I'm a degreed Meddlurgist so I think I'm safe.

If you think you are doing well perhaps you wouldn't mind paying your share of the national debt. The gubment could use the cash.

DED

Yeah, even if you have to relocate to Guangdong province or Calcutta. lol

Has anyone noticed the mindset shift over the past few years...being successful is something bad and a cause for shame now.

Who is John Galt?

Yes
Trickle down myths, greed, corruption, and traitorous outsourcing (benefiting only a few) has caused some of us to reevaluate the motives & good intentions of our betters.

But you have no idea what they did or how hard they worked to become successful. It is guilty until proven innocent.

The biggest outrage is that it takes place on a cigar forum dedicated to a pure luxury item yet we're all supposed to still plead middle class barely getting by poverty status.

Yes, again. IMHO, here's no longer such a thing as JUST working hard and honestly- if there ever really was such a thing- to achieve a high level of success.
A new glass ceiling has been installed to reanimate the illusion of upward mobility. Results are mixed so far.

Nobody's really "pleading" poverty on a luxury cigar board. Just making a case for things not being as they appear.
Besides, I would guess that more than half of the "rich" botls posting are probably living in apartments, basements, vans, modest homes, and/or receiving Government checks (or lying) in order to maintain cigar bragging rights.

Things are exactly as they appear in the US economy:

Upward mobility struggles, trickle down economics, trickle up economics, greed, corruption, outsourcing, currency manipulation, wars, social engineering, restrictive business laws, lax business laws, totalitarian leaning government, high consumer debt, global competition, looters and moochers. We have all that.

That is the playing field and we all know it. People can choose to navigate it, try to change it, or sit back and wait for someone else to change it.

Those who try to change the playing field always push for change that benefits themselves and hurts others. This dynamic is also part of the playing field as we know it. There are always going to be winners and losers.

It takes hard work to navigate the global marketplace. Not hard work like we used to define it....hammering nails every day or screwing bolts on cars. Now a person should always be evaluating their role, position, and net worth to the economy and constantly making adjustments such as training, education, and even taking a new job.

Rather than hard work, we have class warfare with everyone wanting to loot everyone else. When listening to all the poverty pleading of the middle class, it always begs the question, what the heck is the middle class?


8trackdisco has already posted that the median US household income is $51,000. The US Census breaks down household income further into quintiles.

For the latest data 2011:

You are in the bottom 10% if your household income is below $12,000
You are in the bottom 20% if your household income is below $20,262
You are in the bottom 40% if your household income is below $38,520
You are right at 50% if your household income is below $50,054

Now for the top half of the households:

You are between 50-60% if your household income is below $62,434
You are between 60-80% if your household income is below $101,582

If your household income is $101,582 or higher, you're in the top 20% of the country!
If your household income is $143,611 or higher, you're in the top 10% of the country!!!!!
If your household income is $186,000 or higher, you're in the top 5% of the country!!!!!!!!!!

I would define those people as idiots. I would also extend that to anyone who smokes cigars and has a credit card balance.

Everyone is not entitled to luxury items.

😱

[email protected]

A few other interesting items related to income quintiles:

50.2% of the people in the top 20% of household incomes have college degrees.
11% of the people in the bottom 20% of household incomes have college degrees.

Those in the top 20% of household incomes make just over 50% of all income while the other 80% get the other half.

The world needs ditch diggers too..... 😟

Obama is a millionaire. He knows it is true and is slowly legislating it into law by making you people spend money on mandatory healthcare instead of cigarettes and cigars.

...and if they are hard workers, they should be proud of themselves and their economic status. This however does not excuse them from needing to constantly work to better themselves and their lot in life.

We'll see how glib you are when the guffaws are directed at your children and grandkids if they turn out to be the ditchdiggers of tomorrow. 🍺

If they should become ditchdiggers, good for them.

I'd be willing to pay hd's kid minimum wage.... Or less.... To dig me some ditches.

I dug some ditches when I was younger... was pretty good at it too.... hell I even dug a ditch across an asphault parking lot.. more than once actually.. 🤔
but it wasn't always digging ditches.. sometimes I got to crawl around attics or under houses... good times... 🍺

^ Were you ever caught? Yeah, I dug me a ditch or two. Wasn't very good at it. Busted water pipes.😞

Victor, I'm sure HD would negotiate good ditch digging rates for his kids. He takes care of his kids!!


LOL! That's the spirit!

WTH happened to parents?



Just busting your balls, Tom. I know you're probably a pretty good hockey dad.🇨🇮

Does anybody actually dig ditches in the USA by pick and shovel anymore? 🤔