I Just Don't Get It

[Latina4BBC]

I just watched an episode on the Smithsonian channel, "The 1950's." I have to say I'm appalled at the way blacks (sorry I'm not a politically correct person I'm white) were treated. I'm in my 50's born in Detroit but lived in the suburbs. I remember a little about the riots in 1968 but my parents were not racist and didn't really make a big deal about it to us *******. My mom always preached "be kind, say thank you, be respectful to those who deserve it, and not to judge other people especially if you don't know them." What the fuck were people so afraid of back then and even today? We all have the same basic needs. I don't care where you come from, the color of your skin, or your beliefs I do believe we have come a long way. Unfortunately, the media will do whatever it can to make us believe that we hate each other. They prey on the uneducated, influenced, brainwashed, or people who are to ignorant to see the equal value the majority of us possess. Get a clue people we are not at all humanly different. To dumb it down every female race has a vagina and every male race has a penis. The bottom line is no matter where you come from race can never take away the fact we are all human beings. Lets treat ourselves as such!!!

 

[Alanm]

I just watched an episode on the Smithsonian channel, "The 1950's." I have to say I'm appalled at the way blacks (sorry I'm not a politically correct person I'm white) were treated. I'm in my 50's born in Detroit but lived in the suburbs. I remember a little about the riots in 1968 but my parents were not racist and didn't really make a big deal about it to us *******. My mom always preached "be kind, say thank you, be respectful to those who deserve it, and not to judge other people especially if you don't know them." What the fuck were people so afraid of back then and even today? We all have the same basic needs. I don't care where you come from, the color of your skin, or your beliefs I do believe we have come a long way. Unfortunately, the media will do whatever it can to make us believe that we hate each other. They prey on the uneducated, influenced, brainwashed, or people who are to ignorant to see the equal value the majority of us possess. Get a clue people we are not at all humanly different. To dumb it down every female race has a vagina and every male race has a penis. The bottom line is no matter where you come from race can never take away the fact we are all human beings. Lets treat ourselves as such!!!

I judge people by their charachter not by their skin color. If your a piece of ******* you are doesnt matter what color your skin is. Just like i dont believe in affirmative action. If your hiring 1 person and 10 apply and 9 happen to be black and 1 is white if the white person is the best candidate thats who you hire. Everyone should be treated equal....no special treatment for anyone.

 

[MacNfries]

Just like i dont believe in affirmative action

.....Affirmative action is the white man's guilty response for the biased white "pieces of *******" who hold positions of power and are convinced that blacks simply are not responsible individuals worth hiring.
....Sort of reminds me of Republicans attitudes toward poor people.

 

[Alanm]

.....Affirmative action is the white man's guilty response for the biased white "pieces of *******" who hold positions of power and are convinced that blacks simply are not responsible individuals worth hiring.
....Sort of reminds me of Republicans attitudes toward poor people.
View attachment 1552095

Well i dont really consider myself a republican but what would my attitude towards poor people be?

 

[MacNfries]

what would my attitude towards poor people be?

.....I don't know, Alanm, you tell me!
.....There are lots of reasons why poor people are poor ... many reasons due to no fault of their own. What I do know, is many wealthy people are biased. You don't have to look any further than the current Republican House and their tax cut bill ... they take from the very poorest Americans to give their richest constituents their promised tax cuts, then look America square in the eyes and say this is a "Middle Class tax cut" bill. According to many reliable sources, anyone earning $10,00-$75,000 of annual income will see their taxes increase ... not what Trump and the Republicans ran on in 2016. And to add insult to injury, now they say "approve our ACA rider OR risk $300 billion of the middleclass tax cuts" ... note they didn't mention their wealthy friends. Republicans constantly refer to the 48%ers as the "takers" not the "makers". Hell, Republicans and their "trickle down" bs is responsibly for putting many of them there, and MORE are joining them every year as the top 1%ers continue demanding their "increase" in the piece of the pie. Yeah, some poor are lazy by relying on handouts, but most are prideful individuals and only wish to be treated fairly ... the current Republican House tax bill is definitely not fair to them.
.....I just did two group enrollments ... one a large grocery chain, and the other a multi-location Senior Living facility. Most of the people working at those locations (close to 80%) earn between $14,000-$28,000 a year. It was disgusting seeing the spread between those and the upper 5-6% who were earning $100+ thousand. So, affirmative action, Alanm, is Washington's way of keeping the poor minorities quiet ... toss 'em a bone every now and then and then say "here's your free lunch".

 

[Alanm]

.....I don't know, Alanm, you tell me!
.....There are lots of reasons why poor people are poor ... many reasons due to no fault of their own. What I do know, is many wealthy people are biased. You don't have to look any further than the current Republican House and their tax cut bill ... they take from the very poorest Americans to give their richest constituents their promised tax cuts, then look America square in the eyes and say this is a "Middle Class tax cut" bill. According to many reliable sources, anyone earning $10,00-$75,000 of annual income will see their taxes increase ... not what Trump and the Republicans ran on in 2016. And to add insult to injury, now they say "approve our ACA rider OR risk $300 billion of the middleclass tax cuts" ... note they didn't mention their wealthy friends. Republicans constantly refer to the 48%ers as the "takers" not the "makers". Hell, Republicans and their "trickle down" bs is responsibly for putting many of them there, and MORE are joining them every year as the top 1%ers continue demanding their "increase" in the piece of the pie. Yeah, some poor are lazy by relying on handouts, but most are prideful individuals and only wish to be treated fairly ... the current Republican House tax bill is definitely not fair to them.
.....I just did two group enrollments ... one a large grocery chain, and the other a multi-location Senior Living facility. Most of the people working at those locations (close to 80%) earn between $14,000-$28,000 a year. It was disgusting seeing the spread between those and the upper 5-6% who were earning $100+ thousand. So, affirmative action, Alanm, is Washington's way of keeping the poor minorities quiet ... toss 'em a bone every now and then and then say "here's your free lunch".
View attachment 1552219

My whole problem with your statement is the poor wish to be treated fairly. Your definition of fair is they pay little to no tax and the rich pay huge percentages. Am i right.

My idea of fair is a flat tax, 20 percent or whatever the number would be. Fair is fair, doesnt matter if you make 20k or 200k 20 percent is 20 percent.

 

[MacNfries]

Your definition of fair is they pay little to no tax and the rich pay huge percentages. Am i right.

....Yes, you are wrong. Most the taxes paid in our tax system are regressive taxes that impact the poor much differently than the rich. Those setting up the tax regulations know this, just as they know that the current type of income tax system we have is necessary to basically offset those regressive taxes on the poor. The poor are basically at the mercy of the legislating influence of the wealthiest. You get the "big money" influence out of politics and maybe a fairer tax system can be considered.
....Republicans, and those supporting their old "supply-side" trickle down, no longer really argue that cutting taxes for the wealthy will trickle down for a better life for the poorest ... its simply not the case. Of course Reagan and his minions knew that to begin with but it was the only way to get the popular votes ... promise something they knew would NOT happen. So, now, the argument is that a flat tax is the solution, when in fact, it actually shifts even more of the country's revenue needs on the backs of the middle/poor classes. Show me a country where a a flat tax system has actually worked for the poor? The Republican tax system philosophy has been proven wrong for almost 40 years, why should Americans suddenly trust that they have the solution NOW? How's this help the poor? Why should we expect this type of tax system to work for the larger half of America? There's that old saying ... "fool me once, shame on you ... fool me twice, shame on me". How about "fool me a hundred times, shame on all of us". You might wish to read up on the "flat tax" as to how it will impact folks like you and me ... in escense, you and I will pick up even a bigger share of the tax revenues in the tax shift.
.....Theoretically, it seems only fair that tax rates be the same for everyone; maybe you'd just like our capitalism to return to the old barter system way of doing business.

 

[BigBlackBull76]

I just watched an episode on the Smithsonian channel, "The 1950's." I have to say I'm appalled at the way blacks (sorry I'm not a politically correct person I'm white) were treated. I'm in my 50's born in Detroit but lived in the suburbs. I remember a little about the riots in 1968 but my parents were not racist and didn't really make a big deal about it to us *******. My mom always preached "be kind, say thank you, be respectful to those who deserve it, and not to judge other people especially if you don't know them." What the fuck were people so afraid of back then and even today? We all have the same basic needs. I don't care where you come from, the color of your skin, or your beliefs I do believe we have come a long way. Unfortunately, the media will do whatever it can to make us believe that we hate each other. They prey on the uneducated, influenced, brainwashed, or people who are to ignorant to see the equal value the majority of us possess. Get a clue people we are not at all humanly different. To dumb it down every female race has a vagina and every male race has a penis. The bottom line is no matter where you come from race can never take away the fact we are all human beings. Lets treat ourselves as such!!!

@Latina4BBC - You should watch the movie Selma my dear as many people did finally begin to take action (both white & black) but it still wasn't enough. Talking about the 1950s, 1960s things look like they've changed on the surface in America socially but beneath the surface beyond integration of social institutions (i.e. schools, restaurants, businesses, neighborhoods to a certain extent) things haven't really changed much beyond that. And also take into consideration the statement that Dr. MLK Jr. made regards Social Equal Rights and Economic Equal Rights which is unfortunately still a major issue today but not only affecting just Black people but for many Americans. Income inequality is huge:

Here is my favorite quote of his (I couldn't find a meme for it):
"...moving to a new phase where we are seeking genuine equality, its much easier to integrate a lunch counter than to gurantee an equal income... (where a man can afford to pay for a sandwich at that same lunch counter)."

Another good MLK Jr. Quote: "... it was estimated we spend over $322,000 for each enemy we ******* in vietnam while we spend on the so-called 'War on poverty' in America we spend only $53 on each person classified as poor."

​

The Top 20 Wealth Holders


The wealthiest 20 individuals in the United States today hold more wealth than the bottom half of the U.S. population combined. These 20 super wealthy — a group small enough to fly together on one Gulfstream G650 private jet — have as much wealth as the 152 million people who live in the 57 million households that make up the bottom half of the U.S. population.

This private jet metaphor could hardly be more appropriate. The 2015 Forbes 400 special issue features eight advertisements for private luxury jets, some running several pages long, as well as a special private jet promotional supplement entitled “The Mobility Advantage.” Very few on the Forbes 400, we can safely assume, fly on commercial flights.


The 20 wealthiest Americans include eight founders of corporations: Bill Gates (Microsoft), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg), and Phil Knight (Nike). The list also features nine heirs from families of dynastic wealth: two Koch brothers, four Waltons (Wal-Mart), and three fortunate souls from the Mars candy empire. Rounding out this top 20: investors Warren Buffett and George Soros and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.


Forbes Top 20

The Racial Asset Divide

The United States has a persistent racial wealth divide, the result of a multi-generational legacy of discrimination in asset building that began during slavery and has continued right up to present-day discrimination in mortgage lending.


As of October 2015, the homeownership rate for white Americans stands at 71.9 percent. By contrast, only 42.4 percent of African-Americans own their own homes and only 46.1 percent of Latinos. Ownership of corporate stocks, a valuable store and generator of wealth over time, appears even more skewed, with 55 percent of white households owning at least some stocks, but only 28 percent of African-Americans and 17 percent of Latinos.


In the aftermath of the 2008 economic meltdown, wealth owned by Latino and African-American families declined dramatically as home values collapsed, especially in urban areas. The wealth of America’s richest 1 percent also dropped in the immediate aftermath of the meltdown, but then rebounded quickly in subsequent years, as the stock market recovered. This resurgent market would prove of little help to the majority of African-American and Latino families, households that own no stocks at all.


The billionaires who make up the Forbes 400 list now have as much wealth as all of America’s African-American households, plus one-third of America’s Latino population, combined.


In other words, just 400 extremely wealthy individuals — the number of people who could fit into the swanky 21 Club Restaurant in midtown Manhattan — have as much wealth as 16 million African-American households and 5 million Latino households. An even more striking stat: The wealthiest 100 members of the Forbes list alone own about as much wealth as the entire African American population of 42 million people.

The wealthiest 186 members of the Forbes 400, meanwhile, own as much wealth as the entire Latino population, over 55 million people.


African-Americans overall make up 13.2 percent of the U.S. population, but have only 2.5 percent of the nation’s total wealth. Latinos make up 17 percent of the U.S. population and hold 2.9 percent of total private wealth. (See Table 3)


What about the divide in median wealth? Typical white households in the United States now hold $141,900 in net worth. The African-American household median: $11,000. The Latino: $13,700.


Racial Wealth and Population

Only two African-Americans, Oprah Winfrey (#211 with $3 billion) and tech investor Robert Smith (#268 with $2.5 billion), currently reside within the Forbes 400. The only other African-American billionaire in the United States, Michael Jordan, did not make the $1.7 billion Forbes 400 cut. Jordan’s net worth: $1.3 billion.


Five members of the Forbes 400 come from Latino backgrounds. They include Jorge Perez, the condo king of Miami (#171 with $3.5 billion) and Arturo Moreno, a billboard billionaire and owner of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team (#375 with $1.8 billion). The three remaining Latinos all hail from one family, the U.S. children of the late Colombian beer magnate Julio Mario Santo Domingo, a major shareholder of SABMiller. Alejandro and Andres Santo Domingo sit at #149 on the list with $3.8 billion each, with Julio III at #358 with $1.9 billion.


Why Inequality Matters

According to research across several academic disciplines, extreme inequalities of income, wealth and opportunity undermine democracy, social cohesion, economic stability, social mobility, and many other important aspects of our personal and public lives.


Extreme inequality corrodes our democratic system and public trust. It leads to a breakdown in civic cohesion and social solidarity, which in turn leads to worsened health outcomes. Inequality undercuts social mobility—and has disastrous effects on the economy.


Too much inequality disenfranchises us, diminishing our vote at the ballot box and our voice in the public square. Wealthy donors dominate our campaign finance and lawmaking systems, even after efforts at reform. In the first phase of the 2016 Presidential election cycle, 158 wealthy donors provided half of all campaign contributions.


High inequality makes us sick and undermines public health. Unequal communities have greater rates of heart disease, asthma, mental illness, cancer, and other morbid illnesses. It is well known that poverty contributes to bad health outcomes. But research is showing that you are better off living in a community with a lower standard of living, but greater equality—than living in a community with a higher income, but more extreme inequalities.


Why is this so? According to UK health researcher Richard Wilkinson, communities with less inequality have stronger “social cohesion,” more cultural limits on unrestrained individualism, and greater networks of mutual aid and caring. “The individualism and values of the market are restrained by a social morality,” Wilkinson writes. The existence of more social capital “lubricates the workings of the whole society and economy. There are fewer signs of antisocial aggressiveness, and society appears more caring.”


Extreme inequalities of wealth rip our communities apart with social divisions and distrust, leading to an erosion of social cohesion and solidarity. The wealthy and everyone else today don’t just live on opposite sides of the tracks—they occupy parallel universes. New research shows that we’re becoming more polarized by class and race in terms of where we live. As this distance widens, it is harder for people to feel like they are in the same boat.


Extreme inequality undermines the cherished value of equality of opportunity and social mobility. Intergenerational mobility is the possibility of shifting up or down the income ladder relative to one’s parent’s status. In a mobile society, one’s economic circumstances are not defined or limited by one’s family economic origins.


Today, Canada and those European nations—with their social safety nets and progressive tax policies—are now more socially mobile than U.S. society. Research across the industrialized OECD countries has found that Canada, Australia and Nordic countries—Denmark, Sweden, and Finland—are among the most mobile countries. There is a strong correlation between social mobility and policies that redistribute income and wealth through taxation. The United States is now among the least mobile of industrialized countries in terms of earnings.


Too much inequality contributes to economic instability. Research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the National Bureau of Economic Research point to the fact that more equal societies have stronger rates of growth, longer economic expansions, and are quicker to recover from economic downturns. According to Jonathan Ostry, an economist at the IMF, unequal income trends in the U.S. mean that future economic expansions will be just one-third as long as the 1960s, prior to the widening of the income divide. Less equal societies are more vulnerable to both financial crises and political instability.


Reversing Extreme Wealth Concentration

What can we do to reverse these extreme inequalities of wealth? In this section, we provide an overview of the public policies often proposed to address inequality. We argue that strategies to “raise the floor” and “level the playing field” will be insufficient to reduce the distorting effects of concentrated wealth.


We need public policies that directly address the top-heavy distribution of wealth. Unfortunately, the very wealthy are using offshore tax havens and private trusts to hide wealth and avoid public accountability and taxation. So before we implement our policy agenda, detailed below, we must first address the wealth escape routes.


Aggressive Avoidance at the Top: The Wealth Escape Problem


Calculations by the compilers of the annual Forbes list may understate the net worth of many of those extremely wealthy individuals listed. The Forbes calculations, for example, do not take into account the growing amount of U.S. and global wealth hidden in offshore bank accounts and secrecy jurisdictions. Nor do the Forbes data include the trillions in wealth buried in complicated and opaque trust mechanisms.

ref: http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/

 

[BigBlackBull76]

I judge people by their character not by their skin color. If your a piece of ******* you are doesnt matter what color your skin is. Just like i dont believe in affirmative action. If your hiring 1 person and 10 apply and 9 happen to be black and 1 is white if the white person is the best candidate thats who you hire. Everyone should be treated equal....no special treatment for anyone.

lol - well @Alanm where @Latina4BBC appears to make the statement she doesn't "..get it "why there was so much racism and inequality in this country that people stood by and didn't do nothing about until Blacks rose up for themselves to do something about it (and only 50yrs ago mind you) you make the counter statement you don't "get it" why 'Affirmative Action' was actually necessary much less even important today. Bottom-line you might think that all people in America have and experience equal access and opportunity in all levels of society in America regardless to their skin color. But even when a Black person or some-one other than a white male does have the experience and merit the job they are often passed over for a friend of the hiring manager's cousin, nephew, or ******* getting an offer for the job where they didn't merit it.

There are so many stories I can tell you of Black men and women working hard just to get passed over by someone else who happened to be white with connections coming in and taking a job the person who happens to be black should be promoted for. I just ran into a Black guy at a bank the other day who told me of such a story where he did everything by the book and had top sales at Wells Fargo yet most of the white males who partook in the illegal sales business (creating phony accounts or making sales without clients knowledge) were rewarded and he was passed over. Remind you there is a class action law suit against Wells Fargo for that practice right now.

I ask that you educate yourself about the facts of the law instead of drawing your own conclusions on its adequacy and it doesnt work the way you described about 10 people applying where 9 are black and 1 white. No its just the opposite as white american's out-number blacks 9 to 1 so the opposite is happening in job screenings where the one person who happens to be black won't get the job offer even though he is qualified. See how twisted your facts are.

Here is a good video where a knowledgeable man who happens to be white provides a crash-course on the facts and history on the Afirmative Action law without being opinionated:

​

Something else to consider on Economic inequality and is still the case for black Farmers as well:

​

Do we have to be reminded that Americans of White Anglo Saxon heritage in which their off-spring enjoy affirmatively without any action on their part 400 years of affirmative economic action on the backs of Asians (who helped build the west), and the gracious soul of Black folks who helped America win Independence, industrialize off of 400yrs of free labor, and defend the country and freedoms everywhere around the world. Well based off your comments it appears we do need to remind some who just don't "...get it" still.

​

 

[Alanm]

lol - well @Alanm where @Latina4BBC appears to make the statement she doesn't "..get it "why there was so much racism and inequality in this country that people stood by and didn't do nothing about until Blacks rose up for themselves to do something about it (and only 50yrs ago mind you) you make the counter statement you don't "get it" why 'Affirmative Action' was actually necessary much less even important today. Bottom-line you might think that all people in America have and experience equal access and opportunity in all levels of society in America regardless to their skin color. But even when a Black person or some-one other than a white male does have the experience and merit the job they are often passed over for a friend of the hiring manager's cousin, nephew, or ******* getting an offer for the job where they didn't merit it.

There are so many stories I can tell you of Black men and women working hard just to get passed over by someone else who happened to be white with connections coming in and taking a job the person who happens to be black should be promoted for. I just ran into a Black guy at a bank the other day who told me of such a story where he did everything by the book and had top sales at Wells Fargo yet most of the white males who partook in the illegal sales business (creating phony accounts or making sales without clients knowledge) were rewarded and he was passed over. Remind you there is a class action law suit against Wells Fargo for that practice right now.

I ask that you educate yourself about the facts of the law instead of drawing your own conclusions on its adequacy and it doesnt work the way you described about 10 people applying where 9 are black and 1 white. No its just the opposite as white american's out-number blacks 9 to 1 so the opposite is happening in job screenings where the one person who happens to be black won't get the job offer even though he is qualified. See how twisted your facts are.

Here is a good video where a knowledgeable man who happens to be white provides a crash-course on the facts and history on the Afirmative Action law without being opinionated:

​

Something else to consider on Economic inequality and is still the case for black Farmers as well:

​

Do we have to be reminded that Americans of White Anglo Saxon heritage in which their off-spring enjoy affirmatively without any action on their part 400 years of affirmative economic action on the backs of Asians (who helped build the west), and the gracious soul of Black folks who helped America win Independence, industrialize off of 400yrs of free labor, and defend the country and freedoms everywhere around the world. Well based off your comments it appears we do need to remind some who just don't "...get it" still.

View attachment 1553911 ​

I never said racial ineqaulity doesnt happen....i said i dont judge people that way. And your comment about experienced black people being passed over for lesser qualified whites with connections. Well it goes the other way as well because i have seen it happen personally. My point was if i was in the position if hiring or creating jobs. I want the best candidate white or black or huspanic or asian....whatever. If your black and dont get hired over a white. Doesnt always mean your being discriminated against, maybe your just not as qualified.

 

[Alanm]

....Yes, you are wrong. Most the taxes paid in our tax system are regressive taxes that impact the poor much differently than the rich. Those setting up the tax regulations know this, just as they know that the current type of income tax system we have is necessary to basically offset those regressive taxes on the poor. The poor are basically at the mercy of the legislating influence of the wealthiest. You get the "big money" influence out of politics and maybe a fairer tax system can be considered.
....Republicans, and those supporting their old "supply-side" trickle down, no longer really argue that cutting taxes for the wealthy will trickle down for a better life for the poorest ... its simply not the case. Of course Reagan and his minions knew that to begin with but it was the only way to get the popular votes ... promise something they knew would NOT happen. So, now, the argument is that a flat tax is the solution, when in fact, it actually shifts even more of the country's revenue needs on the backs of the middle/poor classes. Show me a country where a a flat tax system has actually worked for the poor? The Republican tax system philosophy has been proven wrong for almost 40 years, why should Americans suddenly trust that they have the solution NOW? How's this help the poor? Why should we expect this type of tax system to work for the larger half of America? There's that old saying ... "fool me once, shame on you ... fool me twice, shame on me". How about "fool me a hundred times, shame on all of us". You might wish to read up on the "flat tax" as to how it will impact folks like you and me ... in escense, you and I will pick up even a bigger share of the tax revenues in the tax shift.
.....Theoretically, it seems only fair that tax rates be the same for everyone; maybe you'd just like our capitalism to return to the old barter system way of doing business.

Not saying our current tax system is right and not saying washington doesnt need to fix it. I am saying if you want fair a flat tax done properly is fair. Just because someone makes millions and another doesnt it doesnt mean you punish the rich guy by making him pay more and the other less. Yes the tax codes are fucked up but that wasnt my point.

 

[MacNfries]

Just because someone makes millions and another doesnt it doesnt mean you punish the rich guy by making him pay more and the other less.

....But it most certainly DOES, alanm ... afterall, he/she is using his/her MONEY to influence favorable tax legislation. So, are you saying, IF the poor people take their "hundreds of dollars" to Washington to influence tax legislation that the congressmen should give THEM the same consideration as the people who give the congressmen "MILLIONS of dollars" to influence tax legislation? And do you think the Congressmen would do it? Can you look anyone in the EYES with a straight face and say YES? It doesn't make ANY difference what tax system our country uses, the rich will influence favorable legislation to give themselves the advantage over other taxpayers.
....Let me use a example with the Koch Brothers in Texas. Several years ago they wanted to establish a toxic dump near the main aquifer in Texas. The congress granted the Koch Bros a level two toxic dump. When the republicans took the House, a year or so later, the Koch Bros put in a request to be allow to use the dump for level three toxic waste; suddenly it was granted. No doubt MONEY influenced the approval to allow the Kochs to dump level three toxic waste in a dump specifically designed for level two toxic waste. This on TOP of the main mid-western aquifer so the Kochs could contract for more hazardous waste to be dumped at an enormous fee making them even richer at the expense of those relying on the aquifer to generate water in the mid-west.
....Its really sad ... you conservatives JUST DON'T GET IT! Or, maybe you do and you wish to pull another "fool me once" lie on the poor & middleclass. Now Paul Ryan & Mitch McConnell are NOT denying that the new tax cut plan favors the rich or will actually result in increased taxes on those incomes between $10,000-$$80,000; yet Trump and Republicans say THIS is a middleclass income tax cut. WHEN are you going to stop falling for their LIES?

 

[Latina4BBC]

@Latina4BBC - You should watch the movie Selma my dear as many people did finally begin to take action (both white & black) but it still wasn't enough. Talking about the 1950s, 1960s things look like they've changed on the surface in America socially but beneath the surface beyond integration of social institutions (i.e. schools, restaurants, businesses, neighborhoods to a certain extent) things haven't really changed much beyond that. And also take into consideration the statement that Dr. MLK Jr. made regards Social Equal Rights and Economic Equal Rights which is unfortunately still a major issue today but not only affecting just Black people but for many Americans. Income inequality is huge:

View attachment 1553871
View attachment 1553872
View attachment 1553877
Here is my favorite quote of his (I couldn't find a meme for it):
"...moving to a new phase where we are seeking genuine equality, its much easier to integrate a lunch counter than to gurantee an equal income... (where a man can afford to pay for a sandwich at that same lunch counter)."

Another good MLK Jr. Quote: "... it was estimated we spend over $322,000 for each enemy we ******* in vietnam while we spend on the so-called 'War on poverty' in America we spend only $53 on each person classified as poor."

View attachment 1553860
View attachment 1553859
​

The Top 20 Wealth Holders


The wealthiest 20 individuals in the United States today hold more wealth than the bottom half of the U.S. population combined. These 20 super wealthy — a group small enough to fly together on one Gulfstream G650 private jet — have as much wealth as the 152 million people who live in the 57 million households that make up the bottom half of the U.S. population.

This private jet metaphor could hardly be more appropriate. The 2015 Forbes 400 special issue features eight advertisements for private luxury jets, some running several pages long, as well as a special private jet promotional supplement entitled “The Mobility Advantage.” Very few on the Forbes 400, we can safely assume, fly on commercial flights.


The 20 wealthiest Americans include eight founders of corporations: Bill Gates (Microsoft), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg), and Phil Knight (Nike). The list also features nine heirs from families of dynastic wealth: two Koch brothers, four Waltons (Wal-Mart), and three fortunate souls from the Mars candy empire. Rounding out this top 20: investors Warren Buffett and George Soros and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.


Forbes Top 20

The Racial Asset Divide

The United States has a persistent racial wealth divide, the result of a multi-generational legacy of discrimination in asset building that began during slavery and has continued right up to present-day discrimination in mortgage lending.


As of October 2015, the homeownership rate for white Americans stands at 71.9 percent. By contrast, only 42.4 percent of African-Americans own their own homes and only 46.1 percent of Latinos. Ownership of corporate stocks, a valuable store and generator of wealth over time, appears even more skewed, with 55 percent of white households owning at least some stocks, but only 28 percent of African-Americans and 17 percent of Latinos.


In the aftermath of the 2008 economic meltdown, wealth owned by Latino and African-American families declined dramatically as home values collapsed, especially in urban areas. The wealth of America’s richest 1 percent also dropped in the immediate aftermath of the meltdown, but then rebounded quickly in subsequent years, as the stock market recovered. This resurgent market would prove of little help to the majority of African-American and Latino families, households that own no stocks at all.


The billionaires who make up the Forbes 400 list now have as much wealth as all of America’s African-American households, plus one-third of America’s Latino population, combined.


In other words, just 400 extremely wealthy individuals — the number of people who could fit into the swanky 21 Club Restaurant in midtown Manhattan — have as much wealth as 16 million African-American households and 5 million Latino households. An even more striking stat: The wealthiest 100 members of the Forbes list alone own about as much wealth as the entire African American population of 42 million people.

The wealthiest 186 members of the Forbes 400, meanwhile, own as much wealth as the entire Latino population, over 55 million people.


African-Americans overall make up 13.2 percent of the U.S. population, but have only 2.5 percent of the nation’s total wealth. Latinos make up 17 percent of the U.S. population and hold 2.9 percent of total private wealth. (See Table 3)


What about the divide in median wealth? Typical white households in the United States now hold $141,900 in net worth. The African-American household median: $11,000. The Latino: $13,700.


Racial Wealth and Population

Only two African-Americans, Oprah Winfrey (#211 with $3 billion) and tech investor Robert Smith (#268 with $2.5 billion), currently reside within the Forbes 400. The only other African-American billionaire in the United States, Michael Jordan, did not make the $1.7 billion Forbes 400 cut. Jordan’s net worth: $1.3 billion.


Five members of the Forbes 400 come from Latino backgrounds. They include Jorge Perez, the condo king of Miami (#171 with $3.5 billion) and Arturo Moreno, a billboard billionaire and owner of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team (#375 with $1.8 billion). The three remaining Latinos all hail from one family, the U.S. children of the late Colombian beer magnate Julio Mario Santo Domingo, a major shareholder of SABMiller. Alejandro and Andres Santo Domingo sit at #149 on the list with $3.8 billion each, with Julio III at #358 with $1.9 billion.


Why Inequality Matters

According to research across several academic disciplines, extreme inequalities of income, wealth and opportunity undermine democracy, social cohesion, economic stability, social mobility, and many other important aspects of our personal and public lives.


Extreme inequality corrodes our democratic system and public trust. It leads to a breakdown in civic cohesion and social solidarity, which in turn leads to worsened health outcomes. Inequality undercuts social mobility—and has disastrous effects on the economy.


Too much inequality disenfranchises us, diminishing our vote at the ballot box and our voice in the public square. Wealthy donors dominate our campaign finance and lawmaking systems, even after efforts at reform. In the first phase of the 2016 Presidential election cycle, 158 wealthy donors provided half of all campaign contributions.


High inequality makes us sick and undermines public health. Unequal communities have greater rates of heart disease, asthma, mental illness, cancer, and other morbid illnesses. It is well known that poverty contributes to bad health outcomes. But research is showing that you are better off living in a community with a lower standard of living, but greater equality—than living in a community with a higher income, but more extreme inequalities.


Why is this so? According to UK health researcher Richard Wilkinson, communities with less inequality have stronger “social cohesion,” more cultural limits on unrestrained individualism, and greater networks of mutual aid and caring. “The individualism and values of the market are restrained by a social morality,” Wilkinson writes. The existence of more social capital “lubricates the workings of the whole society and economy. There are fewer signs of antisocial aggressiveness, and society appears more caring.”


Extreme inequalities of wealth rip our communities apart with social divisions and distrust, leading to an erosion of social cohesion and solidarity. The wealthy and everyone else today don’t just live on opposite sides of the tracks—they occupy parallel universes. New research shows that we’re becoming more polarized by class and race in terms of where we live. As this distance widens, it is harder for people to feel like they are in the same boat.


Extreme inequality undermines the cherished value of equality of opportunity and social mobility. Intergenerational mobility is the possibility of shifting up or down the income ladder relative to one’s parent’s status. In a mobile society, one’s economic circumstances are not defined or limited by one’s family economic origins.


Today, Canada and those European nations—with their social safety nets and progressive tax policies—are now more socially mobile than U.S. society. Research across the industrialized OECD countries has found that Canada, Australia and Nordic countries—Denmark, Sweden, and Finland—are among the most mobile countries. There is a strong correlation between social mobility and policies that redistribute income and wealth through taxation. The United States is now among the least mobile of industrialized countries in terms of earnings.


Too much inequality contributes to economic instability. Research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the National Bureau of Economic Research point to the fact that more equal societies have stronger rates of growth, longer economic expansions, and are quicker to recover from economic downturns. According to Jonathan Ostry, an economist at the IMF, unequal income trends in the U.S. mean that future economic expansions will be just one-third as long as the 1960s, prior to the widening of the income divide. Less equal societies are more vulnerable to both financial crises and political instability.


Reversing Extreme Wealth Concentration

What can we do to reverse these extreme inequalities of wealth? In this section, we provide an overview of the public policies often proposed to address inequality. We argue that strategies to “raise the floor” and “level the playing field” will be insufficient to reduce the distorting effects of concentrated wealth.


We need public policies that directly address the top-heavy distribution of wealth. Unfortunately, the very wealthy are using offshore tax havens and private trusts to hide wealth and avoid public accountability and taxation. So before we implement our policy agenda, detailed below, we must first address the wealth escape routes.


Aggressive Avoidance at the Top: The Wealth Escape Problem


Calculations by the compilers of the annual Forbes list may understate the net worth of many of those extremely wealthy individuals listed. The Forbes calculations, for example, do not take into account the growing amount of U.S. and global wealth hidden in offshore bank accounts and secrecy jurisdictions. Nor do the Forbes data include the trillions in wealth buried in complicated and opaque trust mechanisms.

ref: http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/

Wow! I appreciate all the info. But my not "getting it" has noting to do with jobs, affirmative action,

....But it most certainly DOES, alanm ... afterall, he/she is using his/her MONEY to influence favorable tax legislation. So, are you saying, IF the poor people take their "hundreds of dollars" to Washington to influence tax legislation that the congressmen should give THEM the same consideration as the people who give the congressmen "MILLIONS of dollars" to influence tax legislation? And do you think the Congressmen would do it? Can you look anyone in the EYES with a straight face and say YES? It doesn't make ANY difference what tax system our country uses, the rich will influence favorable legislation to give themselves the advantage over other taxpayers.
....Let me use a example with the Koch Brothers in Texas. Several years ago they wanted to establish a toxic dump near the main aquifer in Texas. The congress granted the Koch Bros a level two toxic dump. When the republicans took the House, a year or so later, the Koch Bros put in a request to be allow to use the dump for level three toxic waste; suddenly it was granted. No doubt MONEY influenced the approval to allow the Kochs to dump level three toxic waste in a dump specifically designed for level two toxic waste. This on TOP of the main mid-western aquifer so the Kochs could contract for more hazardous waste to be dumped at an enormous fee making them even richer at the expense of those relying on the aquifer to generate water in the mid-west.
....Its really sad ... you conservatives JUST DON'T GET IT! Or, maybe you do and you wish to pull another "fool me once" lie on the poor & middleclass. Now Paul Ryan & Mitch McConnell are NOT denying that the new tax cut plan favors the rich or will actually result in increased taxes on those incomes between $10,000-$$80,000; yet Trump and Republicans say THIS is a middleclass income tax cut. WHEN are you going to stop falling for their LIES?

lol - well @Alanm where @Latina4BBC appears to make the statement she doesn't "..get it "why there was so much racism and inequality in this country that people stood by and didn't do nothing about until Blacks rose up for themselves to do something about it (and only 50yrs ago mind you) you make the counter statement you don't "get it" why 'Affirmative Action' was actually necessary much less even important today. Bottom-line you might think that all people in America have and experience equal access and opportunity in all levels of society in America regardless to their skin color. But even when a Black person or some-one other than a white male does have the experience and merit the job they are often passed over for a friend of the hiring manager's cousin, nephew, or ******* getting an offer for the job where they didn't merit it.

There are so many stories I can tell you of Black men and women working hard just to get passed over by someone else who happened to be white with connections coming in and taking a job the person who happens to be black should be promoted for. I just ran into a Black guy at a bank the other day who told me of such a story where he did everything by the book and had top sales at Wells Fargo yet most of the white males who partook in the illegal sales business (creating phony accounts or making sales without clients knowledge) were rewarded and he was passed over. Remind you there is a class action law suit against Wells Fargo for that practice right now.

I ask that you educate yourself about the facts of the law instead of drawing your own conclusions on its adequacy and it doesnt work the way you described about 10 people applying where 9 are black and 1 white. No its just the opposite as white american's out-number blacks 9 to 1 so the opposite is happening in job screenings where the one person who happens to be black won't get the job offer even though he is qualified. See how twisted your facts are.

Here is a good video where a knowledgeable man who happens to be white provides a crash-course on the facts and history on the Afirmative Action law without being opinionated:

​

Something else to consider on Economic inequality and is still the case for black Farmers as well:

​

Do we have to be reminded that Americans of White Anglo Saxon heritage in which their off-spring enjoy affirmatively without any action on their part 400 years of affirmative economic action on the backs of Asians (who helped build the west), and the gracious soul of Black folks who helped America win Independence, industrialize off of 400yrs of free labor, and defend the country and freedoms everywhere around the world. Well based off your comments it appears we do need to remind some who just don't "...get it" still.

View attachment 1553911 ​

 

[Latina4BBC]

lol - well @Alanm where @Latina4BBC appears to make the statement she doesn't "..get it "why there was so much racism and inequality in this country that people stood by and didn't do nothing about until Blacks rose up for themselves to do something about it (and only 50yrs ago mind you) you make the counter statement you don't "get it" why 'Affirmative Action' was actually necessary much less even important today. Bottom-line you might think that all people in America have and experience equal access and opportunity in all levels of society in America regardless to their skin color. But even when a Black person or some-one other than a white male does have the experience and merit the job they are often passed over for a friend of the hiring manager's cousin, nephew, or ******* getting an offer for the job where they didn't merit it.

There are so many stories I can tell you of Black men and women working hard just to get passed over by someone else who happened to be white with connections coming in and taking a job the person who happens to be black should be promoted for. I just ran into a Black guy at a bank the other day who told me of such a story where he did everything by the book and had top sales at Wells Fargo yet most of the white males who partook in the illegal sales business (creating phony accounts or making sales without clients knowledge) were rewarded and he was passed over. Remind you there is a class action law suit against Wells Fargo for that practice right now.

I ask that you educate yourself about the facts of the law instead of drawing your own conclusions on its adequacy and it doesnt work the way you described about 10 people applying where 9 are black and 1 white. No its just the opposite as white american's out-number blacks 9 to 1 so the opposite is happening in job screenings where the one person who happens to be black won't get the job offer even though he is qualified. See how twisted your facts are.

Here is a good video where a knowledgeable man who happens to be white provides a crash-course on the facts and history on the Afirmative Action law without being opinionated:

​

Something else to consider on Economic inequality and is still the case for black Farmers as well:

​

Do we have to be reminded that Americans of White Anglo Saxon heritage in which their off-spring enjoy affirmatively without any action on their part 400 years of affirmative economic action on the backs of Asians (who helped build the west), and the gracious soul of Black folks who helped America win Independence, industrialize off of 400yrs of free labor, and defend the country and freedoms everywhere around the world. Well based off your comments it appears we do need to remind some who just don't "...get it" still.

WOW! Thanks for all the info. But my "not getting it" has nothing to do with affirmative action, jobs, how black folks helped this country or inequalities. It's much less sophisticated. I simply do not understand how people can look at another human being and automatically judge them because of the color of their skin or race. I wonder, what was the fear? Sites like these, jealous small dicked white guys fearful the " Big dicked black man" would take away their wives, jobs etc.. My original post had zero to do with politics and everything to do with not understanding who decided, how the message was conveyed, how/why people bought into the notion black people are an inferior race, deserved to be treated the way they were and to some extent the way they are today. BTW I appreciate the kisses but I have made it well known I am the husband. My wife doesn't like "wasting her time" on sites like this. I'm the one who pretty much takes care of setting up her fun time. I always share with her the more interesting exchanges. So I can tell you I have never shared anything with her from SubHub!