lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said: C’mon, try to answer it from an “intellectual standpoint.” ? We should eliminate the money system! Problem solved. Everyone will have time and money won’t exist, so we’ll just act like everyone has it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 9 minutes ago, ptatc said: If this is the definition, no one in the history of mankind has ever been free. There have been plenty of people who have time and money. This is ridiculous. Every billionaire in the world could do whatever they want. They continue to work because they want to, not because they have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Just now, Jack Parkman said: There have been plenty of people who have time and money. This is ridiculous. Every billionaire in the world could do whatever they want. They continue to work because they want to, not because they have to. Every billionaire isn't free unless they are absolutely retired, then they have earned it. If they own a company they are responsible to stakeholders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said: free /frē/ adjective not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes. At-will employment “At-will refers to an employee that is free to leave a job at any time for any or no reason.” At-will employment is a myth, especially in the United States, where healthcare and employment are joined at the hip. To put it lightly: If you can: Quit your job and do something else AND: Not have to worry about housing while you re-educate yourself Not have to worry about food Have access to healthcare if you get sick Then you're free. If any of the above three things are in jeopardy by making that decision to change careers, Then you're not actually free. Believe it or not, there are actually places in the world where this exists, but no, it's not realistic. And guess what....they pay the same or a smaller amount of taxes than we do here. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: At-will employment is a myth, especially in the United States, where healthcare and employment are joined at the hip. To put it lightly: If you can: Quit your job and do something else AND: Not have to worry about housing while you re-educate yourself Not have to worry about food Have access to healthcare if you get sick Then you're free. If any of the above three things are in jeopardy by making that decision to change careers, Then you're not actually free. You can obtain healthcare without being employed. No, it’s not ideal but it’s a possibility. Edited March 3, 2020 by Moan4Yoan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 9 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: At-will employment is a myth, especially in the United States, where healthcare and employment are joined at the hip. To put it lightly: If you can: Quit your job and do something else AND: Not have to worry about housing while you re-educate yourself Not have to worry about food Have access to healthcare if you get sick Then you're free. If any of the above three things are in jeopardy by making that decision to change careers, Then you're not actually free. Believe it or not, there are actually places in the world where this exists, but no, it's not realistic. Well then, freedom doesn’t exist. Just give up. Welcome your billionaire capitalist overlords, prole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, ptatc said: Every billionaire isn't free unless they are absolutely retired, then they have earned it. If they own a company they are responsible to stakeholders. The point is that they could choose to sell their stake at any time, and retire at any time. They continue to work because they want to. Way to completely miss the point, yet again. Learn how to read. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, lane said: Well then, freedom doesn’t exist. Just give up. Welcome your billionaire capitalist overlords, prole! It absolutely does, but just not here. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 11 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: At-will employment is a myth, especially in the United States, where healthcare and employment are joined at the hip. To put it lightly: If you can: Quit your job and do something else AND: Not have to worry about housing while you re-educate yourself Not have to worry about food Have access to healthcare if you get sick Then you're free. If any of the above three things are in jeopardy by making that decision to change careers, Then you're not actually free. Believe it or not, there are actually places in the world where this exists, but no, it's not realistic. And guess what....they pay the same or a smaller amount of taxes than we do here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: It absolutely does, but just not here. Tell me where it exists. Intellectually, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 1 minute ago, Moan4Yoan said: You ask any Dane or Finn what their economic system is, and they'll say capitalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, lane said: Tell me where it exists. Intellectually, please. New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway to name a few. I'm quitting now before I get banned for politics again. The bottom line is that if I had the money to do so, I would have gone back to college, studied something else and actively learned from my mistakes 5+ years ago. I can't afford it, so I don't, and the risk of being stuck in this position again is too great for me to take on more debt. I'm trying other ways to gain access to the life that I want. Some of you people think that it's ok to hoard money and not share. Grow up and quit acting like toddlers. ME! MINE!!!!! Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 17 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: The bottom line is that if I had the money to do so, I would have gone back to college, studied something else and actively learned from my mistakes 5+ years ago. I can't afford it, so I don't, and the risk of being stuck in this position again is too great for me to take on more debt. I'm trying other ways to gain access to the life that I want. Do you have a bachelor’s degree? If so, in what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 16 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway to name a few. I'm quitting now before I get banned for politics again. The bottom line is that if I had the money to do so, I would have gone back to college, studied something else and actively learned from my mistakes 5+ years ago. I can't afford it, so I don't, and the risk of being stuck in this position again is too great for me to take on more debt. I'm trying other ways to gain access to the life that I want. You've obviously haven't spend time living and working in those countries. It absolutely not true by your definition. They are beholden to the almighty currency as anyone. Especially Switzerland. I've worked in Zurich, the cost of living there is impossibly high. It puts Chicago to shame. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 8 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway to name a few. I'm quitting now before I get banned for politics again. Look at this. Top income tax bracket in Denmark is 60% and it kicks in at 55K. Sweden, it's 57% and kicks in 66K, Finland, 49% at 79.5K, Norway 40% at 88K, New Zealand 33% at 47K. Switzerland is a bit of an outlier with 42% affecting income over 213K (I call it an outlier because it's the only top bracket that wouldn't affect me, but it's still more drastic than the USA. Also, these countries all have tiny homogeneous populations (5-10 million) and strict immigration controls, with strong restrictions on who can show up and access welfare benefits. So, anyway, fine, you're free now because the state taxes everyone enormously to pay for your stuff. Congrats. Wanna talk about how my freedom is restricted by this? If my wife and I make 100K a year filing jointly, you just took something like 17K out of my pocket. I worked for four months for no reason just so you could not worry about food. What about my freedom? You wanna know why I could be so calloused towards people like you, well...you'd deprive my children of my labor so you could live in your fantasyland and babble about how great it is that you're finally free. Sorry- screw you, buddy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 It’s amazing how people don’t understand the concept of taxes and how services are ultimately paid for. States and governments aren’t just giving out free money. It’s comes from somewhere (i.e. taxpayers). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 28 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: Some of you people think that it's ok to hoard money and not share. Grow up and quit acting like toddlers. ME! MINE!!!!! This is hilarious. I want my money for my children because I worked for it. You want my money for yourself because you're entitled. E-N-T-I-T-L-E-D. You're as greedy as you believe billionaires to be, but you don't even realize it. Wanting things that you haven't earned is greedy. You don't get a reprieve from that judgment just because you're inept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) Did Parkman actually make that “Gollum” post? I thought it was some other poster making a sarcastic post falsely under Parkman’s name. Wow. Parkman, no one in this country or world is required to work hard at their respective jobs to share jack shit with you or any other entitled people who share your insane beliefs. 1 hour ago, SoxAce said: Ima go out on a limb and say that 99.9% of this board agrees with you there on Parkman. Call a spade a spade. Nailed it. Your timing was impeccable. Edited March 3, 2020 by Moan4Yoan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said: Do you have a bachelor’s degree? If so, in what? I have a Chem E dude. I never intended to work in industry, I always wanted to be a professor. I overloaded myself with too many hardcore engineering credits 1st semester senior year, and tanked my GPA enough that I could no longer get into a decent grad program, and had to shift gears. I was woefully unprepared for that. I had absolutely no preparation for my career, because I never thought I'd be working in industry anyway. By the time I started looking, I was way behind on networking/info/other things. I had one semester to catch up to my classmates who had been preparing for 4 years. I tried to gain as much info as I could but kept getting conflicting info from books/articles/seminars. I stayed in school an extra semester to attempt to buy myself time. Wasn't enough, didn't work. There's much more to this story, I don't have time to go into it right now. 20 minutes ago, lane said: This is hilarious. I want my money for my children because I worked for it. You want my money for yourself because you're entitled. E-N-T-I-T-L-E-D. You're as greedy as you believe billionaires to be, but you don't even realize it. Wanting things that you haven't earned is greedy. You don't get a reprieve from that judgment just because you're inept. I don't want your money. I want everyone to pay their fair share. You and I have a different idea of what that is. You're assuming that I haven't put work in, when I have. I'm pissed off because I've put in the work and am getting zero results. Excuse me if you think that's entitlement. I have a bit of PTSD about it. I poured my heart and soul into getting a degree that I thought was Asperger's-proof. It turned out not to be. I suck and have always sucked at interviewing. I got nervous and had panic attacks and had to leave a few times. I put in effort that other people didn't. When others didn't spend time utilizing office hours of the professors, I did. If I was unclear on a concept, I asked, and all of that stuff paid off. I gave up all of my hobbies during college to achieve this. I didn't live on campus, I stayed there from 8:45 am until sometime until 7-9 pm each night. Outside of taking the occasional break to post here, or watch the occasional Sox/Bears game, I was basically all school all the time. I took classes in the summer for all but one of my college years. I did what I had to do. I have this underlying fear right now that no matter how hard I work at something, I'm never going to be recognized for it. I could have all of the tech skills in the world, but my soft skills are so shitty that I'm virtually unemployable outside of an autism hiring program. Even in some of those, I struggle. I probably have Auditory Processing Disorder as an add on to my autism(it's common in people on the spectrum) where I can't process verbal instructions that well. It sucks, it is what is. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moan4Yoan Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: I have a Chem E dude. I never intended to work in industry, I always wanted to be a professor. I overloaded myself with too many hardcore engineering credits 1st semester senior year, and tanked my GPA enough that I could no longer get into a decent grad program, and had to shift gears. I was woefully unprepared for that. I had absolutely no preparation for my career, because I never thought I'd be working in industry anyway. By the time I started looking, I was way behind on networking/info/other things. I had one semester to catch up to my classmates who had been preparing for 4 years. I tried to gain as much info as I could but kept getting conflicting info from books/articles/seminars. I stayed in school an extra semester to attempt to buy myself time. Wasn't enough, didn't work. There's much more to this story, I don't have time to go into it right now. So right now, you may not be qualified to be a professor because you would need a Master’s degree or higher. But you are qualified to be a public high school Chemistry/Science teacher, no? Salaries start out low but you would still be teaching which it sounds like what you wanted to do. Eventually, you could make a good salary with enough tenure and also have a great work/life balance with summers and state holidays off, along with winter and spring breaks. And the pension pays off pretty well in the end. Have you looked into teaching at all? Edited March 3, 2020 by Moan4Yoan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: I don't want your money. I want everyone to pay their fair share. You and I have a different idea of what that is. You're assuming that I haven't put work in, when I have. I'm pissed off because I've put in the work and am getting zero results. Excuse me if you think that's entitlement. I have a bit of PTSD about it. I poured my heart and soul into getting a degree that I thought was Asperger's-proof. It turned out not to be. I suck and have always sucked at interviewing. I got nervous and had panic attacks and had to leave a few times. I put in effort that other people didn't. When others didn't spend time utilizing office hours of the professors, I did. If I was unclear on a concept, I asked, and all of that stuff paid off. I gave up all of my hobbies during college to achieve this. I didn't live on campus, I stayed there from 8:45 am until sometime until 7-9 pm each night. Outside of taking the occasional break to post here, or watch the occasional Sox/Bears game, I was basically all school all the time. I took classes in the summer for all but one of my college years. I did what I had to do. I have this underlying fear right now that no matter how hard I work at something, I'm never going to be recognized for it. I could have all of the tech skills in the world, but my soft skills are so shitty that I'm virtually unemployable outside of an autism hiring program. Even in some of those, I struggle. I probably have Auditory Processing Disorder as an add on to my autism(it's common in people on the spectrum) where I can't process verbal instructions that well. It sucks, it is what is. Oh, I don’t pay my fair share? Really? You already suggested what you think a fair share is with those countries you named. And it’s not some Bernie lie, “tax Wall Street and tax the yacht owners!” You types are going to tax everybody, me included. So, yes, you want my money and you want my labor for that money to be on your behalf, as well. And am I supposed to fawn over you for going to office hours? I didn’t go to office hours because I read textbooks in my room so I could master material. Maybe that’s where your classmates were. But nooooo, you must have been better and more deserving than them, even though they actually went places in life. So unfair! Edited March 3, 2020 by lane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 24 minutes ago, lane said: Oh, I don’t pay my fair share? Really? You already suggested what you think a fair share is with those countries you named. And it’s not some Bernie lie, “tax Wall Street and tax the yacht owners!” You types are going to tax everybody, me included. So, yes, you want my money and you want my labor for that money to be on your behalf, as well. And am I supposed to fawn over you for going to office hours? I didn’t go to office hours because I read textbooks in my room so I could master material. Maybe that’s where your classmates were. But nooooo, you must have been better and more deserving than them, even though they actually went places in life. So unfair! I read my textbooks as well. Did most of my learning through them because of my APD. I was in the office because I was being proactive and properly preparing myself for exams instead of cramming. Making sure I was clear on everything to reduce the anxiety I had over tests regardless of whether or not I knew the material very well. No, I don't want to tax you. I only want to tax people who deserve to be taxed more. Do you make 400k+ per year? If so, then yeah you'll be taxed more. I actually want ordinary people to be taxed LESS and rich people to be taxed MORE. The economy works better that way, because instead of the rich people paying high taxes, they invest in creating new jobs and raise wages for their employees. Despite what you may think, a low top tier marginal tax rate doesn't create jobs, it actually kills them. A high top tier marginal tax rate doesn't kill jobs, it creates them. The more money that is in the hands of more people, the better the economy is for everyone. Consumer spending creates jobs. I don't think that anyone should be gifted anything. If you think that everyone starting adulthood on a level playing field is being "gifted' something, I can't help you. I don't even think College should be free. I think its cost should be low enough that an 18 year old working 20 hours a week could cover their tuition and books for the year, with money to spare. If a person wants to re-educate themselves and change careers, It shouldn't cost as much as buying a home in pure dollars. I don't think housing should be free either, I just think that it should be more affordable. I think that everyone should pay property taxes to the state, rather than the county or school district, and school districts should be allocated funds based on population. I think that more teachers should be hired and class sizes should be smaller in more populous districts. The goal is to give everyone as close of a chance to have the same starting point to adulthood as possible. I also think that it's ok to tell kids that they don't have to go to college if they don't want to. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: No, I don't want to tax you. I only want to tax people who deserve to be taxed more. Do you make 400k+ per year? If so, then yeah you'll be taxed more. I actually want ordinary people to be taxed LESS and rich people to be taxed MORE. The economy works better that way, because instead of the rich people paying high taxes, they invest in creating new jobs and raise wages for their employees. Despite what you may think, a low top tier marginal tax rate doesn't create jobs, it actually kills them. A high top tier marginal tax rate doesn't kill jobs, it creates them. The more money that is in the hands of more people, the better the economy is for everyone. I don't think that anyone should be gifted anything. If you think that everyone starting adulthood on a level playing field is being "gifted' something, Do you want to be like those countries you named or not? Because I don’t make 400K and if you aspire to be Denmark, you are going to tax me heavily. That’s what your ideas cost. Huh? What on earth do you mean by “instead of the rich people paying high taxes, they invest in creating new jobs and raise wages for their employees”? You think rich people invest in new jobs when you taxed everything after 55K at 60%? Are you and I living on the same planet? Trump cut taxes and we’ve seen historically low unemployment. Despite what I may think? No. I watched this with my own eyes. You bloviate about theories and I see them disproven in real time. Edited March 3, 2020 by lane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lane Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Ok Jack, how do you make housing more affordable? I made a nice sum off selling my old house. Only worked because someone wanted to buy it. Actually, multiple people wanted to buy it so one couple fought their way to the top and won. They got their dream house, I got $85K deposited into my bank account. Hello capitalism, everybody wins! Should the government have stepped in and forced me to sell it for less profit because, despite what this couple wanted, Jack Parkman thinks housing should be affordable? Do tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Parkman Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 51 minutes ago, lane said: Do you want to be like those countries you named or not? Because I don’t make 400K and if you aspire to be Denmark, you are going to tax me heavily. That’s what your ideas cost. Huh? What on earth do you mean by “instead of the rich people paying high taxes, they invest in creating new jobs and raise wages for their employees”? You think rich people invest in new jobs when you taxed everything after 55K at 60%? Are you and I living on the same planet? Trump cut taxes and we’ve seen historically low unemployment. Despite what I may think? No. I watched this with my own eyes. You bloviate about theories and I see them disproven in real time. I wonder if you and I are living on the same planet. What I said is that instead of business owners/corporations paying the higher taxes, they avoid it via investment in new technologies and wage increases. If they do that, their profits are lower and they don't have to pay as much. Unemployment is low because many people are underemployed, have multiple jobs, or are just giving up searching. I don't measure how the economy is or isn't doing on the unemployment rate. That's the wrong way to look at it. I look at it based on what the median income of a family is vs. inflation. That has been stagnant or down for the last 40 years, and has gone down since 2008. The economy isn't about quantity of jobs, it's about quality of jobs. The unemployment rate is an official statistic that can be tampered with. Is the quality of life for the average person going up or down? What can they purchase with their income? Are people getting raises? Those are actual questions to ask yourself about what the economy is doing, not the unemployment rate or the stock market going up. 70% of Americans own zero stock. Edited March 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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