un-becoming an audiophile

@grislybutter I'm sorry that has happened, it certainly isn't something I advocate as I believe in free speech. Here is the problem with your supposition about why your post were deleted. I am not a rich man by most standards; then again, I believe rich is a fluid term. I am rich to some but the poor in our country are considered rich by the rest of the world's reckoning. Twenty-five years ago I was a homeless man on the streets of New Orleans. There is an economic ladder, a legal one, available for any who care to climb it, at least in our good ol' USA. Like any ladder it has two directions based on the choices you make. You know how I display my compassion for people? I provide them jobs where they can earn a paycheck and have dignity and ambition. I probably make less than 70% of the members of this forum. I admire them. Guess what? People who have money are the most charitable! I have no children to depend on me, that helps. My wife and I care for my mother who has Alzheimer's. We feel as if we know best how to spend our money on what we need and what we want. Always amazed at people who feel the need to decide for other's how their money should be spent.

Point is, they didn't remove it because I'm rich!

@dadork

the word rich wasn't about a number but about an attitude.

Guess what? People who have money are the most charitable!

 for one, I disagree with this sentence, I donate a much bigger percentage of my income than the most charitable rich people, not to mention I pay way more taxes. 

I won't repeat my points, other than: people in the US have opportunities to become rich. In the rest of the world (aside from a few other countries) they don't. People commenting here often display an attitude which ignores the fact that they can afford things  because they are lucky (to have born here/be here). They have typical rich people attitude. (I have no problem with how they spend their money - NONE OF MY BUSINESS, I have a problem with how they think they deserved it)

At the end you and I disagree 100%, and we can leave it at that. 

@grislybutter "​not to mention I pay way more taxes."  This is a somewhat silly comment that gets brought up a lot.  A person who earns more pays more taxes.  You can argue about the percentage of gross income that is paid but it's just not true that rich people don't pay more taxes.  ​​An estimated 72.5 million households -- or 40% of total households -- will pay no federal income taxes for tax year 2022, according to an analysis from the Tax Policy Center.​​​​​

@bigtwin Silly? Really? I think you could have made your point without the degrading adjective.

PERCENTAGE is what’s what I said/meant, but if you want to misinterpret it, whatever...

"bigger percentage of my income" applied to my taxes as well.

I think I have a better idea about what I pay for taxes (relative to my income) than you do, so I am at a loss with your statement.

A person who earns more pays more taxes

A person who reports more, to be correct,

And I know exactly how many households pay 0 federal income tax.

I am paying ~40 cents on every dollar to federal, state and local taxes. Not including sales tax. My wealthy acquaintances regular brag about how little taxes they pay with accounting tricks and feel sorry for me to have to pay my dues in full.

I find absolutely nothing silly with my statement but it seems to me I am the punching bag here, you guys attack my character and disparage my statements rather than arguing the substance of what I said.

As I said we live in our own bubbles and agree on practically nothing regarding this subject.

I've never attacked your character. On the other hand, I've been called an uncaring rich guy because I spend money on something I like when it's mine to do with.  You elect people who vote for the tax policies you abhor. The larger the government the larger the bureaucracy hence the larger the cost to all of the taxpayers and more people will be able to enjoy less and less. State government laws that were passed in California are pricing people right out of affordable housing for all economic brackets except for the wealthy, Rich people aren't the problem; an overgrown and unwieldy government is. If waste, fraud and bloat were eliminated people could live comfortably without others bemoaning our choices.