What if everyone was forced to play football, or baseball, or some other game just to live and survive (not in the sense of Running Man, or anything)? Well, we all are forced to play the same game. That game is "Who can make more money?" It's an unfair game with complicated rules, and it favors those who are currently winning. Did I mention that participation is manditory? Just like my sports analogy, when it comes to anything else in the world, your participation is optional. Not good at football? Don't have to play. Not good at making money? Tough shiat. The main difference is that how well you play the game of WCMMM greatly determines your quality of life. Why is it so wrong that those that aren't talented at WCMMM ask for help, or ask not to play, but still would like a decent life?? There is no place on the Earth for these people to go, build their own shelter and survive on their own. Even those that are willing to do whatever for these basic needs are met with rejection.

I'm not saying that nobody should play this game. I'm asking that everyone realize that you are indeed playing this game and that you pretty much are compelled to. Also realize that just like sports, there is no way everyone can be top-tiered players. There will always be a "fat kid" that gets picked last for teams and there will always be the special needs kids that physically or mentally can't play.

/and people wonder why those in financial distress go all postal...

j0e_average: Abox: j0e_average: Same as it ever was.

If that was really the case the folks on the bottom could just drop the whole thing.

You mean like all of the people who complain about cable tv and satellite, but refuse to do anything about it?

Big business and the government DEPEND on the herd mentality of the proletariat to maintain the status quo. Those men with guns are there for when the bottom DOES drop out.

Yeah, the guys with the guns really are just 1 tier above the bottom. Illustration is wrong.

And that ladies and gentleman is what we call a loaded question.

ManRay: What is a "fair share"? If you can't define what it is, how can I pay it?

It's more than you're paying now. And it always will be, no matter what you pay.

Tali'Zorah vas Neema: Some rich people got rich because they found out how to give millions of people something they wanted in exchange for cash, or because they wisely invested their money over the years. These rich people mostly deserve their money.

Some rich people got rich through fraud, theft, or gaming the political system. These rich people do not deserve their money.

This.

/Bankers. I'm looking at you.

That is probably the most useless question ever.


Does someone like my father, who took on serious debt to buy a failing company and built it up through hard work and personal sacrifice, who treats his employees more than fairly to the point that he has more 20+ year employees than 1 year employees, deserve his wealth? YES


Does a guy who rigged the financial markets through probably illegal methods all while taking down the global economy deserve his? HELL NO


Should both be taxed fairly so that we can maintain our social order? Yes


That cannot be summed up in one leading question.

j0e_average: Silly Jesus: Are people wanting the rich to pay a much higher percentage in taxes because....

"Hey, they can afford it, and we can force them to so we can get more stuff."

or

"We think that the rich use more services that taxes pay for so they need to pay more."

or

"The rich are evil, so higher taxes are a means of punishing their Satan like tendencies."


Progressive taxation, regressive taxation, or proportional taxation. Pick one. None are perfect. Which do you choose?

I'd prefer something in the proportional tax ballpark. I can't wrap my head around the "you made a lot of money, therefore everyone (society) deserves a higher percentage of it" line of reasoning.

These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

MycroftHolmes: These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

You have just created the straw-man of the day. Congrats.

MycroftHolmes: These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

And a Capitalist ALWAYS makes money off the working class.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

For what they do, a vast majority of wealthy people should be taxed more. What is the wealthy do is exploit the working class.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

No, everyone should pay. If you make more, you pay more toward healthcare. And sadly, there are people in this country that cannot afford anything, but I'm not going to throw them into the gutter and say "Fark off, no money, no treatment!"

FarkedOver: What it is that the wealthy does, is exploit the working class.

/Fixed

homelessdude: Yawner article by a guy who writes blurbs that can be digested by rich white folk while they wait in their limos as their jets are fueled.

I am sure the polls have some meaning, but if you look at this dude's article history, they are all little mini blubs about the oh-so-difficult lives of overly rich people and how things like helicopter noise in the Hamptons is akin to anarchy and the cultured elite are able to poop more cultured feces than the 99%.

Pass the caviar.

Why do you have to inject race into it? Are you a racist?

FarkedOver: MycroftHolmes: These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

And a Capitalist ALWAYS makes money off the working class.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

For what they do, a vast majority of wealthy people should be taxed more. What is the wealthy do is exploit the working class.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

No, everyone should pay. If you make more, you pay more toward healthcare. And sadly, there are people in this country that cannot afford anything, but I'm not going to throw them into the gutter and say "Fark off, no money, no treatment!"

So someone with money is obligated to give it away to those who don't make as much?

j0e_average: FTFA: Most Americans still have positive views of the wealthy and hope to become rich one day themselves.


And THAT ladies and gentlemen is the biggest fraud perpetrated on the 'mercan public.

If you just work hard enough, maybe you can be rich too! It's not until retirement time that most realize they've been had. Plus with continous attacks on SSI and Medicare -- they are coming for that too.

Yes, we should all resign and give into the fact that the government takes care of us. Become dependent off an agency who survives off our own money they take. Why try when government will save us! Liberalism is such a pathetic ethos.

Silly Jesus: FarkedOver: MycroftHolmes: These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

And a Capitalist ALWAYS makes money off the working class.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

For what they do, a vast majority of wealthy people should be taxed more. What is the wealthy do is exploit the working class.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

No, everyone should pay. If you make more, you pay more toward healthcare. And sadly, there are people in this country that cannot afford anything, but I'm not going to throw them into the gutter and say "Fark off, no money, no treatment!"

So someone with money is obligated to give it away to those who don't make as much?

How did that someone acquire there money in the first place? The issue is that the capitalist makes a profit at the expense of the worker. Make no mistake about it, the capitalist does not make wealth, the laborer creates wealth and the wealthy should be reminded of that every single farking day.

MyRandomName: Yes, we should all resign and give into the fact that the government takes care of us. Become dependent off an agency who survives off our own money they take. Why try when government will save us! Liberalism is such a pathetic ethos.

This is actually what Conservatives think Liberals believe.

We once had lawmakers who were wise. They created all kinds of social safety nets for the protection of the poor. They set up all kinds of regulations to encourage businesses to behave. They created a tax system that caused a massive growth in the middle class. Times were good.

The above items have been/continue to be systematically dismantled by people who simply do not understand (or care) about why this is a very bad thing for this country.

Who else deserves their money? You?

Please.

Does someone that inherited the money deserve it? Fark no. Does someone who busted their ass for years, making risky investments, etc... deserve it? Yes.

The rich should pay their share, though. But that will never happen as long as corporations run congress.

Obviously, other people deserve the money you earn.

How else can we make life fair?

FarkedOver: Silly Jesus: FarkedOver: MycroftHolmes: These threads always make two things:

People are always socialist with other peoples money.

And a Capitalist ALWAYS makes money off the working class.

People always think the line of 'making too much money and should be taxed more' is always just a little bit above what they make.

For what they do, a vast majority of wealthy people should be taxed more. What is the wealthy do is exploit the working class.

I very rarely here people say 'Yes, healthcare should be a right, and I am willing to give 20% more of my 60K a year to make sure that umemployed people get every bit of healthcare as everyone else.' It is always 'The RICH should pay'

No, everyone should pay. If you make more, you pay more toward healthcare. And sadly, there are people in this country that cannot afford anything, but I'm not going to throw them into the gutter and say "Fark off, no money, no treatment!"

So someone with money is obligated to give it away to those who don't make as much?

How did that someone acquire there money in the first place? The issue is that the capitalist makes a profit at the expense of the worker. Make no mistake about it, the capitalist does not make wealth, the laborer creates wealth and the wealthy should be reminded of that every single farking day.

So the capitalist is harming the worker by providing him with a job and benefits?

Of course the capitalist profits off of the worker, but the worker profits as well. Are you one of those folks that want companies to charge the exact price for a product that it cost them to produce it?

But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is MADE-before it can be looted or mooched-made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.

Flat income tax everyone. Absolutely fair across the board. /thread

machoprogrammer: Does someone that inherited the money deserve it? Fark no.

So when a person dies, all of their money should go to the State. Got it.

I just love all the 'Well, if you poor people would get off of your lazy asses and work for it, you could be here too!' That is the biggest lie in modern America. Some of us worked our asses off. Some of us do not know what the word 'vacation' is. Some of us were born with medical problems that are not exciting in the 'Hollywood' tradition, so they can't be that bad and therefore you need to get out there and work like a dog. Some of us just have bad luck, just as some of the rich had good luck, although their need to act like it was all through their efforts is both funny and completely irritating.

But, since we have a two-tiered justice system, and a two-tiered social model, fueling this lie of 'anyone can make it in America' is important to the upper crust. They would not have people willing to work themselves to death for little return if anyone figured this all out.

Here is an idea... why doesn't the upper crust actually remember that we are all human beings and should be awarded some dignity and compassion. Oh wait, those two things are not profitable, so I should forget that completely. And the concept of putting your fellow man before your hoard of wealth... well that's just crazy talk!

Doom MD: Flat income tax everyone. Absolutely fair across the board. /thread

But then how do we get our revenge on those evil rich? After all, it is their duty to use their wealth to support X number of poor folks.

alywa: This is such a bullshiat headline. Most people don't despise the wealthy for their wealth. Most people simply feel like everyone should pay their fair share, and that the wealthy can afford to pay a little more. In addition, most people feel like capital gains (if they even understand what they are) are income just like wages received at work, and should be taxed accordingly.

What people do despise is rich individuals and corporations using their power, influence, and financial means to avoid paying taxes or paying their fair share. In addition, nobody likes those who use their means to be above the law.

Define fair share. Please do. Fair share to a liberal is always "just a little bit more." Stop using ill defined terms put forth under the guise of "social justice."

Loadmaster: machoprogrammer: Does someone that inherited the money deserve it? Fark no.

So when a person dies, all of their money should go to the State. Got it.

This thread is full of people intentionally misrepresenting what other people say. I feel like I'm in the Politics tab.

BurnShrike: Loadmaster: machoprogrammer: Does someone that inherited the money deserve it? Fark no.

So when a person dies, all of their money should go to the State. Got it.

This thread is full of people intentionally misrepresenting what other people say. I feel like I'm in the Politics tab.

That's pretty much a reflection of today's Congress. Either you're with me or against me.

MyRandomName: j0e_average: FTFA: Most Americans still have positive views of the wealthy and hope to become rich one day themselves.


And THAT ladies and gentlemen is the biggest fraud perpetrated on the 'mercan public.

If you just work hard enough, maybe you can be rich too! It's not until retirement time that most realize they've been had. Plus with continous attacks on SSI and Medicare -- they are coming for that too.

Yes, we should all resign and give into the fact that the government takes care of us. Become dependent off an agency who survives off our own money they take. Why try when government will save us! Liberalism is such a pathetic ethos.

Silly Jesus: So the capitalist is harming the worker by providing him with a job and benefits?

You seem to believe there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between the worker and the capitalist. You would be wrong. If all the capitalists vanished one day, workers would still work things would still get done. You make it seem as though the worker is helpless without the guidance of the capitalist. I submit the capitalist is nothing without the worker.

Of course the capitalist profits off of the worker, but the worker profits as well. Are you one of those folks that want companies to charge the exact price for a product that it cost them to produce it?

No, I am one of those folk who believe the means of production should be in the hands of those that actually create the wealth, i.e. not the capitalist.

But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is MADE-before it can be looted or mooched-made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.

Wealth is not the product of a man's capacity to think. Wealth is created on the backs of those who are forced to sell their labor at the cheapest rate possible in order just to survive.

Doom MD: Flat income tax everyone. Absolutely fair across the board. /thread

Absolutely retarded across the board.

payattention: I just love all the 'Well, if you poor people would get off of your lazy asses and work for it, you could be here too!' That is the biggest lie in modern America. Some of us worked our asses off. Some of us do not know what the word 'vacation' is. Some of us were born with medical problems that are not exciting in the 'Hollywood' tradition, so they can't be that bad and therefore you need to get out there and work like a dog. Some of us just have bad luck, just as some of the rich had good luck, although their need to act like it was all through their efforts is both funny and completely irritating.

But, since we have a two-tiered justice system, and a two-tiered social model, fueling this lie of 'anyone can make it in America' is important to the upper crust. They would not have people willing to work themselves to death for little return if anyone figured this all out.

Here is an idea... why doesn't the upper crust actually remember that we are all human beings and should be awarded some dignity and compassion. Oh wait, those two things are not profitable, so I should forget that completely. And the concept of putting your fellow man before your hoard of wealth... well that's just crazy talk!

So...basically...

Poor person: You should want to give away your money to me.
Rich person: Why? Do I know you?
Poor person: OMG YOU AREN'T HUMAN! SHOW ME COMPASSION BY GIVING ME THINGS!
Rich person: Despite what you've read on Fark, only a very small percentage of the wealthy actually inherited their wealth. The vast majority worked for it.
Poor person: So no hand-outs then?
Rich person: Nope. I worked hard for this, why do I have an obligation to give it away?
Poor person: I'll just vote for someone then who confiscates it from you by force and sends it to me in the mail every month....

Ta-Da!

Loadmaster: Obviously, other people deserve the money you earn.

How else can we make life fair?

Also: 6 things rich people need to stop saying

I know few people will read this article, most of those who do will dismiss it as another stupid Cracked list, and it will not change anyone's mind, but it is a well written summation of any arguments I would make in these threads.

DoBeDoBeDo: Does someone like my father, who took on serious debt to buy a failing company and built it up through hard work and personal sacrifice, who treats his employees more than fairly to the point that he has more 20+ year employees than 1 year employees, deserve his wealth? YES


Does a guy who rigged the financial markets through probably illegal methods all while taking down the global economy deserve his? HELL NO

This is all just pointless rabble-rousing on the part of the media to tell it's "class warfare" narrative.

My parents started a business as well and have done pretty well and draw a comfortable salary. But no one to date has tried to Occupy their business park.

Only the most deluded of college students truly believe in a socialist utopia. The vast majority of everyone believes that hard work and ingenuity should come with material reward. And to all the Fark cynics out there: The American Dream is not dead and you CAN become wealthy, but it requires a complete restructuring of the way you think about money.

But fraud, unfair business practices and "whether the rich deserve their money" are two completely different issues.

The rich pay too little in taxes, this much is clear. We should be heavily investing in education, infrastructure and all the things that benefit the middle class. But taxing the rich to death out of spite isn't going to make OUR lives any better.

Silly Jesus: payattention: I just love all the 'Well, if you poor people would get off of your lazy asses and work for it, you could be here too!' That is the biggest lie in modern America. Some of us worked our asses off. Some of us do not know what the word 'vacation' is. Some of us were born with medical problems that are not exciting in the 'Hollywood' tradition, so they can't be that bad and therefore you need to get out there and work like a dog. Some of us just have bad luck, just as some of the rich had good luck, although their need to act like it was all through their efforts is both funny and completely irritating.

But, since we have a two-tiered justice system, and a two-tiered social model, fueling this lie of 'anyone can make it in America' is important to the upper crust. They would not have people willing to work themselves to death for little return if anyone figured this all out.

Here is an idea... why doesn't the upper crust actually remember that we are all human beings and should be awarded some dignity and compassion. Oh wait, those two things are not profitable, so I should forget that completely. And the concept of putting your fellow man before your hoard of wealth... well that's just crazy talk!

So...basically...

Poor person: You should want to give away your money to me.
Rich person: Why? Do I know you?
Poor person: OMG YOU AREN'T HUMAN! SHOW ME COMPASSION BY GIVING ME THINGS!
Rich person: Despite what you've read on Fark, only a very small percentage of the wealthy actually inherited their wealth. The vast majority of my employees worked for it.
Poor person: So no hand-outs then?
Rich person: Nope. I worked a lot of people hard for this, why do I have an obligation to give it away?
Poor person: I'll just vote for someone then who confiscates it from you by force and sends it to me in the mail every month....

Ta-Da!

There, I fixed that for you.

MayoSlather: This just goes to show that most Americans have very little understanding of how the super rich became super rich. If they knew they would likely change their tune.

I suppose many think of the Dr down the street as "rich" as well and know their struggles going through many years of school and lots of hard work. That's not rich though. And even in those instances you can make the argument that lots of people work hard. Lots of people have highly specialized skills and aren't paid anywhere close to a Dr who likely had advantages in the first place to be able to pay for medical school. Not that people with higher education don't deserve to be paid well. I'm simply saying lots of other people should be paid much more.

Hilarious. You need to see my medical school loan bills. I think I only know a handful of people who graduated medical school without monsterous bills. A large swath of your income goes to paying off those loans. When you adjust for hours worked, the massive amount of training, ambulance chasing lawyers, enormous debt load, recertification exams, CME, etc. doctors don't make anywhere near how much outsiders perceive them to. Sure, there's some perks and prestige to it I suppose. Regardless, if money is the real motivation, go into business. Medicine is not the most efficient way to make a pile of money.

MyRandomName: Yes, we should all resign and give into the fact that the government takes care of us. Become dependent off an agency who survives off our own money they take. Why try when government will save us! Liberalism is such a pathetic ethos.

BurnShrike: This is actually what Conservatives think Liberals believe.

Some do. We used to call them "Progressives". Guys like Alger Hiss, for example, believed that the government should control the economy, that the constitutional separation of powers should be ignored in practice, and that a select elite should rule the masses.

What the hell kind of headline is that, subby?

From the Karl Marx Institute of Obama Studies?

FarkedOver: You seem to believe there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between the worker and the capitalist. You would be wrong. If all the capitalists vanished one day, workers would still work things would still get done. You make it seem as though the worker is helpless without the guidance of the capitalist. I submit the capitalist is nothing without the worker.

They need one another. I highly doubt that the workers would continue without payment if the capitalists all vanished all of the sudden. Also, you do realize that it takes a substantial amount of capital to open a new factory / store etc.? This is where the workers go to work.

FarkedOver: No, I am one of those folk who believe the means of production should be in the hands of those that actually create the wealth, i.e. not the capitalist.

So the person who takes all of the risk in starting the company should hand over control to the workers? What's his incentive to start the company if he's footing the bill and taking all of the risk and doesn't get to control the outcome?

FarkedOver: Wealth is not the product of a man's capacity to think. Wealth is created on the backs of those who are forced to sell their labor at the cheapest rate possible in order just to survive.

Why didn't everyone else come up with the Model T then? Do you think that an invention / idea just comes out of the sky and builds itself a factory and hires a workforce and begins production without the aid of a man?

Do you think that workers should be paid more for their work than it is worth?

FarkedOver: Silly Jesus: payattention: I just love all the 'Well, if you poor people would get off of your lazy asses and work for it, you could be here too!' That is the biggest lie in modern America. Some of us worked our asses off. Some of us do not know what the word 'vacation' is. Some of us were born with medical problems that are not exciting in the 'Hollywood' tradition, so they can't be that bad and therefore you need to get out there and work like a dog. Some of us just have bad luck, just as some of the rich had good luck, although their need to act like it was all through their efforts is both funny and completely irritating.

But, since we have a two-tiered justice system, and a two-tiered social model, fueling this lie of 'anyone can make it in America' is important to the upper crust. They would not have people willing to work themselves to death for little return if anyone figured this all out.

Here is an idea... why doesn't the upper crust actually remember that we are all human beings and should be awarded some dignity and compassion. Oh wait, those two things are not profitable, so I should forget that completely. And the concept of putting your fellow man before your hoard of wealth... well that's just crazy talk!

So...basically...

Poor person: You should want to give away your money to me.
Rich person: Why? Do I know you?
Poor person: OMG YOU AREN'T HUMAN! SHOW ME COMPASSION BY GIVING ME THINGS!
Rich person: Despite what you've read on Fark, only a very small percentage of the wealthy actually inherited their wealth. The vast majority of my employees worked for it.
Poor person: So no hand-outs then?
Rich person: Nope. I worked a lot of people hard for this, why do I have an obligation to give it away?
Poor person: I'll just vote for someone then who confiscates it from you by force and sends it to me in the mail every month....

Ta-Da!

There, I fixed that for you.

The employees are paid for their work.

Doom MD: Flat income tax everyone. Absolutely fair across the board. /thread

This, but keep a standard deduction.  Index it at 50% of the 5-year average of the median wage for singles/separates, 75% for joint, and another 10% for each dependant.

Highway61Revisited: [upload.wikimedia.org image 300x322]

Fourth Doctor?


Dentist Who... worst. spin-off. evar.

Was going to post "What a fourth Doctor may look like."

Leaving satisfied.

Silly Jesus: An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.

Who let the adult in here?

FarkedOver: Silly Jesus: So the capitalist is harming the worker by providing him with a job and benefits?

You seem to believe there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between the worker and the capitalist. You would be wrong. If all the capitalists vanished one day, workers would still work things would still get done. You make it seem as though the worker is helpless without the guidance of the capitalist. I submit the capitalist is nothing without the worker.

Of course the capitalist profits off of the worker, but the worker profits as well. Are you one of those folks that want companies to charge the exact price for a product that it cost them to produce it?

No, I am one of those folk who believe the means of production should be in the hands of those that actually create the wealth, i.e. not the capitalist.

But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is MADE-before it can be looted or mooched-made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.

Wealth is not the product of a man's capacity to think. Wealth is created on the backs of those who are forced to sell their labor at the cheapest rate possible in order just to survive.

Agree. Agree, and agree. Well said.

I'm single, 33, well paid but not rich by any means (under 6 figures), own my home in a relatively expensive area (DC burbs) and feel that I, and people in a very similar situation to me, can afford to pay more taxes, and that we should. At the very least, I do not need the mortgage tax break. People who make a good deal more can afford to pay an even greater extra amount. And the richest, more yet. There is a certain level of income which varies from area to area where your buying and saving power allows you to afford everything you need to live and plenty more for entertainment costs. Anything else is just stockpiling of wealth and/or luxury items.

I agree with previous comments that we should revert revert tax rates to previously higher levels, there should be a new tax bracket for the highest income earners over 500K which should be at least 50%, we need to tax capital gains the same as income over a certain amount (so as not to hurt middle income folks from saving for retirement), put some kind of penalty on short term trading and eliminate many kinds of speculation, private housing foremost on that list.