[jogiba]

Romney's World View. Mitt Romney wants to cut Medicare and education to help pay for a $150000 tax break for the 1%. These are apparently his priorities.

An incredible 262 superyachts worth US$3.5 billion sold last year (including one that went for $300 million!) so it's no wonder that some of the world's wealthiest glitterati flocked to Istanbul earlier this month to take part in what is essentially the Oscars of the luxury boating scene - the World Superyacht Awards.

2012 World Superyacht Awards showcase the cream of luxury boating





This version of The Scream is one of four made by Edvard Munch, and the only one outside Norway. It sold at Sotheby's in New York for $119.9 million.

[Nesster]

But think of how many Jobs are Created when each Super Yacht is sold and operated! And the Munch - that Created Lots of Jobs and Wealth: Sotheby's is able to keep staff on, then there are the guards, and the people who make the vault it's going into...

[Nesster]

And furthermore... throughout history, it is the ultra wealthy who have directly caused our greatest cultural hits - the paintings, sculpture, music, architecture, all the things that have made us a civilization worth living in - while the mob has always been mediocre and self-involved.

First off, can anyone deny that without the rich, these super yachts would not be built - and all the associated jobs would not exist!

Secondly, unlike the kinds of Chinese suicide shops the rest of us patronize, the jobs creating and running these super yachts are high skill, high job satisfaction jobs. Without the wealthy, craftsmanship would slowly die. Then, when you too become fabulously wealthy, there would be no culturally ennobling way to spend your money!

Should we confiscate the wealth of these craft-sponsoring job creators, realistically, where would the money go? 1) into the non-productive pockets of the Government, which never has created a damn job and is a leech on society and 2) directly to China and other low cost producers who crank out the kind of junk the poor people prefer.

[jeffkrol]

Just put a few Tomahawk cruise missles on them and "bam" gov. jobs............


Reminds me of the story of the "Hummer"... in reverse.

Of course "volkswagons" are still being produced.........

[jogiba]

Should we confiscate the wealth

How did you come up with that since all I posted was Romney's tax break for the 1%. So without that tax break they would go broke ?

[Nesster]

How did you come up with that since all I posted was Romney's tax break for the 1%. So without that tax break they would go broke ?

Yes! Yes they would go broke! Don't you know this already? The economy of the ultra wealthy is fragile. They are not confident people. They need constant reassurance and motivation in the form of more money. They know they aren't popular. That is why they need to offer incentives so that others are willing to join them. They have a lot of headaches the rest of us avoid: do you know how difficult it is to hire and keep good servants!

I have watched a Republican spokesperson on TV actually argue that the proposal to tax hedge fund manager income like ordinary income rather than as carried interest (currently) is tantamount, TANTAMOUNT, to getting rid of all hedge funds! So how would your economy work then? See, that's how difficult it is to be a wealth and jobs creator in the current Democrat country.

Besides, all your chart shows is the targets for us: we should plan to be at least in the 100-200K category, and preferably far above. That's our incentive. And guess what, as we respond to the incentive the economy grows and overall tax receipts grow - simply because now you and I have the incentive to make 200-500K per year, and therefore do so!

jeez, do I have to explain everything?

[jeffkrol]

Yes! Yes they would go broke! Don't you know this already? The economy of the ultra wealthy is fragile. They are not confident people. They need constant reassurance and motivation in the form of more money. They know they aren't popular. That is why they need to offer incentives so that others are willing to join them. They have a lot of headaches the rest of us avoid: do you know how difficult it is to hire and keep good servants!

I have watched a Republican spokesperson on TV actually argue that the proposal to tax hedge fund manager income like ordinary income rather than as carried interest (currently) is tantamount, TANTAMOUNT, to getting rid of all hedge funds! So how would your economy work then? See, that's how difficult it is to be a wealth and jobs creator in the current Democrat country.

Besides, all your chart shows is the targets for us: we should plan to be at least in the 100-200K category, and preferably far above. That's our incentive. And guess what, as we respond to the incentive the economy grows and overall tax receipts grow - simply because now you and I have the incentive to make 200-500K per year, and therefore do so!

jeez, do I have to explain everything?

your sarcasm can be subtle....

[Nesster]

Jeff, I forgot to mention, that any tax plan that gives the majority of its benefit to the lower income brackets obviously encourages us all to make less money, in order to take advantage of these tax breaks. Isn't that obvious?

[jeffkrol]

In the second half of the 19th century, America was in the grip of a massive railroad boom. Boosted by eager investors, lucrative subsidies and free land, railroads sprung up connecting every corner of the United States without much thought for demand or necessity. America’s rail mileage quadrupled from 1870 to 1900, with enough track laid down by the end of the century to stretch from New York to San Francisco 66 times.

In those wild early days of the railroad age, real estate speculation was a central plank of the business plan. The U.S. government had given vast stretches of public land to railroad companies, and the companies needed to sell that land to settlers to create customers and pay off debts. That meant railroads needed local publishers to trigger real estate booms in the multitude of railroad towns that had been planned and parceled across the country, luring settlers with exaggerated stories of fertile soil and incipient prosperity.

See, gov. do it all the time.. open a door.. company makes billions.......... then complains gov. "meddles"..........

Harry Koch’s transformation was remarkable: Not only was he attempting to convince readers of his point of view by appealing to their own best interests, but he was fleshing out economic arguments in language that his grandsons continue to use today. Harry’s defense of trusts reads exactly like the pro-monopoly propaganda regularly cranked out by scholars at The Cato Institute—a libertarian think tank founded by Harry’s grandson Charles Koch in 1977. University of California-Irvine Professor Richard McKenzie recently published an article in Cato’s Regulation magazine titled “In Defense of Monopoly,” in which he echoes Harry’s 110-year-old editorial, including this claim: “The monopolist does not charge higher prices; it lowers them.

”

http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/item/18167-empire-building

wouldn't be no "empire" without
"gov. meddling".........

Yep blame the gov.. as you reap the rewards of said gov...

[Nesster]

By the way, reading histories of the railroad (and telegraph) booms reminds one of the more recent tech booms: lots of roads/lines to nowhere, simply because the money was there and everyone thought they could get rich. Chinese labor and spectacular failures, and ruthless combination and consolidation.

[boriscleto]

Bill Clinton, Boehner, And Some Other Rich White Guys Had A "Summit" And Agreed: It's Your Fault | Economy | AlterNet

This week a bunch of rich white guys held a "Fiscal Summit" and agreed that:

1. Despite the fact that unemployment is causing untold suffering for millions of people, it's not very important.
2. Despite the fact that wage stagnation is destroying the middle class, that's not important either.
3. Despite the fact that we need the social safety net more than ever after what they've done to the economy, it's expendable.
4. Despite the fact that our government can borrow money at record low rates and use it to put people to work, thereby ending the recession and jumpstarting the economy, that option's not even worth discussing.
5. Despite the fact that these men all possess great power, wealth, and/or influence, everything that's wrong with the economy is your fault.
6. Since it's all your fault, you better get ready to pay up.
Oh, and one other thing:
7. They're all very smart and very brave. It's too bad the rest of you people are such jerks.
Any questions? Let's hope not, because they're all busy men and it's great golfing weather this week in DC.

[Nesster]

Excellent article!

[gokenin]

Romney's World View. Mitt Romney wants to cut Medicare and education to help pay for a $150000 tax break for the 1%. These are apparently his priorities.


2012 World Superyacht Awards showcase the cream of luxury boating





This version of The Scream is one of four made by Edvard Munch, and the only one outside Norway. It sold at Sotheby's in New York for $119.9 million.

http://www.bornrich.com/entry/top-12-high-tech-luxury-yachts/

Weird of the top 16 mega yachts in the world 2 are owned by a single American who is a co founder of Microsoft. But that little fact doesn't fit into your narrative does it that these maga yachts are owned by Americans that will benefit by Mitt Romney. Also please site your source for the first line instead of diverting attention to something completely unrelated To your opening statement.

[riff]

of the top 16 mega yachts in the world 2 are owned by a single American

I would say he needs a tax break! What you posted I can't follow.

[jogiba]

"Weird of the top 16 mega yachts in the world 2 are owned by a single American who is a co founder of Microsoft."

Music magnate David Geffen has become the new owner of Rising Sun, the world's sixth largest yacht, after gaining possession from co-owner Larry Ellison. Originally commissioned by the Oracle billionaire from Germany based Lurssen shipyard in 2004, the 456 ft. mega yacht cost approximately $250 million to build.

The terms of the yacht deal have not been disclosed, however Geffen has sent the yacht back to Lurssen for some much-needed modifications while Ellison awaits to receive delivery of a much smaller 298-ft. super yacht.


Considerably larger than other billionaire yachts, the Rising Sun features luxury accommodations for up to 12 people in addition to 30 crew members and offers a total of 82 rooms on five decks. The extravagant yacht features Onyx counter-tops, a spa, sauna, gymnasium, wine cellar, private cinema and a basketball court that transforms into a helipad.

David Geffen Takes Possession Of "Rising Sun", World's Sixth Largest Yacht | Boat Work Times