Define Greed

RickWhite

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
At what point is it determined that a person is a greedy "fat cat"?

I hear so much about "Corporate America" and how evil it is. Suppose a teen age kid starts a business; say doing something with computers, and the business begins to blow up. Twenty years later he has over 500 full time employees working for him. At what point does he go from a kid earning a little pocket money with his computer business to a greedy, corporate fat cat?

Anyone ever see the South park episode where they burn down the Starbucks because it is putting Mr. Tweeks out of business, and then Mr. Tweek's shop gets huge as a result - then they burn down Mr. Tweeks for being too big.
 
ViRedd

ViRedd

New Member
A Fat Cat becomes a Fat Cat just as soon as his/her business gets large enough to garner the interest and attention of the labor unions. The owners of WalMart, for example, are Fat Cats, while those at the head of California's university system are not. The CEOs of General Motors were Fat Cats, but now that the businesses are being run/owned by the unions and the federal government, they are no longer Fat Cats.

Those on the progressive left demonize successful private enterprises as being nothing more than evil, profiteering ogres, while at the same time, they remain stone-blind to their own greed when it comes to extracting more and more capital from the private sector.

Does anyone besides me feel a real economic revolution coming in this country?
 
laughingduck

laughingduck

Well-Known Member
ViRedd said:
A Fat Cat becomes a Fat Cat just as soon as his/her business gets large enough to garner the interest and attention of the labor unions. The owners of WalMart, for example, are Fat Cats, while those at the head of California's university system are not. The CEOs of General Motors were Fat Cats, but now that the businesses are being run/owned by the unions and the federal government, they are no longer Fat Cats.

Those on the progressive left demonize successful private enterprises as being nothing more than evil, profiteering ogres, while at the same time, they remain stone-blind to their own greed when it comes to extracting more and more capital from the private sector.

Does anyone besides me feel a real economic revolution coming in this country?
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I have felt it for the last few years, and i had hoped it would be a non-violent one. I don't think we will be able to keep it non violent. I had spent the last few years working in another state because the economy at home was not great. I tried to do the right thing and invest (like everyone is programmed) i made about 35 thousand by the end of the year. The market crashed, I was in options and now have nothing. Because i had a paper gain the feds came after me for 7500 dollar in taxes. I had to borrow the money to pay them because they were about to start garnishing my check. I worked just long enough to pay that money back. I have been laid off for the last 9 months, and I just recieved a notice that I the state says i owed them 1800 in tax from 05 and i have 60 days to pay them. I was so mad when i recieved the notice, oh and the total of that bill is 4400 dollars after fines, that if i could have found a state or federal building to bairy my excursion in i would have. I have worked my ass off and what little i have to show for it. I have freakin had it! I am not normally to excitable, but i know that if i am this fed up with the goverment then i am sure there are folks way more put out than me........end rant! I need a drink
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
^^ Good points Vi.

Greed alone is not inherently bad. Greed is a desire for excess wealth or success. I have no problem with a person meeting their goals. How they meet their goals might be where the problem comes in.

Was their wealth obtained through fraud, deceit or force? If not, be as greedy as you like. The measure of what represents greed is hard to fix. Even poor people in the United States today would appear "greedy" to a person in the 3rd world if material possessions were the measuring stick of greed. People with no weed might think a guy with a good harvest and no intentions of sharing is greedy.
 
ViRedd

ViRedd

New Member
laughingduck said:
I have felt it for the last few years, and i had hoped it would be a non-violent one. I don't think we will be able to keep it non violent. I had spent the last few years working in another state because the economy at home was not great. I tried to do the right thing and invest (like everyone is programmed) i made about 35 thousand by the end of the year. The market crashed, I was in options and now have nothing. Because i had a paper gain the feds came after me for 7500 dollar in taxes. I had to borrow the money to pay them because they were about to start garnishing my check. I worked just long enough to pay that money back. I have been laid off for the last 9 months, and I just recieved a notice that I the state says i owed them 1800 in tax from 05 and i have 60 days to pay them. I was so mad when i recieved the notice, oh and the total of that bill is 4400 dollars after fines, that if i could have found a state or federal building to bairy my excursion in i would have. I have worked my ass off and what little i have to show for it. I have freakin had it! I am not normally to excitable, but i know that if i am this fed up with the goverment then i am sure there are folks way more put out than me........end rant! I need a drink
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If its any consolation to you, you're not alone. You/we have been caught up in a Marxist program known as The Progressive Income Tax System. The only thing driving it, and keeping it solvent, is fear and intimidation. What the hell are we doing with a tax system that discourages work and savings in a country that is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave?
 
doc111

doc111

Well-Known Member
This is the American Heritage Dictionary definition of greed. :leaf:


greed (gr
d) [SIZE=-2]KEY[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]NOUN:[/SIZE]

An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth: [SIZE=+0]"Many . . . attach to competition the stigma of selfish greed"[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0](Henry Fawcett).[/SIZE]
 
jesus of Cannabis

jesus of Cannabis

:-)
what is deserved and what is perceived as greedy?

My friend say greedy is anyone who is very successful, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Slim in Mexico, those people to her are greedy because they have mroe than they need.
To me they have earned the spot they are in right now and deserve whatever royalties come their way whether its money or material thigns, trips, cars and stuff. I had the same chance coming into the world as they had.

the word excessive in the dictionary definition is a very poor choice of words, it all depends who you are as an indiviual, and it isnt the same for any two people.
 
doc111

doc111

Well-Known Member
jesus of Cannabis said:
what is deserved and what is perceived as greedy?

My friend say greedy is anyone who is very successful, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Slim in Mexico, those people to her are greedy because they have mroe than they need.
To me they have earned the spot they are in right now and deserve whatever royalties come their way whether its money or material thigns, trips, cars and stuff. I had the same chance coming into the world as they had.

the word excessive in the dictionary definition is a very poor choice of words, it all depends who you are as an indiviual, and it isnt the same for any two people.
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The whole concept of greed is very open to interpretation. When I was a kid greedy was having 15 packs of twinkies. That's more twinkies than any kid can or should eat. Money is a different story. One might say that Bill Gates is greedy because he has $53 billion. Someone else might say he worked hard and had a good idea that was successful so he deserves it. Somebody else might say that Bill Gates was a thief (just using this as an example) as a young kid therefore he doesn't "deserve" his wealth. It's all in the eye of the beholder. :weed:
 
laughingduck

laughingduck

Well-Known Member
ViRedd said:
If its any consolation to you, you're not alone. You/we have been caught up in a Marxist program known as The Progressive Income Tax System. The only thing driving it, and keeping it solvent, is fear and intimidation. What the hell are we doing with a tax system that discourages work and savings in a country that is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Click to expand...
More like
Land of the free handouts (if you only earn what we think is fair)
And
Home of the slaves (if you make more than we think you should, which is just above surviving)
 
ViRedd

ViRedd

New Member
The thing we liberty devotees have to keep our eyes on is just who exactly determines what is "too much" and what is "too little."
 
doc111

doc111

Well-Known Member
ViRedd said:
The thing we liberty devotees have to keep our eyes on is just who exactly determines what is "too much" and what is "too little."
Click to expand...
The current leadership's definition of greed is subject to change without notice. :shock:
 
Man o' the green

Man o' the green

Active Member
ViRedd said:
The thing we liberty devotees have to keep our eyes on is just who exactly determines what is "too much" and what is "too little."
Click to expand...
- Great point.

Wouldn't only the envious be interested in defining someone else as "greedy".
Any evaluation of what is "enough" is personal perspective only.
 
CrackerJax

CrackerJax

New Member
Never let the govt. define greed for you. That's the pot calling the kettle black, and plays into their hands.
Deflecting from their mistakes is a favorite tactic..... oil, banks, insurance, anything handy will do as long as enough ppl fall for it.
 
undertheice

undertheice

Well-Known Member
greed is in how others see you, not in how you may see yourself. greedy is how those jealous individuals who have less define those who have more. the very term "greed" is merely a way to portion out how much of someone else's wealth may be stolen in a politically correct manner, a way of asserting the mob's supremacy over the individual. the liberal establishment has gone to great pains to decide how much is too much and at what point government may charge an individual usurious fees for its questionable services.
 
CrackerJax

CrackerJax

New Member
Class warfare is a tried and true tactic. There is always enough people who will buy into it .... some even buy into it with true.... greediness.
 
RickWhite

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
Interesting. Everyone who responded is at least fiscally Conservative. Funny how some questions just naturally cause cognitive dissonance in the minds of Progressives. When the question is an obvious one that requires them to examine their policies analytically, they simply choose not to think about it.
 
CrackerJax

CrackerJax

New Member
The liberal mirror is quite cracked. It hard to look at the reflection and not realize it. So they don't look.

Good observation.
 
yestim666

yestim666

New Member
Greed and its bad rep has to do with how you get it and who you hurt to get it. I have known people who will do ANYTHING to get ahead. Someone who is truely "greedy" is a sociopath. Being rich and greedy are two totally different things.
 
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