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Responsible people all over this country are getting screwed.
On Tucker last night, I learned Britney Spears spends about 110 million a year.
I'm going to go off for a full day yet I barely meet the bills. No heating, no cell phone, no credit. No car. And I already know I have a health condition, maybe even diabetes. I go to sleep feeling that throbbing in my toes. And I haven't seen a doctor in I.don't.know.how.long.
Republicans believe in gvmt. intervention for bankers and investors, I believe in intervention for the meek and lowly -- Nulwee.
by Nulwee on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 07:52:14 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
I know it's wrong to say this, but people like her are why the French Revolution had to happen.
And yet every time we ask for the middle and lower class to get some relief, we're accused of "class warfare"!
Class warfare? Excuse me, but nobody's put Paris Hilton under a guillotine. When that happens, you'll have class warfare.
The worst thing about it all is that I'm good with money. We know how to save and how to make sacrifices. And we still can't get back in the black.
Stick it to Inhofe! Donate to Andrew Rice for Senate!
by droogie6655321 on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 09:13:39 AM PDT
just reduced her inheritance a whole bunch.
I don't remember (or care about) the exact numbers, but Paris Hilton's riches just got mostly given away to charity in a massive trust that he set up, taking the money from his presumed heirs, including Paris and her whole family.
Now, I still don't feel one bit sorry for her. But maybe her granddaddy got tired of hearing all the negative press about the "Paris Hilton tax," and voluntarily reduced how much she will actually inherit.
Hooray for noblesse oblige. Or something.
by Brooke In Seattle on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 10:01:23 AM PDT
is that she's earned quite a bit herself. Al that self marketing isn't just empty vanity - it's clever product marketing. She might well end up as the richest of her siblings
And FWIW, old Mr Hilton is an asshole in his own right. Old family tyrants who try to impose their own choices onto their offspring are a disgrace. What he does would even be plainly illegal in many jurisdictions (though probably not where he lives).
by cris0000 on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 12:53:47 PM PDT
She definitely earned her money. I think getting mad at these messed up celebrities is just distracting. They are not the cause of the economic problems in this country.
by jjellin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 01:53:21 PM PDT
if you consider working an activity like driving around in a bus with another rich slut, trying your best to keep your pants on around the common folk little people who's lives you invade while acting like a spoiled rotten five year old, then I suppose you could say she "earned it".
The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." Carlos Castaneda
by FireCrow on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 02:30:44 PM PDT
salaries in equally bizarro ways, I just meant we can't blame her (or Britney) for the economic problems we are having. They are just symptoms, not the cause of the disease.
by jjellin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 02:48:30 PM PDT
no human being is worth multiple million dollar salaries. Nobody! No actor, no athlete, no CEO, nobody! Where do people think all this money comes from, the money fairy? It comes from us, the people at the bottom of the pile. Don't forget it.
by jimreyn on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 04:41:41 PM PDT
if Paris, or the athlete or the news anchor wasn't making the money, the owner would be. I don't have a problem with the talent taking some of the money away from the 'owner' (yes I use the word talent loosely). But I agree some salaries are obscene. Still, that is not the cause of our economic problems.
by jjellin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 05:04:47 PM PDT
...if you're responsible with your money or not, the walls just keep closing in. I could write a whole diary on the small financial "disasters" that have hit my family, just since the first of the year, mostly medical.
Just one "minor" example: My employer changed dental plans this year. Went to the dentist yesterday for my annual checkup (to hell with every 6 months because no plan seems to cover it), the old plan left me with about $4 to pay out of pocket for the visit. The new plan allows me to pay $30 out of pocket a visit. For preventativ care. Pfft. This means that I went from paying around 16 bucks for the family to get checkups and cleanings to $120 annually. Unbelievable.
It's depressing and altogether unconsionable what's happening in this country. I've never seriously considered leaving my homeland before, but it's starting to look more neccesary every day.
I feel your pain xysea. The bleeding just never seems to stop.
"Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are. So we're both sorry, all right?" - President Merkin Muffley
by MalachiConstant on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 11:24:48 AM PDT
She's got a lot of problems, but what has she done to cause the recession. Have a little perspective. She earned her money no less fairly than most. Yes, she's "rich" and messed up, but you can't say she's to blame for the economic problems, or the coming recession/depression in this country.
by jjellin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 01:51:51 PM PDT
been making money since she was in The New Mickey Mouse Club. I blame Disney. Lindsey Lohan starred in Disney movies too. Too much pressure, too young and no guidance. Corporations treat all actors as expendable resources and child actors have all of the normal crap to deal with and the problems of money and lax supervision.
Think about how many actors, musicians and sports stars who make ridiculous amounts of money. Yet there are still plenty in those same fields who make as much as the average person. A fair tax system would strip the excess from the system and elevate everybody else. A Pop star could sell more CDs if the price was lowered and those fans had more disposable income. This country has been built up on spending not producing and there is no short term fix for this. We need a new New Deal. That is why I support Edwards, but no matter who the next president is, we need to force them to make big changes to the system.
by pgm 01 on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 03:17:27 PM PDT
I like it. Hadn't thought of that before.
by jjellin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 04:58:53 PM PDT
aimed at the middle and working classes and the poor. The ruling classes see us as nothing but potential soliders or cheap labor.
There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious...that you've got to put your bodies on the gears...and make it stop. -- Mario Savio
by Boston Boomer on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 02:06:14 PM PDT
What they're actually terrified of is a government run by the people for the people. Just like always.
Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest... Gibbon
by Dinclusin on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 02:53:34 PM PDT
and have had to reduce my meds because my employer shifted to a cheaper prescription plan that classes my meds as "tier 3" which translates to paying twice what I used to pay.
Full-time work with excellent benefits doesn't mean you're making it anymore.
by Tracker on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 09:16:19 AM PDT
wide narrow
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