$400K is not enough...whine whine...

[zephyp]

So, this twit law professor posts a blog trying to show how he and his family are having trouble making ends meet on a paltry income of over $400,000 per year. His goal was to speak out against the tax increase on those making over $250k and show that people like him were having trouble too.

THEN, he got reeeally upset because people made fun of him on his blog. What a moron...and now he fears for his life...better to keep stuff like that to yourself mr bigshot lawyer...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09 ... oundation/

[VBshooter]

Ah yes, one of those "teachers" we can;t do without according to the money wasting politicians of today, He;s got a lot of balls expecting anyone other than douchebags like himself to feel sorry for him... 400K is a nice chunk of change and is wasted on a Chicago Teacher,No wonder tuitions are sky high with no end in sight...For being such a jackass and putting his finances on his blog let's hope the IRS pays him a visit too.....

[TheGodfather]

I sure could "struggle" with $400,000/year.

[CowboyT]

Looks like it might be closer to $250,000/year. But even with that, this guy's doing pretty darn well. His problem is not one of not making enough money, it's one of mismanagement of his finances. This dude needs to wake up and get a clue on a few levels. If I had $250K/year, even in the heart of Marsden's and Saslaw's very-wealthy-and-expensive Fairfax County, I'd be sittin' pretty. So, this professor needs to shut up and start managing his finances right.

[KaosDad]

This laweyer and I have a lot in common - we're lousy cash manglers! It really doesn't matter if you make $50,000 a year or $5,000,000 a year - if you can't control spending and invest smartly, you'll "struggle."

Where'd I put that can of tuna?

[allingeneral]

This laweyer and I have a lot in common - we're lousy cash manglers! It really doesn't matter if you make $50,000 a year or $5,000,000 a year - if you can't control spending and invest smartly, you'll "struggle."

Where'd I put that can of tuna?

Amen, Brother.

Ramen noodles are good too!

[Runcible]

The point Henderson is making is that people who earn enough to be in Obama's definition of wealthy do not necessarily have a large margin of disposable income. In most cases, the earned income of "wealthy" people is small relative to the income they derive from asset holdings.

If you tax something you get less of it, if you subsidize something you get more of it. In this country we have a "progressive" income tax on wealth, and we have welfare state subsidies on poverty. Net result: fewer wealthy people and more poor people.

[zephyp]

The point Henderson is making is that people who earn enough to be in Obama's definition of wealthy do not necessarily have a large margin of disposable income. In most cases, the earned income of "wealthy" people is small relative to the income they derive from asset holdings.

If you tax something you get less of it, if you subsidize something you get more of it. In this country we have a "progressive" income tax on wealth, and we have welfare state subsidies on poverty. Net result: fewer wealthy people and more poor people.

Yes, that is precisely the point he was trying to make but when you're on the lesser end watching this guy who lives in the lap of luxury compared to how we live it comes across very bad. Many Americans have no disposable income and cutting their take home means less food, clothes, and shelter. For someone grossing over $400K less take home means giving up one of your Beamers or cutting out 1 week of your next 3 week vacation in Hawaii...

[skeeterss0]

It really doesn't matter if you make $50,000 a year or $5,000,000 a year - if you can't control spending and invest smartly, you'll "struggle."

kaos,
I agree whole heartedly, this sounds like something our elected leaders need to heed.

[gunderwood]

The point Henderson is making is that people who earn enough to be in Obama's definition of wealthy do not necessarily have a large margin of disposable income. In most cases, the earned income of "wealthy" people is small relative to the income they derive from asset holdings.

If you tax something you get less of it, if you subsidize something you get more of it. In this country we have a "progressive" income tax on wealth, and we have welfare state subsidies on poverty. Net result: fewer wealthy people and more poor people.

Yes, that is precisely the point he was trying to make but when you're on the lesser end watching this guy who lives in the lap of luxury compared to how we live it comes across very bad. Many Americans have no disposable income and cutting their take home means less food, clothes, and shelter. For someone grossing over $400K less take home means giving up one of your Beamers or cutting out 1 week of your next 3 week vacation in Hawaii...

It is a vicious cycle. Those Bimmers (Beamers are the bikes...it is an often confused distinction) are usually made in SC. Hawaii has rampant unemployment. What do those employee's do when BMW NA has to cut back or the tourist attractions close up and hotel staff are laid off?

IMO, we need to quit worrying about how much someone else makes, how they spend it, etc. The market is us and giving more of it to the government only makes everyone poorer. Creating more government jobs to make sure those making over $250k are paying a larger % than you are isn't the key to prosperity. Good, hard, honest work producing goods or providing services that other people, regardless of how much more or less they make then you, leads to prosperity. The more we worry about that other guy rather than our own business and the more we try to use government to make him pay the worse off we will be.

Just like the insurance company thread, don't forget that these rich people have lots of debt too. His wife is a doctor, how much do you think she owed for student loans? $100-$300k? Don't forget that she likely has to pay practitioner/malpractice premiums in line with what most of us gross yearly.

There are two key points:

1. Yes, they have more disposable income than most of us do (way more than I do). However, how many people would spend a decade in school, rack up hundreds of thousands in loans, pay premiums larger than a lot of us gross and work long hours if there wasn't an upside? They wouldn't. People do the difficult, dangerous and skilled jobs exactly because they do pay better.

2. If you remove the benefit of those jobs (BMWs, large homes, expensive firearms ) you not only use those skilled services, you also loose all of the jobs they support. I've posted pictures of the one custom rifle I have been able to afford, but it keeps a skilled gunsmith in business and purchasing other goods/services. What kinds of jobs do you think gets lost when the BMW plant in SC scales back or homes building stops?

Increased government control through taxation destroys liberty and removes more from the market place than it provides...always.

[zephyp]

Garrett - the points you make are valid and logically presented, however, the way this guy came across was not well received by those average families of 4 making $20,000 wondering how they're gonna put food on the table...logic does not prevail in that situation...only anger that some "rich" lawyer would rub his "lavish" income in the face of impoverished Americans and whine about making ends meet.

Sometimes its better to let someone else make the public argument for you...

[LFS]

And the family of 4 making only $10,000 will be angry at the lavish lifestyle of the family of 4 making $20,000. Where does it end? "Rich" is a relative term. One thing for sure is that if Obummer causes all the "rich" people making over $250,000 to go away, we'll have a lot more "rich" people below that mark that didn't use to be "rich".

[gunderwood]

And the family of 4 making only $10,000 will be angry at the lavish lifestyle of the family of 4 making $20,000. Where does it end? "Rich" is a relative term. One thing for sure is that if Obummer causes all the "rich" people making over $250,000 to go away, we'll have a lot more "rich" people below that mark that didn't use to be "rich".

+1

Yes, one day even I may be rich too! The only problem is I'm leaning towards it not being private jetting to my island and more like determining if there is enough food to have a meal today. But hot dog, I'll be rich!