Why do many liberals think that the rich do not deserve the same equal rights as the middle or lower class?

Question

All I hear from the left is whining about the rich. "They have it so easy... they just inherit everything.... they keep getting richer... and blah blah blah...."

When did it become the status quo in this country to be penalized for being successful?

"The rich should pay more" (or as they like to justify it.. their fair share". Really? Is that equality? That the rich pay a tremendously higher tax than the middle class or lower class?

The Dems are trying to propose that the Mortgage interest tax be repealed for those with homes larger than 4,200 sq. ft.!!! Shame on you for your success!

I am not rich..... yet! I am working towards it. Maybe I don't even get there... But what you people are basically saying is that you will never make it so punish those that do! Class envy is out of control! The "entitlement" movement is out of control.

I thought you lefties just want equality? To clue you in though, equality only means the equal opportunity. You have that.

Kelly B.... with ALL those "loop holes" why is it the top 5% still pay over 50% of revenue collected by the IRS? Just show me the reasoning for that.

Hey Nathan.... Dick Cheney was making well more than the $400,000.00 he is making for being VP. So he gave up massive salary to serve the country for 8 years.... what a greedy guy huh?

g - yes... they both have the FREEDOM to be inventive, to learn, to get an education, to start a business and to be successful. Why is it you feel people can't do this? That is YOUR problem. You do not believe in the capabilities of your fellow man. You believe they should be taken care of like children.... sad, very sad.

Answer 1

Excellent question. I think it goes to one of the fundamental differences between liberals and conservatives. Conservatives believe that every citizen should be given the opportunity to be successful if they choose, and that government should stay out of the way as much as possible. Liberals believe that if you are "fortunate" enough to be successful you have a responsibility to help those less fortunate and that the government needs to step and be sure they help them. Valid arguments can be made for both opinions. I think the point that liberals miss is how much money corporations and rich individuals donate on their own. I think that successful people and companies do way more to help the poor than the government could ever do.

Answer 2

Probably a better way to state the question would be that liberals believe that the poor and middle class should have the same rights and privilages as the wealthy.
Poor people do not have access to politicians, own media conglomerates or have access to the best schools/jobs/opportunities like the wealthy do.

Equal opportunity would be welcomed by the left wing me thinks. Although it will never happen.

Answer 3

It's not rich people that everyone has a problem with. It's greedy people. case in point. dick cheney makes less than$400,00 a year being vice president. That figure maybe higher or lower. But the point is on that salary he got a 1.5 million tax refund. As vice president all his business holdings go into a blind trust and taxes are filed separately. I made 50,000 last year got back $2100. By his standards I should have gotten back close to $150,000.Plus he looks unhappy all the time like he is scheming. But good luck with getting rich.

Answer 4

They openly admit to wanting wealth redistribution. The problem is that we all work for the wealthy, and everytime the wealthy are taxed, they pass that tax down to the same people, (democrats) who thought it was such a great idea to tax the rich. In the long run they only agree to tax themselves, and the rest of us with them.

Answer 5

Ok, so you expect the poor to pay for this massive debt caused by the rich man's president? His policies and tax cuts gave you more money to invest in Exxon, so you pay it back. You have it. We can't afford it.

Answer 6

Ask dems how many gave back more than their refund. Besides if they raise taxes on the rich, then they will just park their money in offshore accounts.

Answer 7

are you so naive to think that everyone has equal opportunity?

seriously?

George Bush Jr. and some kid born in the Memphis ghetto in the same year?

same opportunity? really?

and why does Warren Buffet say he doesn't pay as much in taxes as his secretary does, percentage wise? is he so stupid he doesn't know he's paying much more than she is?

and last, but not least... many feel that the wealthy do have a bigger responsibilty to society as a whole... our society is geared toward the wealthy and helping people gain wealth... so those that do achieve it may have a responsibilty to give back to the system that allowed their success...

not all... just more than the poor

Answer 8

The wealthy control the politicians. The politicians create the loopholes for the wealthy to hide their money and avoid paying their 'fair' percentage.

There is a difference between being successful and acting like you are superior to the very people who have made you wealthy because you overcharged them for your product.

Answer 9

It's not anger at the rich for being rich. It's anger at those rich people who really *do* think they are too good to have to pay taxes or abide by the same laws as the rest of us. And don't tell me there aren't any of them out there.

THAT'S what bothers *me*...

Answer 10

Sweetheart, I've met more rich people who think they are entitled to everything and anything just because they have money. They've been creating a class war on the middle class and lower class for decades.
When did it become o.k with you that those who benefit the most from this country shouldn't pay their fair share and sacrifice like the rest of us do, especially in the time of war? Middle class and lower class kids are fighting in Iraq while the rich take in more money from the stockmarket and buying up realestate with their enormous tax returns Bush gave to them twice.
There is no class envy because I don't care if I'm rich or not. I just want them to pay their fair share, and they don't. Their taxes have been systemically lowered since the 1950's compared to the middle and lower income brackets.
What entitlement programs are you talking about?
The large tax breaks to those who buy trucks or SUV's?
The subsidies given to large corporations (otherwise known as corporate welfare).
The enormous tax loopholes given to those with more than their share of real estate that they could possibly live in at one time?
Why shouldn't these people have to have more mortgage interest tax? When they live in a McMansion of 4200 sq. ft or more they take up more water, more utilities, more energy and more resources to supply that home. It's obscene.
It's not an issue of 'shame on you for your success', but it is a matter of 'if you're going to live like a pig, you should pay up'.

BTW, I would much rather pay for someone in the middle class or lower class to have health benefits than anyone in the upper class to have another SUV in their yard, or more tax loopholes.

Equality means, equal access, equal opportunity and it means equal pay buddy. Where's the equal access to politicians, the media and other opportunities that only the rich can buy into. The media are using OUR public airwaves, yet I don't get access to say what I want like the rich do. Yet my tax dollars pay for it. The rich think they thing they are entitled to everything just because they have money. That's not equality, that's an imbalanced system that's weighted on the side of monied interests.
BTW, Even Warren Buffet the billionaire says the rich should pay more because they aren't paying their fair share. Bill Gates says the same thing along with alot of other rich people who have their heads on straight.

Angie, sweetheart. The poor don't pay taxes. Actually that's not true. They do pay taxes and they pay more taxes since Bush has gotten into office. And, so does the middle class. The rich don't pay nearly as much taxes since he's gotten into office. But I, being that I am middle class, pay more than the rich in terms of percentage of my income. I don't have the huge loopholes that I can use, I don't have the offshore accounts I can stash my cash in, I don't have the illegal nanny that I can write off taxes for, I don't have all the write offs that the rich can take. I don't have the money to take lots of trips around the country and around the world to be able to write that off my taxes too. And, believe me honey, they do that and they are able to hire top notch lawyers and accountants to do it for them. Stop trying to read stats on taxes when you don't know how to read them. If you're middle class, I can guarantee you pay more in taxes as a percentage of your income than any rich person pays as a percentage of his or her income.

BTW, who is going to pay for this huge debt and this war that GWB has created? Where is the money going to come from? Trees?

Edit: The money that rich people donate to "charities" actually goes to museums, university trusts, are museums, theaters etc etc. All of this is great, but they are not giving money to the poor or homeless shelters. So are these trusts and museums actually charities at all? Of all the money that is donated in this country, less than 10% goes toward the poor, poor families, homeless shelters etc. That's it. Yet, these monies which the rich give can be written off their taxes as charities.