Name one "sacrifice" that has been asked of the rich.

[FLAprogressive]

[Duer 157099]

1. I can't n/t

[hfojvt]

2. the minimum wage was raised

and there is still some tax on estates

and then there's the whole 13th amendment thing. They still have not gotten over that.

[FLAprogressive]

3. that's a pittance compared to the "sacrifices" everyday Americans are being asked to make

[ThomCat]

9. Reducing the estate tax isn't making a sacrifice.

That is Reducing their taxes.

making a sacrifice means having to give up something that you would have been able to keep before, or losing something that you can't afford to lose. Neither of those definitions is met when they are getting to keep MORE of their inheritance. How is it a sacrifice to end up RICHER?

[20score]

11. That's funny! +1

[Avant Guardian]

68. "there is still some tax on estates'

Huh? This is a 'sacrifice'?

[hfojvt]

86. yes, the death tax was raised from zero

Of course that is totally unfair. Over the next ten years, the rich will be paying $300 billion in taxes that the rest of us will not have to pay.

It should be zero if only rich people were not paying for tax breaks and heating bills for a bunch of garlic eaters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3HAaz9uJgI&feature=related

[jmowreader]

123. Please do not call it a "death tax"

That is a RW meme--"those evil Democrats will tax you for dying."

It is an Estate Tax. It is levied on outsized estates handed down to children or other family members--the spouse is tax exempt.

[socialist_n_TN]

73. Can't call that a "sacrifice" though since.........

that estate tax hasn't been RAISED.

[sulphurdunn]

77. That's right.

Besides, the dead don't sacrifice.

[socialist_n_TN]

84. "Besides the dead don't sacrifice" EXCELLENT point.......

:)

[hfojvt]

91. but what about their children?

Won't somebody please think of the children?

[Lorien]

95. We've spent too much time on Paris Hilton already. nt

[Hosnon]

82. Bullshit. We've been told ad nauseum that the increase will just be passed to the consumer. nt.

[glowing]

4. I honestly cannot think of one thing that the rich people have had to

go without... the criminals are still walking free and influencing policy in a negative way towards the rest of us.. We had to spend tax money to help them, and now they push "austerity" measures.

[socialist_n_TN]

74. Not only spend tax money to bail them out............

we also had to spend tax money (stimulus) to fix thier fuck up. I'm figuring it's about $1.5 TRILLION now that we've spent either FOR them or BECAUSE of them. And yes, now they're pushing "austerity". Classic "Shock Doctrine" game plan. Thanks Naomi Klein.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. I can think of none.

And it's too bad, really, because I imagine there are a lot of rich people who really wouldn't mind kicking in a few more bucks. Rich people aren't necessarily bad, and some of them are actually quite generous. It's just a certain greedy few who are controlling the agenda, making sure that they hold all the power. If I were one of the good rich people, I'd be putting a lot of pressure on my more miserly peers.

[marions ghost]

46. there are not too many rich people who are

"quite generous." What I have noticed is that as soon as people get rich, they get very stingy.

They tend to support the "bad" rich people and do not put any pressure on them. Because in the end, it does benefit them. Americans are so insecure that they never have enough.

Sorry, I'm cynical on that. But thanks for bringing it up because a lot of people give the rich a pass, when they definitely should not.

[Blue_In_AK]

50. I'm not really giving them a pass.

I'm just thinking of some of the "Hollywood elite" like Sean Penn or Brad/Angelina who have done some pretty commendable things with their riches -- even if it's only for IRS charity deduction purposes. And maybe entertainers have a better grasp on the fact that they wouldn't be where they are without their fans.

The corporate assholes, on the other hand, don't seem to want to give back anything, despite the fact that they would be nowhere without America's consumers.

[marions ghost]

52. OK

some people for whatever reason, support charities. But gifts are not the same as serious investing in the basic health and well-being of those who work for a paycheck. It is not the same as wanting your country to be free of the dysfunctional divide that the wealthy have created. It is not the same as having real fairness in control of dwindling resources. It's not really democratic. It is oligarchic. "I give, when and where I want (I,I,I)..."

We cannot be dependent on noblesse oblige. That is BS anymore, if it ever did exist.

Thanks for clarifying, Blue. :)

[CTyankee]

75. I was a major gifts officer for Planned Parenthood of CT and raised money in Greenwich,

which is pretty good territory for fundraising! I noticed that PPC was often in the "second tier" of charities the VERY rich supported. The first was either their prep school or their Ivy League college or both. It always struck me that the very rich eventually run out of toys to buy and then they want what they can't have: immortality. So they buy it by putting their name all over a school building or a hospital wing...we had a private joke and called it their "Edifice complex."

[marions ghost]

126. yeah

self aggrandizement is a big motivating factor. And they find enough underlings to suck up to them in return for special favors. I'm familiar with the self-absorbed habits and loyalties of the rich. And they have the delusion that they "help society."

[socialist_n_TN]

76. Entertainers also usually come from nothing.............

They don't inherit their money or get it through an MBA and somebody's connections. It's a TOTALLY different thing to get rich off of talent than it is to get rich off of capitalism.

[former9thward]

89. I am a member of a capitalist political party (the Democratic Party)

and you apparently have no idea what capitalism is. Maybe that is why you have the user name that you do. People with talent, as you call it, get rich due to capitalism. There is no such thing as "getting rich off of talent". You don't know the economics behind it.

[socialist_n_TN]

114. And a real artist doesn't give a rat's ass about...........

being rich. If the parasites get rich by selling his or her art and thereby making him/her rich, so be it, but the art's the thing. If your primary motivation is to get rich with art, you're what's called a sell out.

And I do know quite a bit about what it takes to get rich in entertainment and it ain't pretty.

[SaveAmerica]

6. They had to give up their landscaper when he was called off to Iraq?

[somone]

7. And now they have to choose among so many unemployed for replacement

With so many choices, it's hard to decide

[DissedByBush]

98. Why bother with the unemployed?

When they can get a throwaway illegal.

They can abuse them as much as they want and the illegals will never rat because they fear being deported.

And the rich don't have to worry about being punished by the government for hiring illegals in the first place.

[StarsInHerHair]

8. every once in awhile they are subjected to some awful person on tv or the radio

who tells the truth.

[Liquorice]

10. If by sacrifice you mean give up something for the betterment of

the country's economy, then I don't think it's even possible for the rich to sacrifice. They have all the material comforts they could ever want or need. You could freeze their "salary," if they have one, but that would mean they still get millions of dollars a year. That's surely not a sacrifice as it is for federal workers whose salaries are frozen and will feel it. If you let the rich's ridiculous tax cuts expire, it wouldn't be a sacrifice because they don't need the extra money... After all, they are rich.

So it's hard to imagine a situation in which a rich person would feel an actual sacrifice as it relates to "sacrificing" for the country's economy. The only reason we are asked to sacrifice and they are not is because they basically run the government and so they have all the power and make all the rules. That, and they have a lot of idiot republicans conned into thinking that they deserve tax cuts.

[Lucian]

12. The only thing rich people sacrifice...

is the poor to the money god.

[Cleita]

13. They think that just because they go to charity

fund raisers that they are giving something up. Not even close.

[northofdenali]

14. Jeez, my brother had to give up his new 42' Sea Ray Cruiser

idea - the one where he'd get it free to show off to Saudi clients - and he's one of their senior VP's! Gawd! Can you IMAGINE the humiliation? His wife can't buy the new silk placemats - she had to settle for hand-woven LINEN!!!

You just don't know how horrible it is!!!

:sarcasm:

[pinboy3niner]

15. They sacrifice other mothers' sons and daughters to war

Lay off of them--they've already given. :sarcasm:

[Sherman A1]

16. There are none

they have not sacrificed anything.

[libmom74]

17. no

and it really pisses me off whenever the president talks about "shared sacrifice" especially after the richest people in the nation got to keep their tax cuts and now we have to deal with the deficit by freezing government workers salaries, cutting heating programs for the poor, cutting education funding (again) and on and on! :grr:

[Hannah Bell]

18. none. +100

[Raine]

19. I thought and thought and can't think of a single one, they aren't

even ashamed to flaunt all that their ill gotten gains have bought them. :-(

[TexasProgresive]

20. I can think of one

The have sacrificed the joy of paying taxes to support this great nation.

"I like paying taxes, with them I buy civilization." Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

[truedelphi]

21. That's an easy one. The biggest sacrifice the rich have to make

(And they make it on a daily basis) is sharing this world with the rest of us.

Of course, since they are taking it away from us piece by piece, and each piece they get away from us contributes to our sickness, despair and death, it won't be long before their sharing that with us will be a thing of the past.

I used to worry about genocide. Now it seems that we are faced with a bigger problem - humanicide!

[sulphurdunn]

81. Mr. Obama,

his advisers, the majority of Congress, the federal courts and just about everyone else telling us we "all" need to sacrifice through our willingness to loose our homes our jobs and even the benefits we've paid into government over the years...are the rich. There is more than a wee bit of irony in that.

[LooseWilly]

22. I got nothing...

Rich HCR folks.. well, they might theoretically see a slowed increase in their income. Does that count?

Rich people who employ are being asked nicely to employ people with some of the tax-cut money... does that count?

Shit... this is a joke... :+

[xchrom]

23. 'family values' and 'shared sacrifice' -- phrases i hate. nt

[Recursion]

24. Asked? Obama asked them to hire people they don't currently need

Finding a sacrifice actually wrung from them is a different question.

[CreekDog]

25. It is rather difficult being rich. If it wasn't for the money, I'd rather be poor.

[catzies]

64. And here's a good one from Groucho Marx:

"Money frees you up from doing things you dislike and since I dislike doing nearly everything, money comes in pretty handy."

[Major Hogwash]

100. I never heard that one before, thanks.

"I don't like this innuendo." ~ Madame Swempski

"That's what I always say. Love flies out the door when money comes innuendo." ~ Groucho

[delightfulstar]

26. I'm drawing a huge blank here....

I just can't think of a damn thing. Really.

[maryf]

27. Nada, niente, zilch

kr

[SmileyRose]

28. Don't knock um - it's tough to have to pretend you hate asking employees for pay cuts.

Stay up a late night a few times so the disgruntled see you looking puffy eyed and feel bad for ya.

[Shining Jack]

30. Giving decent tips...

But only when not alone to show to your greedy friends who are doing the same that you're not cheap.

[cordelia]

29. Can't. Tried.

[Starry Messenger]

31. Nothing.

I guess the burden of privilege is assumed to be enough of a sacrifice already.

[Fire1]

56. Juggling all that money is soooo HARD!

:hurts: :nopity: LOL!!

[Reader Rabbit]

32. Did they have to give up their Grey Poupon?

:shrug:

[Buns_of_Fire]

39. No, but I think a couple were forced to switch to domestic caviar... for their pets... nt

[Solly Mack]

33. I read an article where one family had to go from a live-in maid to a maid 3 days a week.

Oh, the humanity!

[WinkyDink]

34. By definition, "rich" = "No sacrifice."

[raccoon]

35. KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK&R. nt

[barbiegeek]

36. EXCELLENT POST!! Can I borrow that question?

[mmonk]

37. Losing their souls.

[rasputin1952]

38. Not much of a sacrifice there...

who'd want the shriveled up soul of an uber-wealthy clown anyway...not even satan would take on that deal. In fact, I heard tell satan was selling the souls of those that are in that situation...they stink up hell...:D

[mmonk]

40. LOL

[Freddie Stubbs]

41. Medicare Payroll tax on investment income:

Starting in 2012, the Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to include unearned income. That will be a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for families making more than $250,000 per year ($200,000 for individuals).

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000846-503544.html

[Kingofalldems]

45. Peanuts for rich people.

[Freddie Stubbs]

54. Investment income makes up a larger percentage of income for the rich than it does the middle class

[socialist_n_TN]

79. OMG!!!!!! That's AWFUL!!!!!

That'll probably cause MOST of them to be sleeping on park benches! :sarcasm:

[Freddie Stubbs]

125. If you don't think it's much, I suggest that you write a check to the goverment equal to 3.8% of

your income.

[socialist_n_TN]

130. Considering I've been a "contract" worker for...........

almost 4 years now (not by choice BTW) and pay ALL of the SS taxes, including the employers share, and MAKE A TENTH (OR LESS) THAN THOSE FUCKERS 3.8% wouldn't bother me a bit. Let's put it this way, I'll do it if they will. AND I WON'T BITCH ABOUT IT!

[Lorien]

97. And what are the Capital gains rates these days?

The wealthy don't work for that income > no sacrifice. It's just another form of gambling.

[RoccoR5955]

105. How will they ever afford the new Bentley for Muffy? n/t

[quakerboy]

110. You know

Thats actually worth something to me.

It dosnt bring equality, but its a step in the right direction. 1 step forward, 7 steps back is still better than just 7 steps back.

[Freddie Stubbs]

42. Exise tax on high-end insurance plans worth over $27,500 for families ($10,200 for individuals)

Beginning in 2018, insurance companies will pay a 40 percent excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" high-end insurance plans worth over $27,500 for families ($10,200 for individuals). Dental and vision plans are exempt and will not be counted in the total cost of a family's plan.

more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000846-503544.html

[Caretha]

93. Wake me in 7 years

[Vinnie From Indy]

43. Except for the ultra-wealthy, most wealthy folks have had to put up with TSA screenings

Of course, that is being taken care of as we speak with new "trusted" flyer program proposals being bandied about in Washington. The hallmark of every proposal I have seen is that people will have to pony up some dough to get the "trusted" label which will enable them to whisk right by all the shnooks waiting in long lines to get felt up or irradiated. So, if you got money and can pay the membership dues, you are now "trusted" by the TSA. Maybe they could give out "flair" to the trusted class so we can recognize our betters at the airport.

[woo me with science]

53. Maybe for every rich person who isn't groped, they can grope a poor person twice.

Sort of like the old "whipping boy" concept.

Hey! There's an idea for jobs!

[metapunditedgy]

44. Well, it's probably expensive for them to keep manipulating elections. n/t

[Curmudgeoness]

63. You said a mouthful there! nt

[socialist_n_TN]

80. But wouldn't that be considered an investment?

I mean they DO still make investments don't they?

[metapunditedgy]

102. Ha. A risky investment, though. The Fed will bail you out if your bank goes under,

but who will bail you out if your politician loses? :-)

[Blue Owl]

47. jack freaking squat

n/t

[Courtesy Flush]

48. They had to give up their slaves.

But I can't think of anything recent.

[handmade34]

112. they still have them

[marions ghost]

49. the rich have to live with

a terrible delusion--that they came by their money honestly, and that of course they deserve it. (and other people deserve less). They are rarely happy, always convinced they need more. If Christians they may have to skip that part about the eye of the needle.

At least this is what I see around me.

[Marr]

51. Uh-- uh-- Lilly Ledbetter! Lilly Ledbetter! LILLY LEDBETTER!!!

Sorry... reflex.

[Kurovski]

55. I dunno. Their immortal souls on the spit of eternal damnation?

According to a book so many profess to like, that's where they iz headed.

But we know full well they don't believe word one of that.

[Rex]

57. Rich people don't make sacrifices unless it is on the choping block

the dock or a hangman.

[Horse with no Name]

58. Well they ARE being asked to take a highly educated peon to flip their burgers

So I suppose they can't get away with less than minimum wage.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

59. They sacrifice their very souls by not choosing compassion. "The first shal be last and the last ...

SHALL be first." The power of love in the end is far stronger than hatred in the end and I think when the balance sheet is in, they would of sacrifice miniscule gain and lost out on all the moon, heavens and the stars. Infinite abundance, infinite stars, and planets too much Wayne Dyer, ...maybe. A clena slate the year dot. Twice the spped of light to get this planet or another and the light is love, so let's get together and feel alright and progress to the next level. Is it all just an infinite painting in the end makes me wonder probably Lennondid too, imagine. Illogical captain,eometimesthe world is.

[SammyWinstonJack]

60. I'd like Obama to answer that since he is so fond of telling the lesser of us how we need to share

in the sacrifice. :grr:

[tabasco]

61. Their souls

to Mammon.

[fascisthunter]

62. nothing... just like their souls

nothing

[BlueIris]

65. I heard some are cutting back on their prostitute consumption this decade.

Sometimes.

[Chisox08]

66. The paper cut and the ink stains from counting the money from their tax cuts

Oh wait I mean on their accountants fingers. Well they do have to pay their accountants so I guess that is a sacrifice.

[madamesilverspurs]

67. The respect of everyone else.

Not that they care.


-

[OhioChick]

69. Can't seem to come up with one n/t

[DirkGently]

70. They've put off those wage-slave dormitories built into the Walmarts they've been wanting?

[Confusious]

71. Finding someplace to store thier tubs of cash

"It's hard. I'm running out of places. The laundry shoot is full, and so is the toilet."

[Ignis]

72. Oh, the rich and their overseers will be pulling up their bootstraps...

...to step over the increasing ranks of the poor and homeless.

[Octafish]

78. Not one thing of value.

The rich folks I know say the Recession is over.

[socialist_n_TN]

83. NOT ONE FUCKING THING..............

Everybody has to sacrifice in the name of "austerity" EXCEPT FOR THE RICH. Repeat this phrase CONSTANTLY.

[QC]

85. They are no longer allowed to engage in chattel slavery.

Surely that is worth something.

[DireStrike]

90. *No longer LEGALLY allowed, IN THE US.

Just because something isn't legal doesn't mean you can't do it. Especially if you're rich.

Slavery IS a little tough to hide though.

[QC]

107. Well, wage slavery is almost as good, on balance.

It probably lacks the sense of power one gets from owning actual people outright, but on the other hand there's less responsibility, since people who are too old or too sick to work can be kicked out on the street.

[katsy]

87. Only to sacrifice the poor.

And if they smell sacrifice, they move out of the country.

Taxes? We'll move the whole production line to China. Bye!

Taxes? Move their money to the Caymans.

[WillyT]

88. Can't Name One !!!

:kick:

[Billsmile]

92. Don't They Have To Sacrifice Their Humanity.....

To get rich in the first place? The rest of us would share the wealth right?

[FailureToCommunicate]

94. They've had to endure that uppity black family in their White House, at least

untill they realized he's kinda doing things their accountant LIKES!

[yurbud]

96. they have to build a higher wall around their gated community and hire more security

to keep the rabble out.

[Major Hogwash]

99. They had a shortage of Grey Poupon for a week, once, a few years back.

They had to sacrifice and use "commoner's" mustard for that week!
Ewwwwwwww!
Can you just imagine?!

[slay]

101. .

[Release The Hounds]

103. They couldn't get their ivory back scratchers this month

Apologies to Mr. Burns

[RoccoR5955]

104. Their sacrifice... They can't have ALL of our money! n/t

[chill_wind]

106. Thinking, thinking...

I got nuthin'.

[merh]

108. they have been asked to use legally documented workers

which means they pay fair wages and taxes on those wages.

That sucks, they don't get to keep their indentured servants illegal and indentured.

[tpsbmam]

109. They haven't killed the minimum wage.....yet....

so for now it costs more to have us clean their toilets. Just you wait!

[handmade34]

113. but have stalled the "living wage"

[kestrel91316]

111. (crickets chirping and ROFL)

[alfredo]

115. Slavery was abolished.

[WhiteTara]

116. Umm. To keep shopping?

No, not even that since chimpy said it was patriotic, back in '01

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

117. They have to put up with us..... you know the ''unwashed masses''. nt

[Dawson Leery]

118. None what so ever.

[gateley]

119. Sometimes they have to rub elbows with the dirty, unwashed masses. nt

[Crunchy Frog]

121. They really don't.

The representatives that they appoint to political office do from time to time, but not them.

[gateley]

124. Okay, well we can scratch that sacrifice off the list. :-) nt

[ProSense]

120. Here are a

few small ones, and even those aren't likely to happen because no one is pushing hard for these changes. Maybe some of the more progressive Senators could speak up now and make as much noise as the Republicans.

As the budget moves through Congress and is debated, no one will push their reps to support any of these changes. The budget will, if passed, not include them.

[underpants]

129. Nice link

thanks

[UrbScotty]

122. They have to endure an Obama presidency!

I mean, that's miserable!

:sarcasm:

[KamaAina]

127. They have to buy 80-foot yachts instead of 100-footers?

:sarcasm:

[mediator]

128. The Monsanto rebate on pool chemicals expired...

:shrug:

[EstimatedProphet]

131. Didn't taxes on caviar go up?