Comment Re: big tech worker here-in touch with reality (Score 1) 265
I can see why you have that response to my post, and I apologize for not being clearer.
It's not that I am dead set against paying more in taxes, or that I am concerned about socialists coming for my money. I am fairly centrist, but I definitely don't mind paying more in taxes to help create a more equitable society. I lean pretty far left when it comes to social safety networks and such. I've been poor before myself, I know a thing or two about it. Which is part of why I realize how lucky I am now.
In any case, my main point is only that if you tax me at a punitive rate trying to pay for such programs, you will get nowhere near close to achieving it. The real money is clustered in about 0.1% of the population, and that is how we can create a more equitable future. The super elite don't typically have a job with a super high paycheck (although some do). They get a lot of their income through stock options, and preffered class stock shares. They thus only pay a max of 20% on their income because so much of it is "capital gains". See Warren Buffet's famous example of how his secretary pays more as a percentage of her resources in taxes than he does. And that is what I am against. It's inexcusable that someone making $10 million/year off investments might pay a lower percentage in tax than I am. I am privileged, for sure, but not so wealthy that I don't rely on my job and career to make ends meet each month. Lose my job and catch a few bad breaks and I am in a similar boat as you. Not true of Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. I could afford to pay more, sure, but before you come after me, I want that loophole fixed. The real money is sitting there laughing their asses off as successful professionals get villified and squeezed, all while leaving them untouched.
Anyways, the whole point was in response to the question of "Gee, why do these wealthy tech professionals skew towards supporting a socialist money grabber that wants to crack down on tech companies?" The answer given by the OP, that I concurred with, was that we aren't "rich", and that we have much more in common with the working poor than with the soietal elites. We recognize that a couple of bad breaks could leave us right back at the bottom with no safety net. And we recognize that without a thriving middle class, everyone but the elties is toast, including us. So, generally speaking, we will support a candidate who seems to take that seriously.
Disclaimer: I am not a Bernie supporter, but I get his appeal. I'll vote for him in the general if he is the Dem standard bearer.
It's not that I am dead set against paying more in taxes, or that I am concerned about socialists coming for my money. I am fairly centrist, but I definitely don't mind paying more in taxes to help create a more equitable society. I lean pretty far left when it comes to social safety networks and such. I've been poor before myself, I know a thing or two about it. Which is part of why I realize how lucky I am now.
In any case, my main point is only that if you tax me at a punitive rate trying to pay for such programs, you will get nowhere near close to achieving it. The real money is clustered in about 0.1% of the population, and that is how we can create a more equitable future. The super elite don't typically have a job with a super high paycheck (although some do). They get a lot of their income through stock options, and preffered class stock shares. They thus only pay a max of 20% on their income because so much of it is "capital gains". See Warren Buffet's famous example of how his secretary pays more as a percentage of her resources in taxes than he does. And that is what I am against. It's inexcusable that someone making $10 million/year off investments might pay a lower percentage in tax than I am. I am privileged, for sure, but not so wealthy that I don't rely on my job and career to make ends meet each month. Lose my job and catch a few bad breaks and I am in a similar boat as you. Not true of Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. I could afford to pay more, sure, but before you come after me, I want that loophole fixed. The real money is sitting there laughing their asses off as successful professionals get villified and squeezed, all while leaving them untouched.
Anyways, the whole point was in response to the question of "Gee, why do these wealthy tech professionals skew towards supporting a socialist money grabber that wants to crack down on tech companies?" The answer given by the OP, that I concurred with, was that we aren't "rich", and that we have much more in common with the working poor than with the soietal elites. We recognize that a couple of bad breaks could leave us right back at the bottom with no safety net. And we recognize that without a thriving middle class, everyone but the elties is toast, including us. So, generally speaking, we will support a candidate who seems to take that seriously.
Disclaimer: I am not a Bernie supporter, but I get his appeal. I'll vote for him in the general if he is the Dem standard bearer.