Census: Half of Americans Are Poor or Low-Income

[Valmy]

*Sniff* I needed a laugh. 

Malthus can only afford one yacht and one personal body guard.

[Malthus]

*Sniff* I needed a laugh. 

Malthus can only afford one yacht and one personal body guard.

The only yacht I can afford is one that fits inside my bathtub, and the only body guard to protect it is my kid's rubber ducky. 

[HVC]

I fully concede I do not know how much a yacht costs.

Not to mention any personal security force that can be had for such a low post-yacht price is likely to be one meth-head with a sharp stick.

I keep my men addicted to the White.

Anyway, I actually looked.  You could totally buy a yacht (low-end, about $400k, but a yacht) with $195k take-home.

You might have to make some decisions about what else you buy but OH NO WE CAN'T HAVE THAT.

With all your money tied up in your yacht hope you don't plan to live anywhere or eat anything

[Valmy]

With all your money tied up in your yacht hope you don't plan to live anywhere or eat anything

Well you live on your yacht and get a fishing pole.

[Malthus]

With all your money tied up in your yacht hope you don't plan to live anywhere or eat anything

Well you live on your yacht and get a fishing pole.

Driving your yacht to work could pose some problems, though.

[Ideologue]

You know, I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of Veblen goods like yachts and handbags and $2000 strollers simply started costing less under a high TMR regime.  Those things are not priced according to any intrinsic value (blah blah market determines value, you know what I mean).

Then again, if they didn't, who gives a shit?

With all your money tied up in your yacht hope you don't plan to live anywhere or eat anything

$40k a year over ten years with 8% interest is perfectly affordable by a guy making $195k take-home.   He can't go out and buy another big-ticket item like a Lamborghini or a helicopter, but he's still got $135k (take-home) to spend on shit.  If he can't live in a really nice house, and eat basically whatever he desires, it's because he chose other things.

Shit, he could buy one of those $22,000 gold puddings and still have enough left over for rent in a really decent place--even in NYC.

I think you guys are ignoring that I'm using take-home figures here.  Or jerking my chain.

[HVC]

a ten year payment plan on a boat?

I think what you're ignoring is to get to the point of a yacht you have several other expenses. house, private school, trophy wife. So while plausable to get the boat it's unlikely unless he's willing to give up quite a bit.

[HVC]

as an aside of sorts, law school has turned our younger lawyers into stary eyed commies. it's sad really. Still, once they start making money it'll all change. it's the way of things. as the saying goes "it's only too much money when you're paying it or someone else is making it".

[Iormlund]

a ten year payment plan on a boat?

I think what you're ignoring is to get to the point of a yacht you have several other expenses. house, private school, trophy wife. So while plausable to get the boat it's unlikely unless he's willing to give up quite a bit.

So you'd have to make choices, like the rest of us. You could rent instead of buying that trophy wife, for example. I'm sure you can shave quite a bit there, if nothing else on VISA charges.

[Ideologue]

a ten year payment plan on a boat?

Or 80k over five years, which would be comparable to a car loan.

Or he could save for it.

Or he could not buy a yacht.  It would hurt us if the Nazis ever trapped an expeditionary force against the English Channel, but how likely is that to happen twice?

Also, give me dictatorial powers, as I would need to actually see this tax plan through, and private school shall be abolished.  That's a first-day enactment.

[HVC]

I'm not saying 175 in take home pay isn't a lot, it is, i'm saying it isn't private yacht money.

[Ideologue]

as an aside of sorts, law school has turned our younger lawyers into stary eyed commies. it's sad really. Still, once they start making money it'll all change. it's the way of things. as the saying goes "it's only too much money when you're paying it or someone else is making it".

Well, I was radical when I went in, mellowed somewhat during, and radicalized double in the months after graduation.

I doubt I'll ever be mellow again.

Who're the other data points?  Faeelin's kinda obligated to vote Democrat, 'cause he's gay, but he's never struck me as particularly leftist.  Stjaba I barely know.  Mihali is a raving hippie, but I appreciate his energy.

[Malthus]

You know, I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of Veblen goods like yachts and handbags and $2000 strollers simply started costing less under a high TMR regime.  Those things are not priced according to any intrinsic value (blah blah market determines value, you know what I mean).

Then again, if they didn't, who gives a shit?

With all your money tied up in your yacht hope you don't plan to live anywhere or eat anything

$40k a year over ten years with 8% interest is perfectly affordable by a guy making $195k take-home.   He can't go out and buy another big-ticket item like a Lamborghini or a helicopter, but he's still got $135k (take-home) to spend on shit.  If he can't live in a really nice house, and eat basically whatever he desires, it's because he chose other things.

Shit, he could buy one of those $22,000 gold puddings and still have enough left over for rent in a really decent place--even in NYC.

I think you guys are ignoring that I'm using take-home figures here.  Or jerking my chain.

Naw, I have actual experience speaking of that here. You can afford a lot of stuff on that kind of salary, but you have a lot of expenses too. You can't really afford a yacht, lamborgini, or helicopter.  Not if you ever plan to, say, stop working at some point.

I well remember being a student without a dime myself, so I can imagine that amount of money would appear to promise unimaginable luxuries. What it does is provide a very comfortable lifestyle combined with the promise of a comfortable retirement. Sadly, for many these days that in itself falls into the category of "unimaginable luxuries". 

But no, you cannot have all of (1) comfortable lifestyle (2) enough for retirement and (3) stuff like yachts, fancy sports cars, or helicopters, all on that income.

[Ideologue]

If I bought me a Lamborghini, I don't think it'd be reasonable to plan on living too long.

Anyway, fine, I'll back off on the yacht shit.  If the point is that a 70% top rate past 100k would destroy the yacht business--and besides, I was pulling those numbers out of the ether just to demonstrate a mathematical point about how truly confiscatory such top rates would be--well, the point's taken (but I feel that would be a minor objection).

[fhdz]

I've never owned a yacht, but my understanding is that there are a lot of necessary expenses that go with it - dock space, maintenance, winterizing costs, astronomical fuel costs, etc. I think that's why a lot of people who buy boats end up selling them - they're a lot more expensive than just the sticker price of the boat.