The Rich: Robber Barons or Economic Benefactors?

Each year, Forbes Magazine publishes the top 400 Richest Individuals in America. (http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/) These are people that, traditionally, have worked their way up to the top.  In true essence of the "American Dream," these people have made sacrifices, risked it all, and had to work their tail-ends off all hours of the day in order to get where they are now.

The 99%
Of course, not everyone sees these individuals in this way.  The 99% movement turns these wealthy men and women into robber barons.  These are people who have used virtual slave labor to work their way to the top--if they worked at all--or have inherited a large fortune and have never worked a day in their lives.  These are selfish, arrogant, individuals that are living like kings and queens while the rest of society starves.  In essence, this is a class war.  The upper class is becoming more exclusive, the middle class is shrinking, and the lower class is continually growing and becoming increasingly more poor.

The main idea behind the 99%'ers (or the Occupy Wall Streeters) boils down to the 1% controlling too much of the world's wealth, getting too many tax breaks, and not paying enough in their share of taxes.  To the 99%'ers, the 1% is too privileged, too wealthy, and too exclusive.  The 1% should have to pay more taxes, have their wealth divided up among the 99%, and should have considerably less tax breaks and loopholes.

Before I go on, let's define the top 1%.  What is the tax amount required to be in this "exclusive" club?  A gargantuan sum of $343,947.  This certainly is a lovely salary to live on, depending on where you are located and the size of your family, but that sum is far from the million dollar mark.  The average earnings for the top 1% equates to about $960,000.
( http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_income/index.htm) 
Still, this sum is under a million.  Of course, this is an average.  Meaning, there are definitely some extremely rich (see the above link, with Bill Gates weighing in at $59 Billion)

The Tax Rates
Let us take a moment to analyze some information from the National Taxpayers Union, an independent, non-partisan organization:  http://ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html

A quick analysis from the past 11 years (1999-2009) shows that the top 1% paid an average of  36.982% of the Federal Income Taxes.  The lowest rate being 33.71 in 2002 and the highest at 40.42% in 2007. These rates may not seem to be too harsh, but let's compare it to the bottom 50% of the nation.  The average tax rate for these 11 years is 3.3% with the highest being 4% in 1999 and the lowest being 2.25% in 2009.  Another hitch:  the rates of the bottom 50% have been consistently dropping since 1999 while the top 1% rates fluctuate, currently sitting around 37%.

These are strictly the Federal Income Rates.  This does not take into consideration the additional Federal, State, and local taxes that are also included, driving up the tax percentages.  In addition, there are what I like to call the "rich" taxes, on investments and invested funds,  etc.  These taxes are never seen by the 99%.

Job Creation
However, this is a subject that is not the intended purpose of this post.  The background information is just an FYI as we move forward to my true point:  The benefits of the super rich.  I am defining the super rich, in this post, as the top 10 richest Americans.

A quick rundown of the top 10:
1) Bill Gates
2) Warren Buffett
3) Larry Ellison
4) Charles Koch
4) David Koch
6) Christy Walton
7) George Soros
8) Sheldon Adelson
9) Jim Walton
10) Alice Walton

Charles and David Koch are brothers, having capitalized on their inheritance and growing it exponentially.
The Walton's are a similar situation with Sam's and Wal-Mart.

Now a break down in terms that we can all understand.
1) Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/inside_ms.aspx#Employment Information

Current Employment Headcount
Location	Employees
Worldwide	93,163
USA	55,235
Puget Sound (Washington State)	40,686

(That's 95,921 American employees)
2) Berkshire  Hathaway employed over 260,000 people in 2011.
3) Oracle Corporation employed 111,297 people in 2011
4) Koch Industries, Inc employed over 50,000 people (this does not include the various charities and NGO's the Koch brothers have founded)
6, 9, 10) Walmart employs 1.4 million individuals
7) No specific numbers for jobs created by Soros
8) Roughly 23,000 casino/resort jobs.

Total:  1,940,218

In Conclusion
In summary, the top 9 Richest people (excluding Soros, possibly the most liberal of the bunch) in America create nearly 2 million jobs. These are strictly American jobs, this excludes all of the foreign jobs created and ignores any jobs that are created in relation to each one of these positions (ie, laborers that create products, customer service individuals that sell the products made by the company, etc).  

There are pros and cons of each job that is created, some being more luxurious than others, but in the end, 2 million Americans are working because of these 9 people.  That's a 1:222,222 ratio.  Personally, I would call that one heck of an investment, at least from an economic standpoint.

So, in general, are these 1%'ers the robber barons that they are made out to be by the media today?  Destroying the middle class and not allowing anyone a chance for advancement?  Or are they actually Benefactors to a free market economy that rewards investors (time, money, hard work) for their efforts and allow individuals to move up and out of their situations?  I'm not here to tell you what to believe, I'm simply presenting the argument the way I see it.

1:222,222 seems to be a pretty great thing.   I mean, who wouldn't turn down 2 million jobs?

But what do I know?  I'm just an Intern.

Family Matters...to a point.

Let me begin by saying the title of this post is definitely a pun-intended.  Hopefully this becomes clear why by the end.  So, here we go:

Those who know me are well aware of the, shall we say, distaste I hold for my former Senator-turned-President.  Often, in a joking manner, individuals will compare me to the current commander-in-chief just to raise my blood pressure.

That being said, this past Easter break while I was at home, I drew a stunning correlation between the two of us.  I was partaking in a discussion I was not very happy to be in.  I was upset with the individual I was talking to and I simply wanted to see them to the door.  However, I was polite, I listen, I shared my feelings and concerns, and we ended the conversation on a civil note.  Let me lay the ground work for this post:  I adore my family.  I have loving parents, two siblings who I know I can always count on, numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who I deeply care about, and two living grandparents who I cherish more than ever after losing my mom's parents.  My family has done a lot for me, but they certainly are not perfect.  Dysfunctional does not fully capture how strange my family can be at times. 

Keeping this in mind, during the previous mentioned conversation I had, the comment was made about how an event may "reflect poorly" on my future political career.  I have made it very clear to my family that I hope to one day pursue a career in politics.  I'm not entirely sure if that means as an elected official, working in a government office, for a think-tank, or what, but I definitely want to devote my life to American Politics.

This conversation was made because of some of the less pleasant choices that have been made by some of my family members.  I do not always agree or condone the choices made by members of my family--immediate or extended--but I am not one to condemn them.  It is not my place to judge.  

After this comment was made, I had to respond.  My immediate response was "I don't care how bad they've messed-up, it wasn't my mistake."  In essence, regardless of what others in my family did, those actions do not define who I am.  I am free to rise above these situations and move forward.  They help shape who I am, but do not define me.  I am not simply a product of a situation, I am in control of my own life.  

In the same conversation, this person mentioned how they felt bad for President Obama.  The remark was something along the lines of, "He isn't perfect, but he's trying.  Look at where he came from...I know lots of people don't like him, but he's not that bad.  At least he's trying."  

Now, at first I scoffed at this.  I cannot think of a single issue that President Obama and I could agree on via the same course of action.  I do not approve of how he handled the economy, I do not like his agenda, I simply do not care for the man.  So to hear this, during a conversation I was already unhappy with, was almost too much.  Thankfully, I didn't have a chance to provide a rebuttle. 

After some thought, I had to give some credit to the rambling words of this individual.  Specifically one phrase, "look at where he came from."  There has been extreme controversy concerning the Obama family.  The legality of President Obama's birth, his family in Kenya, and numerous other issues have surrounded this man and his family in the past 4 years.  I am not saying I condone or condemn either side, but I have to give credit to the man, he has risen above a lot of controversy.  I may not agree with his means, but he does deserve some credit.

As I think about all he has conquered, especially the family slurs, I can't help but think that one day I very well may need to draw upon that strength.  My situation is not quite as extreme as President Obama's, but there are some similarities.  In the end, President Obama has made it clear that his family is not him.  There is a disconnect, just as there is with every family.  While your family has considerable influence on how you turn out, it does not determine the final product--that is up to you.  And since the final product is only reached on the last day of our life, that gives us a lot of control.  I certainly have to agree with the argument that you cannot judge an individual solely based on their family.  

Our society tries to peg people into holes, but the ex-Senator makes it well known that his family is part of who he is, but not the end.  I know, if I ever run for an office, I would not want people to judge me based on my family members' actions.  After all, I have no control over them.  Former Senator Obama has made it clear that he has no control over his family.  You can try to influence your siblings, your parents, or anyone else in your family, but at the end of the day, it is still their decision.  And, as I've said before, I have to respect the man--at least in this aspect--for rising above that situation. 

It's not your family that matters when it comes down to your character.  Well, that is to say, it is not your family that ultimately matters.   As previously stated, they influence, but do not define.  They are a source of inspiration or destruction.  They provide a chance to help elevate or tear down.  Family can have a positive or negative influence on you, but they certainly do not have the final influence.  You cannot chose your family. You cannot control your family's action's, however, you can control your reactions.  You can control what you become from your family.

So, President Obama, thank you for showing me that while family matters, it is not the only thing that matters.  What I make of my matter, how I shape it, is up to me.

Headed to DC

So, after much pondering and consideration, I have decided to join the blog world. I'm not sure if this makes me a hipster, behind the curve, caving to peer pressure, or just following the crowd. Regardless, here I am, blogging.

I am going to offer a disclaimer: As you may have noticed by my name, this is going to be a political blog. I plan on blogging about my adventures in DC this summer and the ones leading up to getting out the nation's capitol. My second disclaimer: This will be opinionated. All of you that know me (and for anyone that stumbles upon this, you will soon find out), know how I am. This will be a place for me to lay out my political views, my reactions to current legislation, court rulings, executive orders, and all things political. I won't mention my party affiliation, but I do not think it will be hard to figure out.

Now, having laid the parameters of this blog, let me introduce the reason that prompted this blog: The Koch Internship Program (KIP). This summer I will be interning at the Charles G. Koch Institute (CKI) as a regulatory policy intern in Arlington, VA. I cannot begin to express my excitement!

Part of this whole adventure (the stages I am going through now) involved finding housing. This has proved to be very interesting. There are so many things I am trying to find on such a limited budget. I need to be close to the Orange line for transit, I am looking for either a really cheap apartment+utilities or a moderately priced apartment including utilities. Craigslist at times looks incredibly helpful, that is, until no one replies to your emails.

I have recently been introduced to airbnb.com, which is currently looking to be the most promising outlet for housing. The excitement and stress of apartment hunting is something that I have never experienced before. I have also realized I'm going to finally realize what it is like to be a college student--that is, living on a diet of ramen noodles, since for the first time in my undergrad career I won't be in a residence hall, nor will I have a meal plan provided to me. Yikes!

Anyways, this is just the beginning of my ramblings. Some of these post will be more informative of where I am at in this process. Some will be targeted towards a specific interest/topic, and others, well, who knows what they will be! In the end, I hope they are all enjoyable.

So, join me in my quest to conquer DC this summer, and I hope you enjoy!