The Super Rich Are Richer Than We Thought, Hiding Huge Sums

[dmcowen674]

4-14-2014


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/12/super-rich-richer_n_5138753.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

The Super Rich Are Richer Than We Thought, Hiding Huge Sums



A new pair of reports suggests that the super rich are richer than we thought.


The first report by Professors Emmanuel Saez (UC Berkeley) and Gabriel Zucman (LSE and UC Berkeley) addresses the question of how to measure total wealth, finding that there is an increasing concentration in the top one-thousandth.


So where is all this wealth going? The second report, by Zucman, demonstrates that a lot of the money is held in offshore tax havens -- far more than previously known.



New York Times columnist Paul Krugman summed up the numbers Friday, arguing that they tell us "something important about how the world really works."


"At the commanding heights of the US economy, hiding a lot of one’s wealth offshore is probably the norm, not the exception," Krugman wrote.

Read the full papers on wealth concentration here, and the one on offshore tax havens here.

 

[dmcowen674]

You know I'm not surprised.

I've said since the beginning, the only thing the rich trickle down is shit.

 

[Attic]

Trickling down shit is the easy part. The real magic comes in convincing the masses that those turds are really pixie dust. Not everybody believes the same story, so we have a few stories and 2 very popular stories that are told to people.

The sad part is that both R and D get heavily involved in deceiving the masses about this model and whats really coming down the shoot. Dems are content to pass on the lie that handing over more control to government results in less turdage on the people, Repubs are too stubborn to see anything other than free markets and capitalism where there is only crony capitalism and the worship of profit first and profit only.

We live in a plutocracy with a thinly veiled attempt to pass it on as democracy.

 

[kia75]

Trickling down shit is the easy part. The real magic comes in convincing the masses that those turds are really pixie dust.

It's not really that hard. "A lie told often enough becomes true" and there are books, channels, and stations devoted to telling the lie. What's a few hundred million when you have a few hundred billion?

 

[Attic]

It's not really that hard. "A lie told often enough becomes true" and there are books, channels, and stations devoted to telling the lie. What's a few hundred million when you have a few hundred billion?

True. I still find it amazing though, everybody walks around with a bit of their own reality distortion field that acts on their environment and conclusions about the environment around them. I suppose it's not really magic if folks want to and/or are predisposed to believe in cozy BS vs harsh realities. Our system has leveraged this tactic for the sake of control to a dangerous degree IMO. Only so much folks will take.

 

[glenn1]

Hopefully OP will get his wish and the rich will all renouce their U.S. citizenship. That'll really teach those billionaires.

 

[Newell Steamer]

B-b-but teh Koch brothers left a $2 tip for the waiter at Del Friscos on a $1,200 meal!!

 

[trenchfoot]

B-b-but teh Koch brothers left a $2 tip for the waiter at Del Friscos on a $1,200 meal!!

It's how these two plutocrats show their (dis)respect for the working class peasantry. But in defense of the Koch brothers, I bet the waiter got a lousy tip because the waiter forgot to kiss their rings and genuflect before taking their order.

Or maybe the waiter mistakenly faced away from those two crooks before bowing.

 

[Newell Steamer]

It's how these two plutocrats show their (dis)respect for the working class peasantry. But in defense of the Koch brothers, I bet the waiter got a lousy tip because the waiter forgot to kiss their rings and genuflect before taking their order.

Or maybe the waiter mistakenly faced away from those two crooks before bowing.

Better yet, the waiter should be perfectly fine with a $2 tip, because that is more than enough for someone to live off of,.. unless they are tattooed, iPhone carrying drug addicts that subscribe to cable TV and drive an expensive car,... even to go to the store down the street.

 

[Zaap]

Gee, another Dumb McOwned thread where he and his ilk demonstrate their jealousy over other people's money. How original.

 

[bshole]

Hopefully OP will get his wish and the rich will all renouce their U.S. citizenship. That'll really teach those billionaires.

I would welcome that. First though, we confiscate their wealth, beat the ever loving fuck out of them, and let them serve long harsh sentences in America's roughest prisons.

 

[michal1980]

the biggest issue I see with the dems, is they use the .1% of the rich to get their base mad, so they can tax the top 5-20% as if there was no difference between a dr make 300k, and a billionaire.

 

[Veliko]

Gee, another Dumb McOwned thread where he and his ilk demonstrate their jealousy over other people's money. How original.

Don't worry!

Those Other People have seen your valiant attempts at defending their honour, and they will bestowing you with riches and blowjobs any minute now!

 

[Vic]

"Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale."

 

[Zaap]

Don't worry!

Those Other People have seen your valiant attempts at defending their honour, and they will bestowing you with riches and blowjobs any minute now!

LOL one of the poster children for dumb, jealous, envious of other people's money busibodies steps up.

Some sad facts no one ever bothered to tell you because it was too-PC, or they felt sorry for you or whatever:

Nothing you EVER do will grant you ONE THIN DIME of anyone else's money. Others have more than you, because you are mostly USELESS to EVERYONE in this world. You dont' do, and aren't capable of doing anything that's worth other people's time and money in any great amount.

But by all means, keep banging your head against the wall, whining because others have more than you do.

 

[Veliko]

LOL one of the poster children for dumb, jealous, envious of other people's money busibodies steps up.

Some sad facts no one ever bothered to tell you because it was too-PC, or they felt sorry for you or whatever:

Nothing you EVER do will grant you ONE THIN DIME of anyone else's money. Others have more than you, because you are mostly USELESS to EVERYONE in this world. You dont' do, and aren't capable of doing anything that's worth other people's time and money in any great amount.

But by all means, keep banging your head against the wall, whining because others have more than you do.

My good friend, your efforts are not going unnoticed!

I've just received word that you will be getting double blowjobs and chips this week!

Keep up the good work! The wealth will be trickling down to you any day now!

 

[Londo_Jowo]

So where are they hiding this money? Safe? Mattresses? Cans buried in their backyards?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I would welcome that. First though, we confiscate their wealth, beat the ever loving fuck out of them, and let them serve long harsh sentences in America's roughest prisons.

Well look, it's Billy Badass of the Intarweb.

 

[Genx87]

I would welcome that. First though, we confiscate their wealth, beat the ever loving fuck out of them, and let them serve long harsh sentences in America's roughest prisons.

I like these threads. We get to see who is the crazy among us.

 

[Newell Steamer]

So where are they hiding this money? Safe? Mattresses? Cans buried in their backyards?

Here you go - have fun!!

http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/offshore-tax-havens/

 

[Londo_Jowo]

So they have other people saving their money in mattresses and cans. Guess that should keep them from dealing with bed bugs or getting their hands dirty.

 

[BoberFett]

For the people who hate the wealthy, what elements of humanity are you unable to take part in because these wealthy people have too much money?

What more would you have if their wealth were redistributed? Would you have twice as many cars? Twice as large a house? Eat twice as much?

In an economy based on consumption, what more do you feel you could consume?

 

[glenn1]

I would welcome that. First though, we confiscate their wealth, beat the ever loving fuck out of them, and let them serve long harsh sentences in America's roughest prisons.

Ooooh, will it be televised for progressive's entertainment? Perhaps we can recreate the Colliseum with them being thrown to the lions or even the epic sea battles they used to hold. Panem et circesen for the 21st century. Maybe we can recreate the scene from Merchant of Venice where we seize the assets of the modern-day Shylocks and repudiate debts owed to them; but I guess you have something more bloodthirsty in mind than their simple forced religious conversion.

 

[Veliko]

For the people who hate the wealthy, what elements of humanity are you unable to take part in because these wealthy people have too much money?

What more would you have if their wealth were redistributed? Would you have twice as many cars? Twice as large a house? Eat twice as much?

In an economy based on consumption, what more do you feel you could consume?

Look how stupid this post is.

We should point at it and talk about how stupid it is.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

For the people who hate the wealthy, what elements of humanity are you unable to take part in because these wealthy people have too much money?

What more would you have if their wealth were redistributed? Would you have twice as many cars? Twice as large a house? Eat twice as much?

In an economy based on consumption, what more do you feel you could consume?

Look how stupid this post is.

We should point at it and talk about how stupid it is.

Actually, that's not a joke.

Even with many peoples best efforts, some are still unable to provide for themselves or their families the basic necessities of survival.

Meanwhile, those who are born into wealth and have been a bunch of non-contributing zeroes to society gamble 100k every weekend in Vegas because they have nothing better to do with their time or money. Their income is solely based off of capital gains and taxed at half of the tax ratio that you and I pay. The rich do not make their money off of income like you and I do; they make their income in capital gains.