mntal
Active Member
I actually said I do "pretty damn well" or something to that effect. I have plenty to retire on already so you may draw your own conclusions.And now you have millions?
I actually said I do "pretty damn well" or something to that effect. I have plenty to retire on already so you may draw your own conclusions.And now you have millions?
And now you have millions?
you say it like it seems impossible?
$1.5M+ is $100/wk invested from 25->65yo in a tax deferred account (assuming 8% from stock market). (i'm not saying it is easy - it is not.)
but it is doable. now consider if a company made a match - say $20/wk - that is $1.8M
Then as income goes up, contribution goes up - it quickly goes over $2M and will approach $3M.
around 65 you pack it in and start collecting SS. conservatively $1,700/mo, and $3M throws off $13,000/mo in dividend.
you get all tax smart and have to manage that kind of income. maybe even deferring SS. Meanwhile the house is paid off,
and you downsize - lowering carrying costs - maybe move to a cheaper location.
the biggest problem is that in year 10 it will be around $80k, around year 20, you'll only have around $300,000 and won't see a way of getting from
there to $1.5 - but it will happen.
more retirement thread oriented, but it is the basic formula to get from here to retirement.
Not disagreeing here - just that’s a lot of questions and there are answers, maybe not all answers are great or ones you would agree with. I like to work in bite size chunks.I guess I'm just really confused by why there are so many people who are against taxing the people who have enough money to last many lifetimes. Why are we letting Walmart pay their employees so little, that they still need government assistance (we're subsidizing their workforce? Why?). And then we want to give them tax breaks on top of that? Why is there such an emphasis in this country to keep the money at the top, and keep the poor, ridiculously poor?
That.the employees don’t make enough so they need to be on government assistance programs?
For me, part of the problem is that minimum wage jobs are not necessarily supposed to be a career. I have been going to the Wegmans in Princeton for at least 15 years. Some of the same people have either stocked the shelves or worked the sub line for as long as I can remember. I have no issue with people doing that, but that is their end game?Not disagreeing here - just that’s a lot of questions and there are answers, maybe not all answers are great or ones you would agree with. I like to work in bite size chunks.
First - “why are we letting Walmart pay their employees so little, that they still need government assistance (we’re subsidizing their workforce? Why?).”
First question in response is - who determines who lets who do what? The government? The senate? Local government? Or should the market decide? If people don’t like the way Walmart employees are treated, they shouldn’t shop there. If people can’t afford to not shop there, that’s another issue. I choose not to myself. Anyway, who should be granted this power to tell everyone what Walmart (and every other business) what to pay everyone, and who will grant that power to whoever gets it? That’s a big question because that means what you’re paid should go under scrutiny too. Me as well. Everyone’s earnings will be dictated by this person/group/entity? Would you want that power to end up in Biden’s hands, or Trump’s hands? I prefer to let people and the market choose what they want to offer without the government telling them to. That said - minimum wage requirements absolutely are necessary because abuses happen. And the labor laws absolutely necessary because abuses happen. But if Walmart has certain task oriented jobs that don’t require decision making in anyway, what is the hourly rate that should be given? Is Walmart having a hard time filling those jobs or is there a demand for them?
For the subsidies, do you mean we are paying Walmart directly, or do you mean the employees don’t make enough so they need to be on government assistance programs?
Tax breaks later.
And that's kinda the point. The bulk of people that make it in America had help from someone who made it already. The few that are the exception are you. Think beyond working super hard, minimum wage jobs...you can use nepotism in this country and become the superintendent of public works to make $150k/yr but I guarantee no one from Clinton Street in Newark made it there.I neither had a helping hand, nor "old money" but that's nice that so many of you have.
I don't know how much interaction you have with the general public, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that, for some, that may very well be the height of their potential. And if you're busting your dick for 40 hours a week, I really don't care how much skill is required, you deserve a living wage.For me, part of the problem is that minimum wage jobs are not necessarily supposed to be a career. I have been going to the Wegmans in Princeton for at least 15 years. Some of the same people have either stocked the shelves or worked the sub line for as long as I can remember. I have no issue with people doing that, but that is their end game?
So now these people say they can’t live because the wages are too low. I guess this is no different then going to the box factory everyday.
That’s an issue, but how many Walmart employees are on government programs? What are their personal spending habits? that kind of info is important to have a discussion based in fact. I’m honestly curious to know. I imagine more than a few people. But it’s not impossible. In no way am I saying it’s easy and stress free.That.
Living wage is where the issue starts. I think all of this can/should be dealt with locally. Federal govt blanket approach just doesn’t work. Tax rate scales for income in Iowa just make no sense for NJ. One size fits all does not make sense. So I think a living wage in Iowa is a lot different than one in NJ. That’s market driven though, not government driven. What’s your thoughts on that? Should the market decide locally?I don't know how much interaction you have with the general public, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that, for some, that may very well be the height of their potential. And if you're busting your dick for 40 hours a week, I really don't care how much skill is required, you deserve a living wage.
And that's kinda the point. The bulk of people that make it in America had help from someone who made it already. The few that are the exception are you. Think beyond working super hard, minimum wage jobs...you can use nepotism in this country and become the superintendent of public works to make $150k/yr but I guarantee no one from Clinton Street in Newark made it there.
I know those people as well. My high school valedictorian went to a d1 school on a full scholarship. He was a very smart kid but 15 years later he ended up working for my mother at the United States golf Association as an administrative assistant. He was now 300+ pounds not the former basketball star that he wants was and instead he was a recovering drug addict.Long story short he got hooked on drugs while he was in college.Walmart - hires just about everyone. Many unemployable in other sectors. They find something that a worker can do at their skill level.
They also charge extremely low prices - razor thin margins. People shop there to save money. So they pay low skilled workers a low wage,
and charge low prices.
you can tax me all ya want and it still wont help people with IQs below 60 or significant challenges get higher paying jobs.
so our money goes to programs that bring our needy along as far as they can, and we have to fill in the rest with subsidies.
having unskilled jobs pay in-line with skilled jobs is not a way to provide incentives to grow.
I pay taxes to support the subsidies for people that work there so walmart doesn't have to raise prices. cause that screws the people that shop there exclusively,
or they are on the same government program - and it will need to increase its subsidy
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now there is plenty of room for improvement in providing opportunity - and support.
OTOH, "i'm from the government, and i'm here to help" doesn't go over really well - anywhere.
still can't give up - that doesn't make sense. perhaps that will be the one big thing that comes out of the current
realization of such injustice - more people that are aware/motivated to do something about it.
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I'll throw this one out there. I know plenty of people who didn't have problems with school, that came from homes with the means and support
for their kid, and they still ended up in jail, or working unskilled jobs. Who we blaming that on?
(i'd pick television myself, specifically kubrick, but the mindless 70s dreck also)
or is that different because the opportunity was there?
n IQ less than 60 would have an IQ more than 60
I don’t have all the answers. I can tell you that IQ is not everything as I know some friends with very low IQs that have accomplished a lot. I have a good friend in Colorado who is so passionate and curious about his hobbies and he makes them work and he really excels at them. There is also a fine line between IQ and mechanical ability. This same friend would have a difficult time spelling your name, adding 2 +2 but somehow figured out how to swap chevy 350 into a fiero with no engine hoist, in the dead of winter in Lakewood, Co. I guess IQ can be relevant to an extent.IQ works more as measure of the raw material, and it is up to the system (in the case of lower 15%)
how it is realized to its fullest potential. But I think that is where you were going.
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Opportunity.
schools are certainly one core part -
Newark (like many cities) separates the gifted (or motivated - cause plenty of kids got the smarts)
from the general student population.
A vast divide: Newark’s magnet schools excel while traditional high schools struggle
Newark’s public high schools are split into starkly unequal camps, with thriving magnet schools for a select group of students and struggling open-admissions schools for the rest.newark.chalkbeat.org
numbers seem good there - but damn, does it become one of those Pygmalion things?
the expectations and acceptable behavior in the environment drives the success (and failure) rate.
I guess I'm just really confused by why there are so many people who are against taxing the people who have enough money to last many lifetimes. Why are we letting Walmart pay their employees so little, that they still need government assistance (we're subsidizing their workforce? Why?). And then we want to give them tax breaks on top of that? Why is there such an emphasis in this country to keep the money at the top, and keep the poor, ridiculously poor?
You make it sound like walmart can't afford to pay it's employees more, which is completely false. Their margins aren't as razor thin as you believe they are. It's said that when a new walmart opens their doors for the first time, they already have a months payroll ready to go just from promotional fees that they charge their sellers. Part of their low prices is forcing their suppliers to reduce their prices, which they do by moving jobs out of america to China where workers are making $0.25 an hour. And they run like a consignment shop, the sellers take all the risk, walmart doesn't pay them until the products are sold at retail, and they don't pay for returns. They also run far more efficiently than most other businesses, partly by putting a lot of the logistics in the hands of their suppliers. They can easily pay more, they just don't want to. Profit is king.Walmart - hires just about everyone. Many unemployable in other sectors. They find something that a worker can do at their skill level.
They also charge extremely low prices - razor thin margins. People shop there to save money. So they pay low skilled workers a low wage,
and charge low prices.
Your just supporting my thoughts. Theoretically taxes shouuld help but this country is so corrupt that the taxes go elsewhere. I am not by any means a socialist or a conservative but take Germany for example they have lots of good things going for them. They have some sort of capitalism some sort of Socialism and it works, the people are taken care of. When you start a new job in Germany one month paid vacation is standard when you have a child you get one through two years paid maternity leave. All I’m saying is it doesn’t have to be as bad as it is in America with the separation between the poor and the rich. The American dream of getting married having two kids having her own house by 30 years old is it really a dream when our divorce rate is so high in foreclosure rates are so high ask yourself be honest.Who isn't paying taxes? Taxing the "rich" doesn't solve any of the problems you describe. Thinking that higher taxes will go to helping the poor is lala land