Comments on: Are Wealthy Americans Leaving the Country?

By: sat

sat — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:24:36 +0000

True-most gov’t benefts are paid to citizens, including home owners who get property tax deductions and mortgage interst deductions even on second and third homes. these are entitlements to encourage home ownership. at one time Republicans wanted to end these. another myth is that only Hispanics get welfare. Many Asians who come get welfare and total college tuition paid.I knew a man from Vietnam who bragged that he never worked a day in his life and all his 5 girls had college paid to top schools. Some states are very generous and are reimbursed or matched by federal gov’t. some social service offices are set up to handle Asians only and provide customized services. saw similar with Russians and Ukrainians- groups(just off the boat) that are not used to working like Americans due to their country’s welfare mentality and dislike towards the American work ethic(ditto for Russians/Ukranians who have come here, asssimilated, work hard), they went back because myth of easy money no true.recently, stats reveal 14 million suburban homeowners on medicaid, nursing homes take up most of the medicaid dollar and Jewish residents make up the majority of the nursing home population, family disperses resident’s money 3 years before(family ships resident back and forth for 3 years-another tactic) and so often a considerable amount of money not counted for eligibility determination. a lot of white people, white communities and others use the welfare dollar-most people on welfare are white, and there are a lot more white people in this country as an identifiable group.Orthodox Jews are heavy users of the welfare system and that causes distaste for other Jews who live in proximity due to increased tax burdens,polygamous groups ditto and Mormons at one time The myth of Hispanics using all the money does not add up.

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:28:13 +0000

You are right – it really is for the best – especially the kids! It just really got to us for a year or two. While the world did lose a nurse, for now at least anyway, our two children gained a mom.

By: michael medeiros

michael medeiros — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:29:55 +0000

The notion that the wealthy only pay 13%, or some other low tax rate, is not accurate. Anyone, not just the wealthy, can generate income at reduced rates. For example, qualified Dividends generate reduced tax income.

Taking Qualified Dividends as an example, the wealthy pay 15% while middle and lower income citizens pay 0% (nothing) on that income.

There are investments that requite large amounts to participate. But lowr income citizens enjoy greater tax relief than others, even when making the same income streams.

The fact is, most people are not willing to take the risk. The tax relief is an incentive to invest moeny with American Companies. These types of investments should not be viewed as something for wealthy alone.

I do not consider anyone a throwaway. A life is a life. Howver, I do not want to carry others for bad choices in life, just because they exist. I am very charitable, with the miney I want to give towards charity. In addition, I help a lot of people. I’ve provided housing for people in hard times… Clothes and food too. It should be my choice to donate to people as I see fit.

By: pam miner

pam miner — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:14:19 +0000

the illegal immigrants only make up 7 million of the 46.3 of uninsured in this country. Beyond that, it is not legal for them to get anything but emergency medicare in any state.
A few may get fake ID’s, but they get caught. Most immigrants you see receiving benefits are here legally. I’m not sure what a person with a green card does get. And many hispanics are home grown, maybe here for generations.
so stop spreadiing the myth and go check the facts.

By: pam miner

pam miner — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:57:24 +0000

sorry, my name, the r got left off somehow. MineR.

By: pam mine

pam mine — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:56:23 +0000

I think that is wonderful! that is how it’s supposed to work. The man makes enough for the mom to stay home and care for the kids.
That is how everyone lived up until the mid 60′s.
I’m sorry you feel burdened, but I would rejoice that your wife can stay home with the kids.

By: pam mine

pam mine — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:53:14 +0000

The question of who is rich was defined once by John McCain. he said the dividing point to be $5 million. I don’t know really.
I had never heard the term Robin Hood tax, but the concept is clear.
I am 66 and one of the many who live below poverty line. To me a luxury would be having a TV larger than 19″. Or eating out once a month. Going to see a fist run Movie. Buying clothes that nobody has worn before me.
What I need is to be able to pay off my car repair debt. Buy new tires. A back operation. enough money to keep my car mobile.
It would be cheaper and better for the pollution to take mass transit, but when you are older and have to walk several blocks to get to a bus stop, it’s also harder.
I don’t begrudge the rich, Through hard work or luck of birth, either one.
I don’t pay income taxes, I pay sales taxes, so do all the poor and all the workers. I know the rich pay 40% Of the income tax, but at a lower % rate.
When you only get $8,500. a year, there really isn’t that much to tax.
The thing I do resent is that my kids, and most people I know pay about 45% in income taxes. But The very wealthy only pay 13% or there about. Is that fair?
I know that big corporations often pay no taxes but have subsidies and such.
I worry about the large number of children, through no fault of their own live in poverty.
I know there are cheaters out there, but they are darn few, compared to the many who need to buy their kids food and new shoes.

Well, I don’t want to rant about the wealthy, have fun, but please, don’t think of me and others like me as Throwaways.

By: M

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:14:35 +0000

You sound like you live in New Jersey.

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:48:03 +0000

Taxes are too high – our household is an example. My wife and I both made about 90k mostly because we are trained professionals. My wife is a nurse. We were paying a crazy amount in taxes and we lost out on lots of other things as well because of our income bracket – it is crazy. Most people think the high-middle class just pay a higher tax rate but its actually much higher than that because we lose out on LOTS of other things that just keep adding up. It’s pointless for us to open up a education account for our children. We do not qualify for many kinds of retirement accounts. When we bought our house and we did not get our large goverment rebate. When the government gave tax money back a number of years ago – we got less. The list goes on and on. And all of this actually has a multiplication effect on the tax bracket.

My wife then left her job for a year and then all of the sudden we qualified for more programs, more discounts and had less tax penalties. It is almost pointless for her to go to work so she has been home ever since. This is nice for us because she can take care our child as well as more things at home. But, society just lost a very useful working trained professional – a nurse – because of basically taxes. She could go to work but it would put our “total tax bracket” higher that its hardly worth it.

On another topic, I know people in our extended family that can live off of “government programs” and they basically can survive without working. They are from outside the country and have been here 5-10 years and have never paid a single cent in income tax. They get food stamps, subsidized housing, and better medical care then I do. They don’t live wonderfully but they do not have to work. This drives me nuts actually.

By: mikemed

mikemed — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 00:22:03 +0000

Bob I am really shocked you would make such ambiguous comments. How do rich people push jobs overseas? Get it right, consumers push jobs overseas. Wealthy people are able to position themselves to still profit from the buying trend. How much stuff do you own that is made over here?

For example, lets say I sell toys for children at bulk wholesale levels. If I buy from American companies, you know, “Made in America,” the cost is higher because the standard of living is higher. Then my resellers start losing business to competitors that import through online resources like alibaba.com. They can seriously under-price me and my retailers, because they’re selling foreign made products. But the people, poor people especially, continue to shop at the other places.

Who is forcing business overseas? The power is the consumer my friend, plain and simple. The person spending a dollar makes the choice each and every time he or she buys something.

By: mikemed

mikemed — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 00:13:01 +0000

Is Bernie still rich?

I don’t think he’s talking about scammers. He’s talking about people that have good ideas, implement and expand on those ideas and consequently become wealthy.

Many people are wanting to raise the Robin Hood Index. One of the key notes Obama got elected on, “I’m going to redistribute the wealth,” is another way of stating I’m going to increase the Robin Hood Index.

By: Harry

Harry — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:34:42 +0000

You know, I met a number of socialist here in San Francisco and the real funny thing about them is this: They hate and despise, read “resent” the wealthy because they have got the money and the power; and don’t you know these same socialist look down on and feel racism and contempt for minorities? Aren’t they a wonderful bunch.

By: Hedgehogrebellion

Hedgehogrebellion — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:54:07 +0000

You are saying it is counter-productive to hate the rich bcuz they work hard and take risks…just like Bernie Maddoff, right?

By: sirloin869

sirloin869 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:35:12 +0000

leading by example…

still waiting on the zombie apokolypse

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:52:21 +0000

The percentage of rich Americans leaving is probably small but so is the total of rich Americans as a percentage of the population. A lot of middle class professional types leave for more money and better working conditions. Given the choice of working for an American company or a foreign one in my industry the offshore job would win 100% of the time. America has changed in the last 35 years. Nobody should be surprised that some people are not in agreement with the direction of that change. So our choices are to stay and make ourselves and a lot of other people miserable because we don’t feel any sense of belonging in what was our country or we pack up and go somewhere that we can be accepted and treated with courtesy and respect. Courtesy and respect for a middle class white boy in America is a thing of the past. Accept and move on. Or just move! It’s a lot easier being a minority in someone else’s country, I assure you.