The American Dream Built on Debt, Living in Beverly Hills

Quote from Scataphagos:

No, I'm not. But I started poor, wanted to make something of myself financially... and have paid $MILLIONS in taxes. (At one time in my business life, I was a stock broker, cars salesman and life insurance salesman... all at the same time. How despicable was THAT? At least I wasn't a politician! I think of all of those endeavors as NASTY work... but I was part of a group who tried to bring better-priced financial services of all types to our customers.)

I know many people most would think of as "rich"... not super rich like criminal Wall-streeters or government thieves... just well-paid, professional types. And they/we pay TONS in taxes while receiving little in government benefits.
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That is what I said ... the upper middle class pay the taxes, not the rich.
 
Quote from jjf:

That is what I said ... the upper middle class pay the taxes, not the rich.
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There's more to the story...

If you're talking about "really rich"... many of those avoid paying taxes by investing in crappy things (incentivised by tax law) which blow up... they don't pay the taxes, but they don't ever get the benefit of the money either.

America will not be the America our past generations have known until each of us pays our fair share. That means some sort of flat tax and/or VAT. The graduated income tax SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF THE COUNTRY!!
 
Quote from Rickshaw Man:

Were all going to die, you may die today, I may die tomorrow. I have seen to many people in my life die suddenly. If you knew you were going to die next week would you continue to live like a miser?
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If you knew you were going to live another 60 years would you blow all your cash next week and get in so much debt it would take 20 years to pay it all off?
 
Quote from Scataphagos:

There's more to the story...

If you're talking about "really rich"... many of those avoid paying taxes by investing in crappy things (incentivised by tax law) which blow up... they don't pay the taxes, but they don't ever get the benefit of the money either.

America will not be the America our past generations have known until each of us pays our fair share. That means some sort of flat tax and/or VAT. The graduated income tax SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF THE COUNTRY!!
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you are young
 
Quote from Sam Mcgee:

I don't mean to be offensive, just to point something out. You imply that Americans are wasting too much money on expensive cars.....what about yourself? You're wasting 500 hours a year commuting. If you value your time at $25 an hour, that's $12,500 a year. More than buying a new $30,000 car every three years.

Why don't you move to a nice apartment nearer to your job? I think home ownership is way over rated if that's your current situation. You end up spending way too much money and time on taxes, utilities and maintenance for a house. You tie up hundreds of thousands of capital that could be earning a positive return.
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The $25/hr that you assume should be placed on his time is arbitrary. Employers don't value your time outside of work. Otherwise, they'd pay for your commute.

This forum is obviously popular with traders, and most don't see the value in home ownership or real estate investing in general, because it doesn't provide instant liquidity. Despite that, real estate is the better investment. You're far better off, IN THE LONG RUN, commuting to a home that you own rather than an apartment close to the city. The rent you'd be paying on the apartment keeps pace with inflation. It's tough to build wealth when your housing costs keep rising almost every year.

The key here is to pay cash for an older car and maintain it, or utilize Metra (if you're near Chicago) or some other regional rail.
 
Quote from wildfirepow:

The American Dream Built on Debt
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Now the whole USA is on Debts because of multi-trillion bail-outs to bankrupt giant companies. That's true American dream.
 
Quote from Scataphagos:

I'm a Vietnam War veteran. How young does that make me? Young enough that I don't know "come here" from "sick 'em"?
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so, it is you, Gnome! :)

you have done much better than most vets. were you drafted or did you volunteer?
 
Car culture in the USA has had a magnificent run, but is coming to a close. Autos have become too expensive in relation to other goods. One positive though is the longevity and durability of some brands in comparison to years past. This should help bring back frugality.
 
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