Is the American Dream to get Rich/Wealthy or to be Middle Class ? In my opinion I would love to be Rich or Wealthy Capitalism promotes the idea that we can all be Rich one day.
Last edited by truthseeker63; 06-04-2011 at 07:08 PM.
The American dream is much more than that is a sugarcoated speech or policy that puts American infront of everyone else in this planet so just as brother alyunan said - it is pretty much a night mare.
All i know is that being rich or not , in health or not is not in our hands nor in the hands of capatalism it is all in the hands of God almighty so if you want to be increased in wealth just ask God .
Funny thing I am scared to be rich and if I will be given a chance to choose, I want to be middle class forever
I've already experience it all, when my income was (lets say) 10$ and now I am getting 10x of that at age of 25, nothing change in me. The way I dress, the food I eat, I still like to go by bus rather than taxi if husband is not available. It is where I find happiness in living with simplicity. Many of my batch strive to get huge house, 1 or two, but I always say that, Big house is harram if nobody will live.
Maybe it is bcoz I came from a poor family, besides I am preparing myself in case Allah take all the wealth we have. Inshallah not but I am not so afraid to be poor again.
There is idiom in my place, "Jual Deudeut". "Jual" means sell, "Deudeut" literally means push something to small box. But "Jual Deudeut" an idiom means "urge/force the costumer to buy the product". Example of "Jual Deudeut" is, a seller comes to you and force you to buy with "You don't have any choice other than buy my product !, you must buy from me !, bla, ...bla,...,bla..."
But, what is correlation between "Jual Deudeut" and American Dream ?
I grew up in a middle-class family. We weren't rich, but my sister and I always had enough to eat and always had clothes to wear and a place to sleep at night.
Now that I am on my own and pay all of my own bills, I'm lucky to have a little money to set aside every month after my bills are paid.
In a ideal world we would all be Rich/Wealthy but it is only a dream for most people however I do think people's basic needs can and could and should be meant.
Last edited by truthseeker63; 06-04-2011 at 07:08 PM.
In a ideal world we would all be Rich/Wealthy but it is only a dream for most people however I do think people's basic needs can and could and should be meant.
Reminds one of a seventies saying "America love it or Leave it"
I don't know why you are all always whining, you don't like it there is a big world out there, move !
The rest of the world survives and thrives with out your Republic.
Do I like the American People the answer is yes I do do I like the American Government the answer is no I don't.
Well then why are you very disturbed, Wealth is not important , the prophet PBUH said that the rich is not the one who owns means of wealth , true richness in the self controll and self suffiecent , or i think that is a hadeeth, if not then probably a proverb.
Many people in this word have not been blessed with wealth , what do they make of it? nothing because it is not wealth that matters, it is finding inner peace in this life and having a meaning in it that you live by through out your whole life.
i hope this helps
Salaam
I agree with you that Wealth is not important if a Rich man goes to Hell and a Poor man goes to Heaven or to Paradise who is the one with true riches ?
Last edited by truthseeker63; 06-04-2011 at 06:56 PM.
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.[1] The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."[2]
funny thing is that all these rights only imply on a certain type of people - the americans ofcourse anyone other than that you can step on them with your shoe.
I view going to Heaven or Paradise as true riches Im not a Materialist I don't have a Marxist view of life.
Very Good , in my point of view the true rich human being is the one who is not afraid to go through any hardship for the sake of what they believe in, the sacrifice the cheap and precious , they can sacrifice their own life and risk an unknown destiny for what they belive in. God knows best,
I agree with you that Wealth is not important if a Rich man goes to Hell and a Poor man goes to Heaven or to Paradise who is the one with true riches ?
Salam truthseeker,
I asume you are not Muslim so I quote Plato "a man who has a Friend is trully the richest man on earth"
Many people in this word have not been blessed with wealth , what do they make of it? nothing because it is not wealth that matters, it is finding inner peace in this life and having a meaning in it that you live by through out your whole life.
i hope this helps
Salaam
In America, no one ever has enough money or things. And, still you see a lot of people on anti-depressants even though they are "free" but they lack inner peace. The corporations and the media promote hyper-consumerism which gets people into too much debt and living pay check to pay check. Hardly anyone saves for a rainy day and some families even have to do without health insurance. Also, most of Americans who bought homes to reach their "American Dream," are now loosing their homes, in addition to their jobs.
The top 1% always thrives, pays lower percentage of taxes, and has the lobbying power to get what they want to promote their causes. I would like to conclude that many of the US involvements around the world are mainly based on improving the ROI for those tycoons.
In western capitalist countries their taxation penalises the poor and vulnerable in society. Clever accounting and offshore Swiss bank accounts ensure the rich in western societies can avoid paying the majority of taxes altogether. In the UK for example, the Queen is one of the richest people in Britain yet she pays no income tax, whereas a poor single mother or an old age pensioner must pay income tax. With regressive taxes like the sales taxes on goods and services these hurt the poor more than the rich since the tax rates are the same for both.
The Rich hide their money in Swiss Bank Accounts and the Banks won't tell the Western Governments that they have the money the money is hidden the Rich also have the Lobbyists therefor they control and run the Western Governments the Western Governments are paid off by these Lobbyists.
Super-rich hide trillions offshore
· Study reveals assets 10 times larger than UK GDP · Exchequers deprived of hundreds of billions in tax
Here is Sen. Sanders’ list of the 10 worst corporate income tax avoiders:
1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings. (Source: Exxon Mobil’s 2009 shareholder report filed with the SEC here.)
2) Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion. (Source: Forbes.com here, ProPublica here and Treasury here.)
3) General Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United States over the past five years and, thanks to clever use of loopholes, paid no taxes.(Source: Citizens for Tax Justice here and The New York Times here. Note: despite rumors to the contrary, the Times has stood by its story.)
4) Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009. (Source: See 2009 Chevron annual report here. Note 15 on page FS-46 of this report shows a U.S. federal income tax liability of $128 million, but that it was able to defer $147 million for a U.S. federal income tax liability of negative $19 million.)
5) Boeing, which received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon to build 179 airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year. (Source: Paul Buchheit, professor, DePaul University, here and Citizens for Tax Justice here.)
6) Valero Energy, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year, received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS and, over the past three years, received a $134 million tax break from the oil and gas manufacturing tax deduction. (Source: the company’s 2009 annual report, pg. 112, here.)
7) Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department. (Source: Bloomberg News here, ProPublica here, Treasury Department here.)
8) Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury. (Source: Paul Buchheit, professor, DePaul University, here, ProPublica here, Treasury Department here.)
9) ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2006 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction. (Sources: Profits can be found here. The deduction can be found on the company’s 2010 SEC 10-K report to shareholders on 2009 finances, pg. 127, here.)
10) Carnival Cruise Lines made more than $11 billion in profits over the past five years, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent. (Source: The New York Times here.)
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The American Dream
Re: The American Dream
, in my point of view the true rich human being is the one who is not afraid to go through any hardship for the sake of what they believe in, the sacrifice the cheap and precious , they can sacrifice their own life and risk an unknown destiny for what they belive in. God knows best,
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