Wouldja rather just be rich or superduperly obscenely rich? Which rich is YOUR cuppa tea? Because?

Bill & Melinda Gates got other billionaires to sign a pledge which says that the majority of their fortune will be left to charities. And they currently are involved in running their own charities and have already given out billions of dollars. Warren Buffet and others signed that pledge and the last I heard there were over 100 of them. The ones to whom I refer are the greedy selfish cheapskates who want more and more and more and would prefer to pay no taxes. The unpatriotic  wealthy who don't give a dam* about giving back unless they can take tax write-offs for it. I doubt that The Donald John would sign that pledge. What do I consider "rich"?  When you have tons of money and will never be able to spend it and want more and more and more and if it is at the expense of others you don't give a rat's a**. Now of course that means the number is flexible. For some it would be having millions. For others it would be billions. The Braggart known as The Donald John tells us often how rich he is yet he is milking the country dry and getting richer off us as are all his relatives and friends. There are some swell very rich people.  It not those about whom I ever complain. They are the good guys/gals. They have hearts and they care and use their money and influence to make things better for others. Not so of The Donald John crew. They are all in it for themselves.  I have nothing but contempt and disdain for all of them. Did I answer your question Don? The greedy selfish cheapskates are indeed THE ENEMY. That is how I see them. It would be as if I were dying and the doctor turned away from me and left me there. Donald John is not good at helping people. I think he gets bored. He is great at stirring up divisive emotions and being the center of attention and sucking all the air out of the room and then congratulating himself for the wonderful job he does. He is my enemy as are all others like him who wield power over me. Thank you for your question.  When you say "you'll never hear about most of us" do you mean you are wealthy? If so in order for me to comment on you specifically I would have to know more about you. Are you a cheapskate/greedy/selfish rich guy or do you give back? Are you an example of Noblesse Oblige or are you an example of haughty selfish greedy?  I have a darling very wealthy friend who is a lawyer. She and her husband make a lot of money. She is always donating her time and money to charitable causes. Her special love is animals and children. She spends time at animal shelters trying to get folks to adopt them and homeless shelters. She and her  husband attend many charitable functions. They also travel a lot and wherever they are they try to do a little something to give back. She is my hero. I think she is a splendid example of what a human being who cares and has the ability and money can do to make the world a better place. At least in her little corner of it. Do you do that too? :)

Well at least we've cleared some of that up. Attaining success, what self made rich people like to call wealth, is not, in and of itself, evil. Nor, on the whole, are those who are rich. 

For myself, yes, I have more dough than I'll likely ever spend, and a very generous dividend income to supplement that. Most of my friends and neighbors do too. We all (as far as I know) contribute to worthy charitable causes, tip generously, and (beyond any doubt) pay way more in taxes than the ordinary working class American. 
Does this make us better Americans? No, of course not. Does it excuse the greed of some in this strata? Again no. What it SHOULD do is warrant a little less bile from those in the working class who our enterprises employ and in the social programs our taxes fund (more than most) to prop up. 

I can tell you that I can't give a blanket endorsement to any entire class of people, miscreants are found at every level. Trump is an embarrassment. I would suggest that you temper your commentary in regard to whole classes of people (be they social, economic, whatever) as it fails to credit the positive in the cause of emphasizing the negative. Scapegoating. The Nazis did this, to our collective shame.


This post was edited by Don Barzini at September 29, 2017 5:48 AM MDT

I thought I had disabused you of telling me to "temper" my words. I thought we already cleared that up. I say what I think without "tempering" or editing Why? Because anything else is a lie. If you don't like how I express myself I totally understand. There are others who dislike it too. That is not my problem. Some folks don't mind it. Some even like it. Here's the thing. I'm here to please me not you Don. I love engaging with folks who are smart, thoughtful and knowledgeable about things I didn't know. Would some of them prefer that I express myself differently? I don't know. They don't presume to tell me what I SHOULD DO so I shall never know. Again I will repeat what I told you before. If you like our chats please continue to show up. But also please stop telling me what I should do. I do not take kindly to it. I don't tell you what to do EXCEPT for  not telling me what I should do according to you. So I'm hoping I won't have to repeat myself a third time. It won't be the charm. Thank you for your reply. I explained myself at great length. I have nothing more to say on the subject. I'm tapped out.

Well once again we collide with one of the unfortunate practices you seem prone to, Rosie:  Reading more into comments than is actually there.

I merely suggested that you think more carefully about what you post, but that is obviously beyond your will or capacity. 
If it were my way to dictate to you, it would be more toward giving a rest to spamming this site with your unrelenting tide of political hate. But, as it is a free country, and the moderators are indifferent to it, it is your absolute right to make whatever comments you deem necessary. 

It speaks volumes about you that this is what you chose to focus on out of my reply. 

I will remain hereabouts as it amuses me, to toss in my two cents, and call you on points that strike me as BS. Good day to you. This post was edited by Don Barzini at September 29, 2017 4:54 PM MDT

Rosie, I for one appreciate your contribution to this site. Your questions are well constructed and display a vast knowledge and passion for politics. Although I don't share your same passion, I applaud you for staying true to the person you are and not caving in to the pressure of those who don't appreciate all you've contributed. It sure beats the he!! out of the "will you wear" nonsense questions. 

((hugs)) Oh my dear pal you have no idea how much I appreciate that! Really it touches my heart. There is no point in pretending to be someone I am not just to please other people. If you like me that's great. If you tolerate me that's okey dokey. If you can't stand me I have no problem with that. Some folks I like, some I tolerate and some I can't stand either so it's all good in my opinion. At least everyone I encounter gets to know the true me. Some folks get offended when I don't roll over and thank them for telling me what I SHOULD do or say. If I did that whom would I be? Certainly not me. ((hugs)) Double hugs to thee PC and Happy Saturday to thee! You just made my day, week, month year here! :):):):):):)

For one day I would like to know what that feels like. Go into a store, see something I like and not even look at the price tag and buy it. But I don't know whom I would be if I were very wealthy. I would hope I wouldn't  change but I dunno if that would be possible. There are some really swell really wealthy people. I think it was Bill & Melinda Gates who got other billionaires to sign a pledge that the majority of their fortunes would be left to charities. Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg and others are on that list. Last I heard there were over 100 of them. I'm sure The Donald John is NOT on it. Thank you for your reply PC and Happy Friday to thee! :)

I would be surprised if the core of you would change.  You would probably have more "stuff", be generous in your causes and who knows, maybe buy a house or dream car. But I don't see you changing your core values. 

That is awfully kind of you to say PC but I'm not so sure. If I  had been born to a very wealthy family my experiences would have been entirely different. My DNA quite likely would have been totally different. I'd like to hope I'd be a decent person and give back as many wealthy folks do. I have a dear friend whom I met on Answerbag years ago. She and her hubby are very successful in their professional lives and are quite wealthy. They travel a lot and I enjoy their travels vicariously. She kindly take pictures of places of they go which really gives me the feeling of having shared the trips with them. Do you know how she spends much of her free time? Yep.  Giving back. She volunteers at shelters and spends effort on getting pets adopted out. She doesn't just donate money. She rolls up her sleeves and gets down in the trenches and works with others. She spends time and money and effort and passion on other charitable things. I am very proud of her and I think she is the epitome of Noblesse Oblige. She is my role model. I would LOVE  to think that I could be like her. But I don't  know. I'm not a huge fan of acquiring "things". I think if we won the lotto though Jim and I would buy a condo at the beach.  We are both Scorpios and love being at the beach. But it is  VERY EXPENSIVE in southern  California to live in view of the ocean. A dream that will probably never be realized. But we already know that we would be involved with something to do with abused animals and needy children. Thank you for your kind reply. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you but I surely appreciate you! :) This post was edited by RosieG at September 30, 2017 7:19 PM MDT

Those are some kind words back. Thank YOU!

You're welcome PC! Happy Sunday to thee! :)

Thank you for a very thoughtful and revealing reply DG.  I appreciate the time you gave to seriously answering my question. I know we can't ever really KNOW whom we would be if our circumstances were totally different. Jim and I don't really require much in the way of "things" to be happy. The one luxury we would buy would be a condo at the beach . We are both Scorpios and love looking out at the ocean and walking on the sand and seeing the sparkle of the sun like diamonds in the water. Beyond that we would definitely get involved in some charitable endeavors.  Mostly abused animals and anything to do with children. The need is so great.  Happy Sunday to thee m'dear! :) This post was edited by RosieG at October 1, 2017 4:26 AM MDT

I'm certain you'd still be a positive and responsible person, Rosie. Thanks and Happy Sunday to thee too!