What is this...Mob rule?

Why do some people have such envy for those who earn more than they do?

 A little background…

 

 

I think I peaked out salary wise two years ago, because since then I have taken pay cuts, cuts in hours, and this week they said we needed to scale back more, and so now they are on this “flatten the organization” kick. Several people I used to work with are gone, and we lost two more today. My pal Laurie is gone tomorrow, although she found another job when they told her about the “new corporate plan”…writing on the wall, when you see the new company organization chart and you aren’t on it, take a clue and start looking FAST…My part of the organization is still looking at ways to save money.

 

I told honey we may need to think about early retirement and living in a shack somewhere, since I doubt we could keep living here the way it’s going, with 12% unemployment…I will have to wait and see. Today they announced someone was now going to lead a new unit (formed with what’s left of three old units) and she will get a title, but no more $$$.

 

Current Situation

So when I write things about taxes and so forth, I don’t do it lamenting my own situation, but the situation our country is in.

 

If I had a lot of money, why would I want to give it to the government, instead of making it useful to, DUH, make more money.

 

An example of what I am referring to (sort of)

I have an uncle who used to sell real estate, just a sales guy selling houses. Then back in 1968, he figured he knew enough to manage some apartments, so he did. Be bough a 4 unit complex, lived in one and managed the other three. He fixed it up, and kept them occupied. As the property value went up, he used the apartments for collateral, and bought some more apartments. Soon he had 12, and decided he needed to have someone else manage the other units, since he wasn’t able to do all the maintenance and all the duties of management by himself, so he hired a manger for each, gave them free rent and a small salary. Then he kept doing this process for probably 15 years, eventually he needed fulltime maintenance people, so he hired some. And ground keeping crew, to keep the gardens looking nice. By 1980’s, he had a sizable operation. He formed a corporation. He managed the corporation, eventually he employed I think 55 people. When it doubled, he hired more. His brother, also in this business, said buy me out, so he did, and took on even more houses and apartments. He employed over 100 people. Technically it was his corporation, it was his money. He was CEO and President, his wife the treasurer and secretary. No stockholders, just him, and his wife. They took a risk buying every property, knowing things could not work out, they could lose it all.

 

When he retired in 1998, he sold his corporation, and is wealthy now. Lives in a nice retirement home in a pretty ritzy area east of San Francisco. Takes trips with his wife every summer to someplace new. Enjoys life. Why not, it’s HIS money.

 

Uncle Sam didn’t earn it, didn’t build the company with him. But now Uncle Obama says he shouldn’t have all that money, he should share it. Why?

He says he doesn’t mind paying taxes, but feels the government( current and past, and probably future) needs to think about who is building companies, who is earning money and not be telling him what to do. I agree with him.

I guess that means I am a bad person in some peoples view. Nobody said to him earn a lot of money and then give it to the government. Nobody should ever say that.

 

So when I hear people carping about Tax the rich, tax the rich, I think about how many jobs won’t exist because the capital to hire them is being eaten up by taxes. How many small businesses will simply close rather than work for nothing?