Do you trust the rich?

[mix]

Poll question: Do you trust the rich?

[asdjrocky]

1. How do I vote, FUCK NO? nt

[slay]

9. +1

exactly

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I trust them to look out for their own interests.

[mix]

And that is exactly why their power is suspect. nt

[Naturyl]

3. Who are the ones voting yes?

Obedient workers, no doubt.

[LAGC]

4. What a hateful post. This post has no place on DU.

:sarcasm:

[Poll_Blind]

10. I thank you for the sarcasm tag...

...because I do see posts like that from time to time.

:rofl:

PB

[rrneck]

5. I trust them

to be good with some fava beans and a good Chianti.

Ffffffffffffffff.

[PanoramaIsland]

8. I trust them to be good footrests.

Amazingly, some of them - the males especially - will actually pay me to render that service!

[me b zola]

17. Put the lotion in the basket!

Argh!

[Ron Green]

6. It's not the rich I don't trust, it's the upper middle class.

Those are the frightened bastards doing so much damage.

[me b zola]

18. This is the dirty little secret that nobody wants to talk about

It is those who have a taste of "the good life" that are fearful of losing that that fight the most against workers and regular people. Thank you for your post.

[Naturyl]

21. Want to know the even dirtier secret?

The middle middle class and a good portion of the lower middle class (working class) do the same - and all for the same reason. One cannot criticize those who one wishes to become.

[mix]

48. You are on to something, sadly. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

63. They can be trusted to act in their perceived best interest.

But there's 1 of them and 99 of us.

[Initech]

7. I trust the rich something like this:

[flamingdem]

11. .. and I don't trust the poor or middle class who become rich either! nt

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Depends.

On which ones, and the definition of "rich".

[mix]

14. Let's start with our political classes. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Kennedys, yes, Gores, yes, Bushes no. nt

[yourout]

13. "Aww Hell No..."

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_5QdHp04E>

[jobycom]

16. No, but I don't trust the poor or the middle class, either.

I don't even trust you. That's why regulation is the key to a good economy.

[mix]

19. So who do you trust?

:shrug:

[Naturyl]

20. I've been scratching my head over the yes votes

And then I remembered that rich people do post at DU.

Why, I have no idea.

[Cleobulus]

22. No, they are class enemies. n/t

[mix]

23. Is reconciliation possible?

Or have the ruling classes made this impossible?

[Cleobulus]

59. I would say they made it impossible, they declared war first...

what I find sad is that while they are happy to rob us blind, we fight amongst ourselves as to whether the war is even occurring, much less how to fight back.

[HEyHEY]

24. Hard to say, really.

In what sense? With my credit card? With politics? With my plant when I go on vacation?

[mix]

25. exactly nt

[EmeraldCityGrl]

26. At what $$$ do you stop trusting?

The doctor that makes $50, 000 a year for a non-profit?
The union worker making $20.00 hr.?
The cop earning $70,000?
The Teacher/Administrator earning $105,000?
The $2,000,000 lottery winner?
The parents who's child was killed and won a $5,000,000 settlement?

Funny how some people define "rich."

[mix]

27. Let's limit it to people who govern us, to make it simple. nt

[HEyHEY]

30. In that sense, no

Major reason being that, that's what has been happening for some time. It's gotten to the point where government only seems like it's here to facilitate business. That is not government's job.

[Naturyl]

29. The last two would probably have to be watched carefully.

A million is a pretty psychologically powerful number in America, even to this day. Millions tend to corrupt values and move people toward conservative thinking.

[Ozymanithrax]

28. Define Rich... n/t

[mix]

31. those bastards that call the shots

duh

[Ozymanithrax]

34. Who would those bastards be?

IN what way to they call the shots?
As bastards, is it an accident of birth or are they self made men?

And what do they do to call the shots?

As I asked, how do you define rich. Are they, for instance, too high in fat content like a German Chocolate cake? Do they have a high mineral content, as in a rich vein of quartz?

I sense a lot of populist anger. It seems that you are attacking a group. What makes someone a member of that group?

[mix]

35. Let's go with Merrill Lynch's wealth report:

HNWI and UHNWI, or people who earn over 1 million and 30 million respectively.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_net_worth_individual

The ruling class.

"Populist anger," is that a bad thing?

[Ozymanithrax]

37. Merill Lynch isn't a person...

specifically, it is the investment banking division of Bank America. It is not a rich living being, though probably many of it's 20,000 investors would fit.

But if you are asking me if I brand everyone who makes a million or more dollars a year with the same brush, no. I've known four people for sure who fit that level of income that I would trust with my life and the lives of my family. I knew one other that I would not trust with a pile of crap because he would steal it and use it to swindle money from someone. I don't think we should distrust a group because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or the level of income.

[mix]

38. How noble of you. nt

[Ozymanithrax]

39. No, I just refuse to surrender to prejudice. n/t

[mix]

42. You've raised the white flag.

Class is hard to confront, I understand.

[Ozymanithrax]

62. Yes but prejudice against a group because you don't like something they have..

is easy.

[cherokeeprogressive]

40. Let's try this from a different perspective...

Let's say that by "rich", you mean liberal heroes like film producers, musicians, actors, and the like. Some of them sign twenty million dollar contracts to film movies that might be total flops. Some of them get paid up front for albums that haven't been recorded yet, and books that haven't been written yet. Lots of them are hundred-millionaires BEFORE they sign those contracts.

Do you "trust" them?

[mix]

44. My liberal heroes aren't in the entertainment industry.

If the rich pay their way, fine. But that isn't the case.


http://www.dsausa.org/lowwage/Documents/2007/Income%20Gap.html?docID=3304

[Ozymanithrax]

64. And you think that high income is enough reason to distrust them?

You know absolutly nothing about them except that they seem to make more than 1 million a year, and that is enough to distrust them?

I know the whole class warefare schtick, but that is no different than detesting a group because they are gay, detesting blacks becuse they have a darker skin pigmentaiton, or detesting hispanics because they are brown. Class warfare choses a single attribute (money) and says because these people have more money so they are to be detested.

To quote Mary Colum in a conversation she had with Hemingway, "I think you’ll find the only difference between the rich and other people is that the rich have more money."

[mix]

67. You deny there are class interests among the top few percent,

that might be in conflict with the larger interests of society?

Your passionate defense is admirable, but words like "prejudice," "class warfare" and "detesting" are hyperbolic bullshit on your part.

Given the historically high wealth/income inequalities in the USA, the oil wars abroad, the power of corporations, the collapse of our schools and infrastructure, the tax rate, unemployment, poverty, environmental-destruction-for-profit, asking whether or not "the rich" can be trusted to use power responsibly and for the greater good is hardly a radical proposition.

Capitalism's effects demand such questions.

[Ozymanithrax]

70. No, I do not deny it, but I am a liberal...

One of he tenants of liberalism is individual rights.
In a nation where individual rights are developed some people will have more money.

Your poll is nothing more than a call for class warfare, so you should apply your own derogatory comment to your own screed. Calling for a poll to see who detests some group based on wealth is class warfare.

Choosing a single attribute to judge an entire group of people is prejudice.

I would agree with you if you called for our progressive tax system to go back to what it was in the 1950's or even in the 1990's under Clinton. That is a liberal idea requiring people to pay back to society in proportion to the benefit they receive from living in that society. I would agree if profits from stocks were taxed at a much higher rate than profits form a business that provided employment to people because that is liberal.

But the whole idea that we should distrust the rich because they have more money is class warfare and it is prejudice. We should treat people like individuals not members of a herd.

[mix]

73. lol nt

[Ozymanithrax]

74. I accept your white flag... n/t

[mix]

75. Here it is, with a touch of green

http://www.demos.org/inequality/numbers.cfm

[Ozymanithrax]

76. But your poll does not show me why I should distrust...

perhaps a million people that I don't know simply because they have more money.

It only shows that we need better tax policy.

Bring me scientific proof that money has critical mass that, when in lumps of $1 million or greater, destroys they character of individuals.

[mix]

77. "destroys they character of individuals"

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Ozymanithrax]

80. Why should I distrust one million individuals I don't know.

This is what you asked with your poll, that we simply distrust everyone who is rich. Both trust and distrust are earned. What does having a high income do to a million people that would earn my distrust of them as a group? You have implied that it grants entrance to this class that carries a contagion driving them only to act on class interest and thereby making them untrustworthy.

I don't buy your premise anymore than I accept the premise that the poor are inherently lazy and stupid that is often pedaled by the other side and therefore can not be trusted.

[KansDem]

78. Really?

"Merill Lynch isn't a person..."

The Supreme Court says you're wrong...

[Greyhound]

83. Anybody that can write a check for $250K without having to liquidate any assets. n/t

[Jamastiene]

32. I didn't see an option for HELL NO!

So, I just went with no.

[mix]

33. Yeah, I do.

We've all been cheated.

[Desertrose]

36. I trust them to look after their own interests at the expense of all others.

Do I trust them to look out after everyone else's best interests?

Hell no. Stupid question.

[uncommon]

66. Precisely. One can always trust the rich to do what is best for the rich.

Trust the words they say though? Of course not.

[flvegan]

41. Depends who it is.

Broadbrush smears aren't really welcome here, I don't think.

[mix]

43. Where's the smear? nt

[flvegan]

45. You asked if I trusted the rich.

Then tossed in a curve ball.

[WildEyedLiberal]

46. I trust or distrust individual people based on their actions

I distrust those who promote laissez-faire economics and corporate welfare; however, I don't think that's the same thing as saying that I distrust "the rich." I trust, for example, Al Gore or even Warren Buffet a lot more than I trust Joe the Plumber, even though he is decidedly not rich.

[mix]

47. Fair enough. nt

[Kurovski]

49. Mr. Moneybags is EVERYONE'S pal.

What gives here?

I didn't engage in the poll.

I judge people on the color of their skin, not the content of their bank account. :sarcasm:

Sounds strange, doesn't it?

[mix]

51. I don't consider class and ethnicity to be synonymous.

Class has to do with economic power.

[Kurovski]

52. Neither do I.

It still seems weird to me.

Wealthy people donate to DU and help keep it running. But I still don't know whether or not they're trustworthy based on their class.

[mix]

53. Do you trust the top 1% or 2 %, who control politics and the economy,

to make decisions beneficial for society at large? Do their class interests align with the rest of the country's? I suppose that is the question I am interested in here...

[Kurovski]

54. The good Americans would.

Some do, some don't. A battle is being conducted currently.

Some I would trust, others, no.

That's why I couldn't answer the poll. Who's on the list? Kerry? the Clintons? Geitner? Obama? Emmanuel? Frist? Greenspan? Pelosi? Oprah? Limbaugh? Groening? Moore? Some I trust more than others, others not at all. It's a long list.

But I couldn't participate in the poll as it was presented. And I wanted to be in a poll! :bounce: that's why i clicked in . :D

[mix]

56. Your nuance is appreciated! nt

[old mark]

50. NO! I trust them to do what made them rich to begin with -

exploit all others and make sure no one gets in their way in their sick drive to accumulate more pointless shit.

Gosh, I may be a bit biased....:shrug:

mark

[Papagoose]

55. I only know one truly rich person

I know a lot of wealthy people, but only one who I really think is "rich" as in nearly unlimited money, no need to ever work, so much that future generations are already taken care of. I do not trust him. He and his family's fortune are his only priority. He calls himself a patriot, a Republican patriot, of course, but his definition of patriotism is using this country to increase his obscene wealth and for some reason, excluding others from moving up the chain.

[hack89]

57. I trust the Kennedys, Clintons, Gore, Kerry. nt

[RadiationTherapy]

58. No. And I assume anyone worth more than 10 million is a crook of some kind

until they prove it otherwise to me.

People who accumulate money on that scale in this world of hurt have a moral glitch.

[Iggo]

60. To do what?

[mix]

69. To use power responsibly and for the greater good. nt

[DailyGrind51]

61. The FDR/JFK rich I can tolerate, it's the rest of them that cause me IBS!

[miscsoc]

65. If they could be trusted they wouldn't be rich

[Tuesday Afternoon]

68. ...I trust them to fuck me over.

[Forkboy]

71. I don't trust anyone. Money doesn't even enter into the equation for me.

Most humans suck, rich or poor.

[spanone]

72. about what?

[DevonRex]

79. That would depend on the individual, not their bank account. nt

[LanternWaste]

81. I've been both assisted and hindered by members of both extreme demographics...

I cannot in good conscious allow my trust for someone be based wholly on a demographic they may or may not belong to. I am in fact, forced to base my trust on the individuals themselves rather than their income level, or race, or religion.

If I did not trust the rich solely on the basis of the amount of wealth they posses, I'd be forced to allow the corollary-- an absolute trust of the entire population of the "poor"demographic.

Yet as I've been both assisted and hindered by members of both extreme demographics, I can only conclude that my faith (or lack of faith) is in the person alone rather than the income.

ed: clarity

[ParkieDem]

82. ?

Who are "the rich?

you can't lump them all together in one group. Come on.

[mix]

84. So class has no place then in discussing inequalities in the USA? nt

[Orsino]

85. Money insulates us from our fellow citizens.

I would say that, with exceptions, the wealthy are inherently less trustworthy because even the best-intentioned of them are less able to understand the concerns of the rest of us. I'll trust them when their money doesn't buy them undue influence over others.

I shouldn't have to trust them, these one-percenters who hide behind walls and lawyers.