Some of my friends are throwing "inheritance parties"

Agree wrote:

zohan wrote:

The ethic of "hard work" is severely over-rated.

This - it's basically capitalist brainwashing to keep people from rising up against elites and continue producing shit for them. "Hard work" is a lie

Yeah, its an old Puritanical idea that somehow the guy that wakes up and digs ditches every day is somehow more noble than the person who's parents were smart and lucky enough to buy vast amounts real estate, invent new products, invest wisely, etc. is absurd.

Analyzerr wrote:

Dead Inside wrote:

This is a thing now - my rich friends are going all out on parties to celebrate their future inheritances. I went to one this weekend, it was pretty awesome. Fire-eaters, magicians, semi-famous DJs spinning, lots of booze, top-notch catering. The party must have been at least 100k. It was done under the guise of "celebrating" their upcoming inheritance. These guys come from super impressive families and will likely inherit upwards of $10 million. I just think it's tacky. I'm in Chicago BTW.

Remind me again why inheritance/estate tax is bad?

Might it be double taxation? Taxing money that has already been taxed? Not sure, I'm I missing something?

zohan wrote:

Agree wrote:

This - it's basically capitalist brainwashing to keep people from rising up against elites and continue producing shit for them. "Hard work" is a lie

Yeah, its an old Puritanical idea that somehow the guy that wakes up and digs ditches every day is somehow more noble than the person who's parents were smart and lucky enough to buy vast amounts real estate, invent new products, invest wisely, etc. is absurd.

The second guy is not noble because he was just lucky when his mom shit him out.

If I ever had the displeasure of giving birth to such spoilt brats I'd dash their heads against a sharp rock and start over. Pathetic.

Bump. This was the original "rich guy pretending to be poor" troll.

When Did It Become Bad? wrote:

Dead Inside wrote:

Yes, but you don't understand the mindset of the very wealthy. They don't want their kids to be some loser office worker. They want them to have fabulous lives.

I don't think that is inherently bad. I also don't think it is unique to the very wealthy. I spend my days in a crappy office and I will definitely encourage my children to do something a bit more meaningful.

When did it become bad for a parent to want their kids to have fabulous lives? Maybe you are using the word fabulous in a way that suggests faaaabulous and I just missed it.

You have the wrong mindset. Productive work like what you likely do is incredibly useful and necessary and beneficial. We live in a society and s#it has to get done. Buildings don’t build themselves. They don’t finance themselves. They don’t design themselves. They don’t lease themselves. On and on. Pick anything. This work provides good and services and taxes that pays for roadways first responders and defense and everything else. And your salary pays for your damn house where you raise your kids.

These super rich can blow their money. That’s fine. Good for them. That too adds to the economic engine. But don’t think that working a job is not meaningful.

I read a few posts on this thread. The reason why trickle down economics has proven to be highly inefficient is due to the many investment and spending choices.

I will give you two scenarios.

Choice A. Give everyone with net worth less than $100,000 and income less than $50,000 $5000. Those who earn less than $50,000 with a net worth of less than $100,000 will pay debt, spend money in U.S. or invest in U.S. accounts. This is not a guess. We know working people, when receiving tax returns either reduce debt or spend money in U.S.

Choice B. Reduce taxes by 5% on 1/2 billionaires and wealthier. Maybe they will pay off some debt. Maybe they will invest more in a business. Maybe they will save more. Maybe they will place the money in a numbered bank account overseas. Maybe they will stuff cash in their safe deposit box.

Giving more money to rich people has proven not to help U.S. economy. Most years from 1940 to 1960, top marginal tax rate was over 90%. U.S. economy grew at a faster rate then than the past twenty years. The last time U.S. had balanced budgets was during an era of higher taxes on wealthy U.S. citizens. H.W. Bush and W. Clinton raised top marginal tax rate on U.S. citizens.

Analyzerr wrote:

Dead Inside wrote:

This is a thing now - my rich friends are going all out on parties to celebrate their future inheritances. I went to one this weekend, it was pretty awesome. Fire-eaters, magicians, semi-famous DJs spinning, lots of booze, top-notch catering. The party must have been at least 100k. It was done under the guise of "celebrating" their upcoming inheritance. These guys come from super impressive families and will likely inherit upwards of $10 million. I just think it's tacky. I'm in Chicago BTW.

Remind me again why inheritance/estate tax is bad?

Because like every other kind of tax, the people who are really rich don't pay it. The people who pay it are the middle class who get f*cked for trying to have a little bit of something.

And you wonder why this is the entitlement generation.

Dead Inside wrote:

This is a thing now - my rich friends are going all out on parties to celebrate their future inheritances. I went to one this weekend, it was pretty awesome. Fire-eaters, magicians, semi-famous DJs spinning, lots of booze, top-notch catering. The party must have been at least 100k. It was done under the guise of "celebrating" their upcoming inheritance. These guys come from super impressive families and will likely inherit upwards of $10 million. I just think it's tacky. I'm in Chicago BTW.

True honesty.

My father died in 2007...left me nothing.

I wasn't the only child.

Any period for any pension based inheritance expired last year.

Essentially, I'll eventually become homeless and destitute if she passes because while I look out for her now, if she passes, then I'll have nothing.

But in my true fashion,I'd want you to enjoy your luxuries simply because you were fortunate.

I'd hope maybe you would slip a dollar my way just like I gave a homeless man 3 weeks ago $10...causing the car in front of me to donate.

That's all. Don't feel bad for being poor or rich...but if affluent a bit, help a bit.

I added * for my mother

This should clarify

I’m now selling tshirts that say “$10 million isn’t that much money.”

In reality, from what I have seen, these things are handled quite differently.

A friend I went to college with told me that when he turned 18 he got a chunk of money from his grandparents that was, he believed, the first installment of his trust fund. He told me he went out and indulged and partied and did it up in epic fashion.

Six months later they asked him in a non-chalant way if he could offer an accounting of what he had done with it.

Of course, he couldn't.

He came to find out that the money he had received was a down-payment of a much larger sum he was to inherit, but since he failed this test at being mature and responsible, he wasn't going to get the rest of it until much later, which he guessed to be at about age 30 or perhaps later. If, on the other hand, he had done virtually anything besides what he had done, he would have been given the rest of it at that time.

Absolutely true story, and I can tell you, he didn't have to convince me that that was exactly what he would have done with it. hell, he probably would have done it anyways, even if he knew the consequences. LOL.