Thanks Allison for your thoughtful commentary! I think the sad truth is if your not in some kind of sales (as a profession or something that has no income ceiling) and are merely pushing a broom for min wage, you simply get left behind because who can survive on a .15 raise after working 1000 hours. Ronald Reagan said “...the ever terrifying rise in the cost of living...” Can .15 cents an hour raise keep up with that? The balance of money is ever more so concentrated to fewer and fewer people who are controlling the wealth; they are deciding your wage because they have an unlimited amount of “new hires” to chose from.
I really like what you say about stockholders money is already taxed before it went in, but if someone chooses to risk it and makes money, why should the tax rate be less than if someone worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make 100K (which is insane BTW!) What if I wanted to open a Dairy Queen? Would my tax rate be the same if I had invested in Stocks? If I lose money in stocks, I potentially can write it off as a loss if I time it right? If I lose my
broom pushing job because the new CEO decided I was too expensive after I was there for too many years- How do I get that income back? You think the next place is going to give me “years of service” credit and start me at the same wage? What if I did nothing wrong and was simply on the wrong side of the spreadsheet? What if I was an honest, hard working Contractor who got politically ousted out of the job? Sigh**I made 10K on Disney last year- I don’t see why my tax rate should be less than someone who is pushing a broom or being a Nurse. Certainly when they lose their job, there is no recovery for them. If I lose out to Disney stock, well- I chose to risk that...the CEO who fired the employee for no other reason than “they were too expensive” had their financial life destroyed no matter how great the employee was.
Alison, your right- the underlying change of sentiment in our politics could be our undoing unless we find a realistic balance. I always remember what Napoleon Hill said about wages “...bargained with life for a penny...” Would Friedman resonate to that?
Thanks Allison for your thoughtful commentary! I think the sad truth is if your not in some kind of sales (as a profession or something that has no income ceiling) and are merely pushing a broom for min wage, you simply get left behind because who can survive on a .15 raise after working 1000 hours. Ronald Reagan said “...the ever terrifying rise in the cost of living...” Can .15 cents an hour raise keep up with that? The balance of money is ever more so concentrated to fewer and fewer people who are controlling the wealth; they are deciding your wage because they have an unlimited amount of “new hires” to chose from.
I really like what you say about stockholders money is already taxed before it went in, but if someone chooses to risk it and makes money, why should the tax rate be less than if someone worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make 100K (which is insane BTW!) What if I wanted to open a Dairy Queen? Would my tax rate be the same if I had invested in Stocks? If I lose money in stocks, I potentially can write it off as a loss if I time it right? If I lose my
broom pushing job because the new CEO decided I was too expensive after I was there for too many years- How do I get that income back? You think the next place is going to give me “years of service” credit and start me at the same wage? What if I did nothing wrong and was simply on the wrong side of the spreadsheet? What if I was an honest, hard working Contractor who got politically ousted out of the job? Sigh**I made 10K on Disney last year- I don’t see why my tax rate should be less than someone who is pushing a broom or being a Nurse. Certainly when they lose their job, there is no recovery for them. If I lose out to Disney stock, well- I chose to risk that...the CEO who fired the employee for no other reason than “they were too expensive” had their financial life destroyed no matter how great the employee was.
Alison, your right- the underlying change of sentiment in our politics could be our undoing unless we find a realistic balance. I always remember what Napoleon Hill said about wages “...bargained with life for a penny...” Would Friedman resonate to that?
Stay Safe!
Well put! Our high schools should be teaching the basics you point out, including the concept/law of unintended consequences.