How billionaires have fun -

[TBF]

While you are wondering how to pay the bills, put food on the table, and praying that you still have a job (or you're looking for one) - this is what the billionaires have been doing with their massive tax breaks:



How Billionaires Have Fun

Billionaires have it all – from fancy homes to exotic cars. But they also have some of the coolest toys.

When you have that much money, you can pretty much fulfill whatever childhood fantasy you want – from riding in the Batmobile to rocketing into outer space.

Click through to see some of the most awesome Toys of Billionaires.




Slideshow: http://www.cnbc.com/id/40316726

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. I have no hatred for the rich.

I just expect them to contribute a little. Just a wee.

[TBF]

5. Nor do I, but I do hate the system that encourages us to accept these inequities.

Should there really be so many homeless and such a big gap between the income of the richest and the rest (98%) of us?

[Xenotime]

82. if they fail to contribute, then tax them.

[TBF]

94. I think we can do without the measely "contributions" and just go for a 100%

tax rate after the first billion. We'd pay off the deficit in a year.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

102. ?

That's the contribution in question.

:shrug:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

2. As a billionaire, I have fun by

pretending to be poor.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I'd rather see them doing stuff like that than reforming our schools

or buying elections.

Just sayin . . .

[angstlessk]

6. they can do this cause they already did that! n/t

[TBF]

7. Trouble is they are doing both. nt

[midnight]

4. If Billionairs had to live with the same rules as the rest of us, they

would not be billionairs.....

[TBF]

8. They do live within the rules of capitalism -

unfortunately it's not an equitable system and capitalism only rewards greed.

[Warren DeMontague]

27. They certainly can afford

a good spell-checker.

[lunatica]

9. By the time I clicked on #9 I was totally bored with their toys.

They can have them.

[TBF]

11. Yes, I am secretly hoping they will head off to space in their spiffy new spaceships

and forget how to come home.

[flvegan]

10. Actually, that's the Bugatti Veyron Fbg Par Hermes.

A special edition of the Veyron, and not the fastest car in the world. Matter of fact, it's #3. The Bugatti Veyron Supersport is the fastest car in the world (right now), and prices for a little over $2 million.

Just a slight correction.

[gateley]

12. Some of those do look like fun! Obscene, empty, but fun! nt

[Warren DeMontague]

26. I looked up "fun" in my handbook on Dialectical Materialist Anti-Imperialist Whining and Moaning

and I couldn't find it.

[TBF]

35. Really? Try looking in the chapter on "guillotine" and I believe you'll find it there. nt

[maryf]

37. +1,000

:thumbsup:

[Warren DeMontague]

42. Ooooh, scawy!

Good luck with that. Really.

[lumberjack_jeff]

81. Heh.

:thumbsup:

[Warren DeMontague]

13. I think development of a robust space tourism industry is a GOOD thing.

So sue me.

[lunatica]

14. robust? For the handful of Billionaires who just have to go because they can?

What's so robust about that?

[Atypical Liberal]

16. The computer you are typing on, for one thing.

Do we have to go down the laundry list of everyday items that are directly attributable to the space program?

Or the fact that you are, for good or ill, probably living in a country directly as a result of man's innate desire to explore and conquer?

Space exploration is not about fun.

To quote JFK, "We will do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard!"

Man I wish we had his vision today.

[TBF]

18. "Man's innate desire to explore and conquer" -

well I suppose that is one way to describe genocide of Native Americans ...

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Or man's innate desire to use red herrings and totally unrelated shit

to try to make sort of ambiguous, silly points.

(Unless you're concerned about the Indigenous Moon People-- we've had some of that, here, too.)

[Hugabear]

32. No, but we are polluting the hell out of space

Since we've started going into space, we've left tons of debris floating around in orbit. We've even left trash on the moon. It's virtually impossible for humans to go anywhere and not have a negative impact.

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. Just in case you hadn't noticed, space is a pretty big place....

and we are "polluting the hell out of" an incredibly tiny portion of it. Space is already polluted far beyond what we could ever add to it, if you consider the amount of dust and rocks floating through our solar system.

As far as the "trash on the moon" comment, again, incredibly tiny amounts compared to the whole and most of it was not trash.

Unless you want to call the Lunar Landers and the Rovers trash. The rovers BTW will likely run just fine with new batteries when they are visited again, so they aren't trash, just parked.


I find comments like this amusing. It's like when, during the Gulf Oil Spill, a few tar balls were found in the Keys (something that is found all the time and has been for decades) and some DU'r exclaimed that the Florida Keys were now "Ruined". Ridiculous.

[hobbit709]

60. space doesn't care

One of these days space will return it at at 25K mph+

[NickB79]

61. Polluting space? Like it's not already full of micrometeorites and radiation?

What is the difference between a micrometeorite and a stray lugnut doing 25000 mph in orbit?

[Warren DeMontague]

73. One has the taint of humanity's capitalist evil eco-badness all over it.

And as such is evidence of our viral infection on the pristine universe at large.

[TBF]

33. That quote was directly from your text - if you don't want to discuss

something feel free not to include it in your post.

[Warren DeMontague]

41. Actually, although I do subscribe to the philosophical notion that we are all, after a sense, one

the text you are talking about didn't come from me.

And you added on the part about Native Americans... so I ask again- is this about the Native Americans on the moon? Are we still smarting from the moon bombing, here? :shrug:

[TBF]

46. The post we were discussing, from Atypical Liberal, which you chose to

defend used the sentence "probably living in a country directly as a result of man's innate desire to explore and conquer". I simply applied that to the country I live in. That seems a logical connection to me, but again YMMV.

[Atypical Liberal]

50. So are you happy with the country you live in or not?

I am. I think our country is one of the finest examples of civilization and governance that mankind has come up with. Has it does many wrong things? Of course it has. But I suspect that there are many places to live that would please you less. So assuming you live here in the United States with me, and share a high regard for this country, then you are, for good or for ill, living here as a result of man's innate desire to explore and conquer new places.

[blindpig]

59. It is a source of shame, we live on the backs of the world.

The USA, built on stolen land with slave labor, I'm so fucking proud. The greatest hegemon in history, spreading death, destruction and thievery across the planet, what's not to like?

And of course that 'we' ain't really us, who survive on the crumbs of empire, and even those crumbs diminishing. The top 10% rides the working class into the dirt and thens blames us for the collapse, guess you're proud of that too.

You're not an atypical liberal, maybe a little more honest.

[Atypical Liberal]

62. I'm sorry you feel that way.

I happen to think that our country is pretty good, despite its flaws. I'm certainly thankful for the life I've been able to have growing up here, and I'm glad my children are growing up here and not in some place lacking even the illusion of democracy, or clean water to drink, or easy access to food and education.

And I have news for you: just about every piece of land on the planet is stolen land built with slave labor.

[TBF]

64. "just about every piece of land on the planet is stolen land built with slave labor"

I'm not sure I know enough history to argue with you on that, but I bet you're not far off. But the thing about being more evolved is that we can think though that sort of behavior and discontinue it. As John Lennon said via song "War is Over if you want it" - you have to want it and work towards it.

There are different ways to go about that, whether waiting for evolution or looking towards revolution.

[Warren DeMontague]

71. Did someone mention John Lennon?

I'll tell you, the would-be Stalinists didn't like this tune, when it came out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrkwgTBrW78

[TBF]

91. Of course they didn't - he was apologizing for the status quo as you are -

and that of course is not the song I referenced.

[Warren DeMontague]

97. He wasn't apologizing for anything. He was saying that the wannabe Marxist revolutionaries

of the time were full of themselves, full of shit, and terribly boring to boot. Look at the record- the worst of the "left" authoritarian assholes all turned into "right" authoritarian assholes.

[Warren DeMontague]

52. You said it was "directly from your text"

it wasn't.

[TBF]

65. No, you're right, you were responding to another quote and I missed that at first -

but corrected it in my response. But, yes, it was atypical liberal's initial post. I responded to your defense of his post.

[Atypical Liberal]

49. And the genocide of countless others.

Man has explored and conquered nearly every square inch of this planet. Sometimes bad things came out of it, as when the Mongols invaded the Middle East and Europe, and sometimes good things came out of it, as when this nation arose.

But, as I said, for good or for ill, it is man's innate desire to explore and conquer new lands.

[Greyhound]

56. These guys always leave out the little things that make it all worthwhile.

:sarcasm:
PDFTT.

[NashVegas]

72. You Know, We Did Okay

For a few thousand years or more, sans the computer.

[Warren DeMontague]

74. What?

I can't hear you. Your smoke signal just isn't coming through.

[NashVegas]

80. Hard to Imagine, I Know

[Warren DeMontague]

95. Yes, it's hard to imagine someone using a computer

to complain about them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. The microwave in your kitchen

It's been too long since we had any discussions about the importance of the space program.

[alfredo]

39. MTV's Video Music Award

[jmowreader]

57. Microwave ovens are a product of the defense industry

According to Wikipedia, one of Raytheon's engineers was working on a radar set with a Mr. Goodbar in his pocket. The candy bar melted.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Yes, it's going to start off that way.

But while the price tag is high, pretty soon it won't just be billionaires who go.

But by all means, piss and moan and whine about it, if it makes you feel better. At least they're plugging the money back into New Mexico's economy, among other places.

[Atypical Liberal]

15. I agree with you

Since our government has all but withdrawn from the space program, I look to companies like SpaceX, Virgin, and Bigalow to carry on.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Actually, while I wasn't happy with Obama ditching constellation, the plan could make sense

if- and this is a big if- there is serious follow-through.

Farming out LEO travel and transport to private enterprise makes sense if NASA is given the impetus to do real, long-range exploration of the solar system. If it's just an excuse to, as you put it, withdraw from the space program, then not so much.

[TBF]

17. How would that work - would we privatize NASA and fly up billionaires

from all over the world? Wiki tells me there are at least 1000 billionaires in the world so I guess it depends upon how often you can fly, and how many you take up at a time.

[Motown_Johnny]

19. that first pic

(unless I am mistaken)

Is an attempt at a low earth orbit space plane. The middle section detaches at high altitude and fires it's engines to achieve orbit (or at least a parabolic arch that can get you from New York to Hong Kong in 3 hours)



How it would work is that Virgin would sell tickets and the people who buy the tickets would be able to take the trip

[blindpig]

58. What a complete waste of human labor and resources.

k&r

[Warren DeMontague]

75. Yes, everyone should be engaged in totally serious pursuits, all the time

like agitating for some kind of ridiculous return to the French Revolution, over the internet.

[blindpig]

87. While some spend their time apologizing for the ruling class. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

96. *

:boring:

[provis99]

20. even more fun than sicing your dogs on the local peasants?

Naw!

[Motown_Johnny]

21. or sicing your peasants on local dogs

but Vick isn't a billionaire

[Hugabear]

28. This is absolutely SICKENING

With so many people going hungry, so many people homeless, and so many people without access to healthcare, I find such displays of wealth absolutely disgusting. It's not much different than a few hundred years ago, when kings lived lives of pure opulence while the peasants scrounged for food in the streets. We all know that eventually worked out!

[Warren DeMontague]

31. Yes. There are still rich people, and poor people.

Communism failed in Russia (the powerful still ended up with way more than the rest of the people) and the French Revolution devoured itself in an orgy of violence.

So, yes, we do know how it "eventually worked out".

[TBF]

36. Like capitalism is working so much better with 1% of the people controlling

40% of the wealth. I'm ready to try something new. YMMV of course.

[Warren DeMontague]

43. I think there's a middle ground between crony capitalism and the French Revolution

but I also don't think Virgin Galactic is the real problem, here.

[TBF]

48. Not really. Capitalism is killing us (well 99% of us anyway), and the planet to boot.

It's a matter of self-defense at this point.

[Warren DeMontague]

53. What is a matter of self-defense?

Posting scattershot attempts at a 15 minute hate on an internet message board? Fetishizing the French Revolution?

I'm reminded of the people in college who sat in their dorm rooms writing dreadful manifestos that no one would read, while the rest of us were out getting laid.

[TBF]

66. Rather than red-baiting, why not respond to the substance of what I said?

Do you have any ideas about what to do with this planet that the Capitalists are ruining, or are you just hoping to die and leave the problems for future generations?

[Warren DeMontague]

67. You must think I'm far more powerful than I actually am.

"what to do with this planet"- I'm lucky if I can figure out what to do with my free time.

[snooper2]

63. Capitalism is killing the planet...Do you even think about statements like that

or is that some generic creed "truthy to power!" that lacks any substance?

Have you taken a look at the cesspool that is North Korea lately? They are doing a real bang-up job :rofl:

Let me know when you find a tree.....



http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=pyongyang&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.444078,78.662109&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Pyongyang,+North+Korea&ll=38.996757,125.790668&spn=0.00597,0.009602&t=h&z=17

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TBF]

34. That's how I saw it as well, but apparently space exploration

is more important to some than feeding the folks we have here on this planet. Although I certainly can understand the Capitalist need to find new land to "conquer", as we are destroying this earth at a fast pace.

[Warren DeMontague]

44. Humanity was around, in one form or another, for millions of years before we ever went into space

how is it that space exploration is now responsible for everyone not being fed? :shrug:

[TBF]

47. I didn't say it was - but it is not my priority when it comes to budget. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

51. The payoff from the relative pennies we've spent on science and exploration have been immense.

If you think, in a country where "Defense" eats up half of discretionary spending and we spend $40 Billion dollars to try to keep people from smoking pot, that somehow it's the NASA budget (of which Virgin Galactic is no part, by the way) ... it's not just your priorities that are wrong, it's your perspective.

[TBF]

68. NASA simply isn't my priority - but I completely agree that all overseas

bases should be shut down immediately and at least 50% of the defense budget cut right off the bat.

[Xithras]

78. Every fast car, every house, and every submarine are built and maintained by us "commoners"

Keep in mind that spending by the wealthy is a source of employment for a substantial number of people.

[fascisthunter]

83. therefore we should be thankful to Billionaires

and not claim this as being superfluous... in light of so much poverty around the World.

[Xithras]

85. We bitch when they hoard their money. We bitch when they spend their money. Can't have it both ways.

I'd rather have them spend it on stupid shit that employs people, than have it collect dust in a bank account.

The fundamental problem isn't wealth, but stagnant wealth. If the rich are sinking their fortunes into items and ventures that keep people employed, fed, and insured, I fail to see the problem.

[TBF]

90. How about not letting them take all the money? nt

[GreenStormCloud]

105. Money in bank accounts doesn't "gather dust".

Money deposited in a bank is loaned by the bank to people. That money is in circulation.

Most of billionaries' wealth is not in cash or bank accounts, but is in the value of the businesses that they have built.

[TBF]

88. But wouldn't you rather be equal to others rather than simply at the bottom

of the totem pole (with the other 98 or 99% of us)taking care of them and their possessions?

[Xithras]

100. I don't believe in redistribution. It's a feel-ggod belief that accomplishes nothing.

I have no inherent problems with the idea of people being wealthy, and there is nothing in socialistic principles that precludes the acquisition of private wealth. After all, the GOAL of socialistic progressivism is to make the POOR WEALTHIER. To improve the lot of those who have nothing. Focusing on ways to "make the wealthy poorer" is just a distraction, and does little to help those who really need it. It's been pointed out many times that, if you seized all of the wealth of every billionaire in America and cut an equal check to every American to "distribute" it, we'd only be getting about $4000 each. Pure wealth redistribution would make the rich into the poor, but it would do almost nothing to alleviate poverty for the rest of us.

So, no, I have no real problem with the idea of wealthy people having money. I'm more concerned with figuring out ways to help the poor GET some. Wealthy people spending money on things that poorer people make is one important part of that.

[TBF]

103. You need to read up on socialism - it is workers owning the means of production,

not trickle down. You're confusing Marx with Ronald Reagan.

[rucky]

29. and hunting humans

[Warren DeMontague]

30. hunting AND eating.

I mean, really, that's the only sporting way to do it.

[maryf]

38. much more sporting

to hunt and eat the rich, there are so few of them and they are so well hidden...

[Warren DeMontague]

45. There seem to be fatties in all the socioeconomic strata, however.

I mean, are we talking about feeding large numbers of people? For the winter?

[HEyHEY]

54. Meh, depending on how they got their money, I'm indifferent

[TBF]

69. Yeah, most capitalists are. nt

[Starry Messenger]

55. It's the yachts that really stick in my craw for some reason.

I guess it is from knowing that they can just drift out to sea whenever they find the rabble bothersome.



The World’s Biggest Yacht
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who built his fortune by investing in everything from black-market goods to pig farms, has at least four yachts, which has been dubbed, “The Abramovich Navy.”
One of those is the world’s biggest yacht, the Eclipse, which clocks in at 533 feet, with a price tag of nearly $1.2 billion.


Gee, so glad that capitalism worked out for someone in Russia. Too bad about all the sex slaves, out of work poor people, and glue-sniffing homeless children. Abramovich has the largest yacht in the world, that's all that matters.

[mstinamotorcity]

76. fuck them and

their toys

[AnArmyVeteran]

77. I don't want millionaires, billionaires or trillionaires to pay ANY taxes!!!

Cause someday I might become a billionaire too. And ALL of you could become a billionaire if you wanted to. We all know billionaires work so much harder than regular people who work 4 jobs 14 hours a day just to feed their families.

:sarcasm:

We need to tax non-productive 'income' at 90% with an exemption for those making less than $250k. When billionaires park their money in accounts and earn interest they aren't producing a thing for society. They certainly aren't creating even one damned job with their money in an interest bearing account. If they were taxed at a 90% rate for all invested income they would take their money out and reinvest it in America and in businesses that hire people.

When the rich get money they hoard it. They don't use it for the good of others or for the country. I'm sick of the deadbeat rich doing absolutely nothing with their lives, but still be able to accumulate massive amounts of wealth. They are the biggest deadbeats in the world. They need to be forced to contribute to the country which allowed them to become wealthy in the first place.

[fascisthunter]

84. it's better to kiss their asses... maybe they will thank us all

[AnArmyVeteran]

86. They seem to like us in that position. But they will never be grateful to us.

[TBF]

92. LOL - yeah, because they are known for coming out of their gated

estates and thanking the "little people" on a regular basis ...

[Xithras]

79. I'm not sure why the SW Ranch FD is on the list.

It's not that uncommon in California for large ranches (SW Ranch is almost 5000 acres) to have their own firefighting equipment. Grass fires in the hill counties are an almost annual occurrence.

[Warren DeMontague]

98. Sinner! Apologist!

Go back to your gated community and your $5,000/hour pet psychiatrist, you!





Come to think of it, though, if they'd included pet psychiatry on the list, they might have a point.

[LanternWaste]

89. I'd imagine that the Rwanda farmer making $77.00/year

I'd imagine that the Rwanda farmer making $77.00/year may project the precise same derision onto people who purchase console games and DVD.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other... the only difference being in degrees.

[TBF]

93. You get the prize for most imaginative way to defend the status quo. Congrats! nt

[Swamp Rat]

99. They also like to play chess with, and buy and sell real human beings,

manufacture bombs and blow up entire countries via coup d'état, hunt animal species to extinction just for fun, and steal candy from children.

[mainer]

101. Almost all boy toys! Where are the girl toys?

Except for Da Vinci's notebook, and maybe the castle, none of these would appeal to any women.

[TBF]

104. No kidding - only 10 female billionaires in the world according to Forbes -

number 1 being Alice Walton right here in the USA (Walmart fortune). Maybe she likes spaceships too. :shrug:

[maryf]

106. Kicking for the fun of it...

I'd like to kick some of these billionaires...

[TBF]

107. And their apologists ... nt