Paris is Burning

[Chango Malo]

With debt that can never be payed off, so where does it end.

global war.

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

I wont mention religions but there's a school of thought in some of them that you never give power to those who actually want power.

You award power to the person who least wants power, because that person will see it as a burden and an obligation and will try to do the best job they can because they think of it as a job and not a prestige or themselves as a rock star.

….I wish the world actually ran that way.

The Rich get richer and the rich buy and maintain their hold on power. And if the unwashed masses and peasants get hurt in the crossfire, oh well. They're not viewed as real people anyway.

Some of the people I see on the news (Politicians) I doubt can even balance a checkbook, let alone a State budget. They're phonies, winging it. They bought their seat at a table they don't deserve to be sitting at.

And I'm not talking about Presidents or anything, I mean Representatives and Senators,....people who've been in Congress for 40 years and haven't done squat except warm a seat.

And I'm sure the same exact thing happens in other countries. People just play 'pass the buck' and try to keep their cushy jobs for as long as they can without actually doing anything.

Then you get the 'Feelz' people who have no basis in reality, but just want to do what 'feelz' right. Well what feels right isn't always possible, and in the long run makes a lot of things a lot worse.

...it's a weird world. And it's the 90% of regular people caught in the crossfire of a giant global game of chess that a lot of rich idiots are playing... badly.

 

[Sharky]

What say you?

I say that most european countries have a system like: you don't contribute, you don't participate. Were talking France here, they have around 43 years of paying into the pension insurance before you get something out of it. Rule of thumb is you pay 1000 Euros to get a monthly payment of 5 Euros til the end of your life and after you have reached the age of I think 67 in Germany, maybe 65 in France. It's not tax based by the way, has nothing to do with it.

Nobody dealt me anything. This is absolutely true.

And regarding providing info, this is no information at all, saying something is true because you say it is true.

Everybody can look up comparisons between the european pension systems and they will clearly show that you are plain wrong.

I am citizen of a european country (Europe is not a country BTW, neither is the EU. It' 28 sovereign countries with a potential of 28 different pension systems), been selfemployed all my working life, didn't pay one Cent into the pension system, won't get a single Cent out of it.

 

[JTM45]

Why do the French women protest topless or naked? I wish more American women do that.

 

[Tone deaf]

And regarding providing info, this is no information at all, saying something is true because you say it is true.

Everybody can look up comparisons between the european pension systems and they will clearly show that you are plain wrong.

I am citizen of a european country (Europe is not a country BTW, neither is the EU. It' 28 sovereign countries with a potential of 28 different pension systems), been selfemployed all my working life, didn't pay one Cent into the pension system, won't get a single Cent out of it.

With all due respect, that has nothing to do with what I said. You do realize that defined benefit plans are not based upon the actual amount you contribute, don't you?

One simple scenario is the effects of a) a declining economy and contracting equity prices, and b) an expanding population on a massive defined benefits pension system. The value of the assets, under pinning the payout liability shrinks, while the actual liability grows. Thus further increasing the "Unfunded" pension liability.

As of last year, the UK had a pension shortfall of $4T (GDP $3T), the Swiss, French, Germans, Spanish, Belgians and Austrians are all in the same boat. I believe that the US unfunded pension liability JUST for federal works and the like is $6T.

If you can make that not true, you will be the richest man in the world.

 

[edro]

(Well I be damned. Mule saved this draft last night when they tossed up the We Is Closed sign... I took the time to write it, Mule saved it while it was out to lunch, so I'll post it..)

It's a power trip, Mal.

I strongly suggest folks prone to Poochie Lippin' read no further. Skip to the next comment now because you just might read something in yo head that is NOT what I wrote, see beyond a shadow of a doubt I specifically am pointing at your side which I am not even close to doing, and get all poochie lipped like a bulldog face-bit by a rattler.... Not that I would really care.... Reading and comprehension is on you...

The Rich is just a broad generalization. It's not The Rich. It is the folks doing anything they can to GET rich AND powerful. Rich folks I know earned it. They do not crave power even though some get prodded to be in a position of power of sorts because of their biz savvy from making it and ability to get it done...whatever IT is...The rich folks I know are usually too damn busy working... Some get into local politics, some on school boards, some higher level, some just keep busting their ass and give liberally to causes but in the shadows so they don't get hounded all the time by everybody and their brother...

You then have folks that spend their lives throwing rocks at The Rich. Primarily because they aren't rich and are eternally pissed off about it... Many have done nothing to actually have a chance to be rich. They were never willing to expend effort and/or take the chances necessary to become extraordinarily successful. Success means different things to different people. (Thanks, Dad. I understand now.) Success is not money to everyone... It IS to the I want it NOW folks, unfortunately. They are confused as to why other folks don't realize they DESERVE to be rich...so obviously, it should be given to them.... They hate capitalism because one must put out a lot of effort, suffer long days, make it through lean times, and fail a few times but GET BACK UP. THAT is why they hate capitalism. It's WORK.

True, some rich are, or have become, worthless. They get on a power trip... Folks that AIN'T rich get on a power trip too. Dipshit factor is not based on money. Rich folks are just more visible to blame for everything...

True some went to the capital to BECOME rich and have succeeded tremendously. Party affiliation doesn't matter.

What is most sad is that folks keep checking their box for decades and decades...even though some of the rich and powerful pukes up there don't have enough sense to pour it out of a boot. They are just trying to maintain their level of self importance... WE are the problem for sending them back for thirty or forty years...

Nothing wrong with someone building a fortune through hard ass work and taking chances that others would run from, crying for their momma....


It's just mondo easy to throw rocks at The Rich and blame them for everything...
The Rich are the boogie man....
The Rich don't pay taxes or contribute anything...(regardless of actual facts)
The Rich probably don't even like puppies. The rat bastids.

World would be a better place if folks quit blaming others for their own damn issues...

FTR, I am far from rich....I am several zip codes over from rich....

I am, however, far from ignorant....

 

[pnuggett]

California. 27% of the population was not born in the USA.

 

[edro]

Well, CA is about to tax text messages..... That should fix everything....


Buwahahahahahahahaha

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Well, CA is about to tax text messages..... That should fix everything....


Buwahahahahahahahaha

Wow that's pretty insane

 

[Crotch]

CA is shit. A beautiful place being ruined by illegals and terrible policy. Damn shame.

Watch where ya step!

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Yeah when you look at the cities and States run by the "free shit for everyone" crowd it's like, "why should anyone listen to you? You break everything you touch."

 

[Sharky]

You do realize that defined benefit plans are not based upon the actual amount you contribute, don't you?

I don't know which system is installed in the country you live in. I live in Germany and and it's crystal clear, that the money you get depends on the money you paid over the years. It's 18,6 % of your income that will automatically be deducted and transferred to the official insurance that administers the complete pension system. I'm not a "member", so I don't know if it's shared by both employer and employee, or if both parties pay this percentage. The more you paid over the years, the more you'll get as your monthly pension after retirement.

Will it work over the decades? I don't know, but an increasing population is not the problem here, rather vice versa. We have a massively overaging society and smaller numbers of young, working people have to pay for a growing number of old people that live longer than ever