Quote Originally Posted by Jasongreat View Post
=freyguy;566427]



If someone had given you a check at that time, so you could afford lunch, would you still have had the drive to try and better your circumstances, or would it have made it a little easier to stay where you were? IME, as soon as someone gets comfortable there is no longer the same drive to propel them further, why would there be, they are comfortable.[




In the US you are more than likely talking about people that started the same as us, little guys. Steve Jobs started Apple in his garage, now he employs thousands and thousands of people, oh, and makes loads of money. John Hunstman had very humble beginings, yet is a billionaire who has vowed to die broke by giving it all away. Any one, from any beginning can become wealthy, as long as they want to be bad enough, work hard enough for it, and make the correct choices along the way. IMO, that is what handouts rob from those it is meant to help most.





A ways back you said:



So now you dont think the excellent swordsmith should be paid for his skills and education, or the producer that can produce a bottle of champagne that someone would pay 3,000 dollars for? Do you notice how wealth was re-distributed naturally? The wealthy person gave his wealth to a craftsman, the interesting thing is they both got value for value. Both walked away feeling satisfied and happy with the deal.
Who do you think builds the huge homes the wealthy live in, the cars they drive, the food they eat, the products they buy? The rich already have their money and can afford not to buy new things, invest in new ventures, or for that matter make more taxable income. I think that every one that thinks that their supposed greed will keep them producing no matter how big a load you throw on their back, will find the rich arent as greedy as they may seem to some, instead they will suddenly become content with what they have, and we will get no new economic growth and no new tax revenue for you to re-distribute.


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And condemned to live with/pay for, the consequences of choices they make, not to force others to pay for the consequences of their choices.
If someone had given me a check in order to afford lunch, I would have still worked to better myself. Despite being in a more comfortable position today, I still strive to be in a better position tomorrow, because thats the kind of person I am. When I find myself comfortable, I know it's time for me to get up and start busting my hump again to get to the next challenge.

The redistribution of wealth that is being suggested is not nearly as extreme as everyone seems to suggest. We're not talking about someone below the poverty line being brought up to a comfortable living situation. Nor will a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs be slumming it on the streets. Instead we're talking about balance. Closing the huge gap between the middle class and the upper class. Let's be real. Bill Gates alone has more money then he could spend in a single life time. What do you even do with that money? There has got to be a point when you can say, I have more money then I can could ever desire.