to society. Many people believe that poor and middle-class taxpayers CHEAT on their taxes. To me, this is a smokescreen for the REAL cheats .........the uber-wealthy and their uber-wealthy tax lawyers.

Have you ever done payroll for a company? I do. Every two weeks.

The "working poor" should not have ANY Federal Tax withholding. If they do, it's only because they want the "forced savings program" of the government taking their money for a year, paying them ZERO interest and then giving it back in April... Not a very sound financial policy...

I advise my employees to minimize their withholding, so they have access to ALL of their money. So far (and it's only been 35 years, so I may not be completely sure... ), no one has complained...

No one complains if anyone gets a refund based on taxes paid. It's those who pay ZERO into the system and then get $1000s of dollars back who cause the raised eyebrows... Right now, that is almost 50% of the population...

And it was the US Tax laws that caused so much production to be moved overseas...

When "someone" started decreasing corporate taxes, overseas production started to return and the US treasury took in MORE money... go figure...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

"since none of my criticisms of Mr. Musk have any validity"......IS it NOT possible that some OTHER readers just MIGHT consider my criticisms VALID ? I also think that capitalizing some words in a sentence shows which words I chose to emphasize. I suppose I could use italics instead. But, that might slow down the TYPING process.

Also, I am NOT sure what the abbreviation CV means in this case. I doubt that Corona Virus or Constant Velocity joint is what was intended?

"Curriculum Vitae"

Latin for "course of life", often shortened to CV) is a short written summary of a person's career, qualifications, and education...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

As everybody knows, the Keystone pipeline, as proposed, crossed over Native American lands and would have hurt and compromised their lives. Warren Buffet lives in Nebraska and, as such, may be MORE empathetic toward Native Americans than someone living on the East Coast or an OIL stockholder living in New York City.

MR. Buffet is known for his philanthropy, NOT his GREED.