(Video Description) Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White: A Primer on African American Political History, by David Barton (Book || CD || DVD) Millions of Americans are now realizing the true history of Political parties within America. Historically, blacks faced discrimination and injustice by progressives and liberals in congress. Today these same liberal democrats and progressives falsely accuse republicans and conservatives of the very racism that Democrats have a history of. No longer can liberals rewrite and revise Black History. Meanwhile Liberal feminist Margaret Sanger sought to exterminate blacks through abortion.
Author: Papa Giorgio
How Liberals Perverted Sex | The Kinsey Syndrome Documentary
The Kinsey Syndrome unfolds the work and influence of Dr. Alfred Kinsey, considered to be “the father of the sexual revolution.” But did Kinsey liberate America from its prudish view of sex? Or help to unleash the horrors of our present society? The video will progress automatically to each part of the=is ten part series. (Here is the play list)
Islam versus Judeo-Christian Faith
(Click column for another site’s columns)
Abraham Lincoln a Democrat? (Old Story)
The Daily Caller notes the response from the university:
As The Daily Caller previously reported, a Northeastern Illinois University building contains a plaque dedicated to Abraham Lincoln that erroneously identifies the first Republican president as a Democrat.
NEIU’s response? No mistake was made, because Lincoln is actually a “democrat,” in the sense that he supported democracy.
“According to building archives, the word democrat was used because Lincoln was an advocate for democracy—the political or social equality of all people,” an NEIU spokesperson told The Daily Caller in a statement. “The word was not chosen to reflect a political affiliation.”
Josephus Fixed by History/Historians
- Above video description: Scholar and historian Chris Forbes shows why Josephus is still a reliable source on the historical Jesus despite what atheists and pseud-historians say.
Via Reformed Apologetics and CARM:
The following quote has the passages that are rejected as additions (italicized) by a Christian scribe in a later Latin transcription of Josephus:
- “Around this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who did surprising deeds, and a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who in the first place came to love him did not give up their affection for him, for on the third day, he appeared to them restored to life. The prophets of God had prophesied this and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, have still to this day not died out.”
And here is a 10th Century Arabic transcription from an earlier Greek copy:
- “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship.They reported that he had appeared to them after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.” (This version will be lost to scholarship until 1971)
For a chronological look at the text and it’s evolving historical significance, see: The Mystery of the Testimonium Flavianum
- Above video description: Historians and scholars show that Josephus is a reliable historian on the historical Jesus despite the interpolations.
Again, here is the fixed version most historians accept…
- “At that time there appeared Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people who receive truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cease to do so. And up until this very day the tribe of Christians (named after him) has not died out”
…from this and Josephus’ other passage…
- “Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned”
With the passage from Josephus fixed, and including his other history concerning that time/area — what do we know?
1. He existed as a man. The historian Josephus grew up in a priestly family in first-century Palestine and wrote only decades after Jesus’ death. Jesus’ known associates, such as Jesus’ brother James, were his contemporaries. The historical and cultural context was second nature to Josephus. “If any Jewish writer were ever in a position to know about the non-existence of Jesus, it would have been Josephus. His implicit affirmation of the existence of Jesus has been, and still is, the most significant obstacle for those who argue that the extra-Biblical evidence is not probative on this point,” Robert Van Voorst observes.32 And Tacitus was careful enough not to report real executions of nonexistent people.
2. His personal name was Jesus, as Josephus informs us.
3. He was called Christos in Greek, which is a translation of the Hebrew wordMessiah, both of which mean “anointed” or “(the) anointed one,” as Josephus states and Tacitus implies, unaware, by reporting, as Romans thought, that his name was Christus.
4. He had a brother named James (Jacob), as Josephus reports.
5. He won over both Jews and “Greeks” (i.e., Gentiles of Hellenistic culture), according to Josephus, although it is anachronistic to say that they were “many” at the end of his life. Large growth
in the number of Jesus’ actual followers came only after his death.
6. Jewish leaders of the day expressed unfavorable opinions about him, at least according to some versions of the Testimonium Flavianum.
7. Pilate rendered the decision that he should be executed, as both Tacitus and Josephus state.
8. His execution was specifically by crucifixion, according to Josephus.
9. He was executed during Pontius Pilate’s governorship over Judea (26–36 C.E.), as Josephus implies and Tacitus states, adding that it was during Tiberius’s reign.
(Via Tektonics AND Biblical Archaeology)
Even atheist agree:
The Shampoo Prank!
I am posting parts 1-through3… but the best in my opinion is number three. Enjoy:
Party Tips for Kegs and Kegerators
Looking for more tips on beer and wine pairing with cheese and food, as well as some hardware to support such a fine habit, see my TIPS Page.
I was at a friend’s house and he mention that his keg was putting out a bit too much foam. We both agreed that part of the reason was that it was a new keg. However, I am a big believer in lower PSI so with the micro-brewed (15-gallons), a PSI of 8-10 is good. However, if you have the proper set up you can go to the recommended 14, which does allow optimal taste in a pour. Yes, taste does change with pressure… most pubs you go to have about a 14 or higher setting.
There are ways for the amateur to start fixing the problem of foam, and here are some of the best tips for making your kegerator the best in the neighborhood. One of the most common causes of foam is the tower. As you or your guests go about drinking there brew the beer in the tower is warming up to room temperature. When someone goes to pour from the tap the beer in the tower is warm and that is typically the foamy part. That is one of the easiest ways to combat foam, but it takes a little cha-ching.
~ TIP
- One of the most helpful sites I have found (especially their forums section where dummies like myself can ask questions from the pros) is MicroMatic.com. I would suggest after going through this blog to stop over there and root around. They have everything under the sun for purchase.
These cold taps cooled tower dispensers can be found at any of the sites I am going to recommend, they range in price and get pretty expensive. You know your finances better than I so shop with caution. Another item to add to your kegerator if you have the money to spend is this little device (Click image to the right for seller)
(SITE) This device is good for kegerators as well as the “back yard diddy.” Here is a demonstration of hooking it up as well as the best procedure for a backyard keg:
The device is not terribly expensive ($62), and for the person with the kegerator you would want to mount it inside the refrigerated section of the kegerator as to keep the beer in it cold.
~ TIP
- Another helpful site for ideas on what to buy and helpful hists is the site KegWorks.com. Check them out. Again, their people are really helpful, over the phone or email if you have any questions.
Again, some of these Q&A can get very technical, for homor sake I will post a response over at MicroMatic that made me laugh… keep in mind though that these folks take beer seriously!
Question:
Our boat club installed a new 4-faucet Mini-Mushroom tap from Micromatic recently. We have a little too much foam on all taps, and the only difference I can see is that the beer lines are a smaller diameter (1/4″ vs. 3/8″) than the old tap. Temp is good, it’s direct draw, same CO2 setup. Any ideas?
Response:
What’s the distance from the keg to the tap? What’s the “vertical lift” in the system (distance from center of keg to tap)? What beer are you dispensing?
Questioner:
The distance is about 36″, the beer is bud, bud light, Blue Point Toasted Lager and Blue Point Pale Ale. No trouble with old tap (it was an eyesore) same issue on all beers
Response:
Sorry to hit you with math here Nick but this is the way I work it out…
I was told that the proper formula to use is this…
L=(P-(H x 0.5) -1) / R
L=Length (Are you saying 36 inches from keg to tap?)
P= CO2 Pressure (for the type of beer you’re pouring I think it’s around 14lbs if your temp is 38F)
H=Height (from the center of Keg to the faucet let’s pretend its the three feet you’re talking about since that’s the only way I can see it – the taps being above the keg)
R=Resistance of the line
If the length is 3 feet like you say…
3=(14-(3 x 0.5) – 1) /R
3=9.5/R
3r=9.5 (This is the total resistance of the line)
We need to run line that has a total resistance of 9.5lbs. 3/16ID beer line has a resistance of 3lbs per foot… so if we run 3.17 feet of 3/16 you’ll have the perfect resistance.
If (and this might be the case), you’re really talking about 36 feet we’ll have to change the numbers a little and use different diameter line. Let me know.
And here is a great conversation about altitude and settings via Beer Advocate:
Question:
Hey Everyone, I have read countless thread on this and have not been able to solve my problem. I am getting all foam from my kegerator. I need to balance this for a coors light keg for now (no barbs about the crappy beer please, the home brew is going in afterwards) and I have been changing things based on recommendations from other peoples issues that I have read about, but can’t get this solved. Here are the facts:
-Mini-fridge style kegerator with tower and circulating fan to keep tower cool
-Tower goes 2 feet above keg
-Temperature of beer: 34 degrees
-line length: 12feet of 3/16″ beer grade line kept in the fridge, above the keg
-pressure: 10psi
-Altitude: ~7500 feet (in Colorado)
-Everything has been cleaned thoroughly
-Brand new CO2 regulator
-Keg was placed in the kegerator for three days to settle, then tapped and vented and sat for another 48 hours
I have tried line lengths from 3ft to 12ft, Pressures from 3psi to 16 psi, and temperatures from 33degrees to 40 degrees. Every time I change something I let the whole system settle. All I ever get is foam, foam, foam. If anyone has any ideas I am more than happy to try pretty much anything at this point as I am thoroughly frustrated.
Thanks in advance.
Answers:
if you have screwed around with your pressure very frequently you have probably altered the vols of the beer in keg, so it is difficult to determine if the keg beer is over carbed, under carbed or something else. not much can be done about that now though.
be sure the beer in the glass is the correct temp. the first pour should be your desired temp. measure with an accurate thermometer on the first pour.
let’s assume that everything works.
you are at 7,500 feet. about 1 pound of restriction must be added for every 2,000 feet above sea level. so a bit less than 4 psi, roughly, in additional restriction to overcome. you don’t have an altimeter i assume, and we just need to be close enough.
you need something closer to 18-20 psi with this beer at 38 degrees. try 5′ of 3/16″ vinyl and shorthen to 4′ if needed.
i am going off memory here, and a pro can likely dial it in a bit better but i think we are pretty close. your applied pressure is too low.
let us know how it works. you might need a second keg.
Cheers.
Here is what you need to do always to pour great beer:
1. Set and check your beer temp and serve between 38 and 40.
2. Keep your line short (6 ft or less) and use the smallest diameter beer line (3/16).
3. Set psi at 10 for all beers except hoppy ones (e.g., not Coors/Budweiser type beers) and set them at 11 and leave it. 11 psi works best for a permanent setting.
4. Use all stainless steel facets and connectors which touch beer and clean these lines weekly (minimum every 2 weeks). Be sure to disassemble facets and tappers and clean.
5. When serving beer – Open and close the facet briskly and fully! If you try to open it slowly it creates turbulence and foam.
If this does not work, come down to our brewery for remedial training!
You can read more in their Forums at Beer Advocate on various subjects. Obviously this is more business oriented, but one can see why not paying attention to your math teacher actually hurts you later in life. Of course the easiest way one is going to keep foam issues down is to CLEAN YOUR LINES! (Here is a longer video help)
It may be troublesome, but this is the price one pays for perfection. Here is a short Q&A from BeverageFactory.com that explains the issues:
Q: Why do dispensing lines have to be cleaned?
Beer lines have to be cleaned because a scale called calcium oxalate, commonly referred to as “beer-store” forms on the fittings, lines and taps. “Beerstore”, if not completely removed in a cleaning process will leave an unsanitary surface that can harbor microorganisms. Line cleaning with the proper equipment and chemical, eliminates the build-up of “beerstore” protecting the integrity of the product.
Microorganisms or bacterial will grow very quickly if a sanitary environment is not maintained, causing off-flavors or shorten the shelf life of the beer. Regular cleaning assures that bacteria does not have the opportunity to reach levels which affect the quality/taste of the beer.
Q: How often should I clean my lines?
Line cleaning should be done on a regular scheduled basis. (approximately every 6 weeks) A standard cleaning kit will perform approximately with scheduled line cleanings. We recommend that you clean your lines every time you switch out a keg.
Q: How do I clean the Beer Line and Faucet?
Once a week the beer line and faucet should be cleaned with fresh water. You will need the CK100 Cleaning Kit to do the following steps.
Clean, clean, clean! This is the best possible recipe for a healthy poor.
Jockey Box Tips!
Cobra Attachment Tips!
One last item, one of the reoccurring problems during my time at a place that sold kegs was the proper hookups for the proper beer (e.g., domestic, European, and the like).
Proper Beer Couplers!
So some of the guys and I put together a helpful list of proper couplers to pair with the right beer. Whether you are having a “dirt-party” or have a nice kegerator tucked away in a corner of your home, this list is most helpful:
I hope this helps all you beer lovers out there — Cheers, Papa Giorgio.
Front Cover Of Polish Mag ~ Islamo-Rape
(Moonbattery) The magazine not only acknowledges that Islamic “refugees” are sexually assaulting European women on a massive scale, but fits it within the broader context of a clash of civilizations that has been going on for 1,400 years. Thanks to political correctness, the forces of Islam are gaining the upper hand. Hopefully Eastern Europeans are strengthening their border defenses, in case political correctness is not overthrown in time to prevent Western Europe from being absorbed into the Islamic world.
(Breitbart) The article lists dozens of recorded sex attacks from the past few weeks, often visited upon under-age Europeans, but it is not just migrants who come in for criticism from wSieci. The magazine also had strong words for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who it accuses of listening more to the German industrial lobby which it claims campaigns for cheap labour from outside the European Union.
The White Prophet Muhammad Had Black Slaves
Many people who don’t read the Muslim sources assume that Muhammad was dark-skinned. However, according to Islam’s most trusted sources, Muhammad was white. These same sources show that Muhammad also owned black slaves. How can we reconcile these facts with the spread of Islam among African-Americans in recent decades? David Wood discusses the issue.
Libertarian Republican’s Short Critique On 1985 Bernie Sanders
Libertarian Republican’s Post:
1:20 Mark: During the past 150 years (relative to the 1980s), the U.S. position was that Latin America should be a colony of the United States – an amazing reading of the Monroe Doctrine, but you have to hand it to Marxist revisionists, they sure are imaginative. We told the Europeans to not attempt to re-colonize Latin America so we would be able to do colonize Latin America.
2:00 Mark: During the past 30 years (again relative to the 1980s), the U.S. has overthrown a dozen or so governments in Latin America – more left-wing revisionism. Their religious belief is that socialism works, so the fact that populist left-wing governments of Latin America failed is proof that an outside power caused them to fail. Until recently, Latin America was characterized by alternating right-wing dictatorships and populist leftwing governments (except for Argentina, which was both). Only recently has most of Latin America embraced democratic government with dominant center-right and center-right parties, undergirded by a broad middle class.
3:20 Mark: U.S. policy toward Latin America has been based on the presumption that we can destroy them anytime we wanted. Then why didn’t we? Why did we not destroy Mexico following the ascension of revolutionary socialists early during the 20th century? Why did we not destroy Cuba under the military dictator Battista or under the communist dictator Castro?
4:20 Mark: Salvador Allende was “gaining in strength” in Chile in 1973, the time of the military coup. First, this is an admission that Allende, a revolutionary socialist, only had minority support and gained power because of a split of the non-Marxist vote. Second, it is another instance where the collapse of a country under revolutionary socialism is the proof that an outside power was at work because of dogmatic belief in socialism.
We will now list the revolutionary socialist governments of Latin America and whether they are democratic or not: Cuba – a dictatorship; Venezuela – in 2009, term limits on the Presidency were lifted allowing Hugo Chavez to effectively become President-for-life; Nicaragua – in 2014, term limits on the Presidency were lifted allowing Daniel Ortega to effectively become President-for-life; Bolivia and Ecuador – in 2015, term limits on the Presidency were left allowing Evo Morales and Rafael Correa to effectively become Presidents-for-life. A 100 percent track record.
Revolutionary socialism is not democratic. It proclaims itself to be the vanguard of the working class. Its goal is to fundamentally transform society, weaning the population of egoism and replacing egoism with selfless devotion to the state. To gain power, revolutionary socialists may offer free stuff or appeal to voters based on race and gender. But, once power is gained, revolutionary socialism turns into a cult of personality.
Responding to the “Angry, Immoral God” – Objection
How would you respond to the following quote: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” (Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion). In this video, filmed at a Fearless Faith Seminar, Frank Turek and J. Warner Wallace respond to this common objection. If you would like to bring a Fearless Faith seminar to your community, visit http://crossexamined.org/fearless-faith-seminars/
- See as well J. Warner Wallace’s site: http://coldcasechristianity.com/
The “Evil” Rich Hide Their Money ~ Mantra
- Was America’s first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller, a greedy robber baron, a generous philanthropist, or both? And did the oil tycoon exploit America’s poor or give them access to much-needed energy? Historian and Hillsdale College professor Burt Folsom, author of “The Myth of the Robber Barons,” reveals the truth about the Rockefeller empire.
A number to keep in your mind as you read is about how much you have to earn to be in the top 1% ~ and is why “being rich” is a fluid matter and why so many move in and out of this designation of “rich.” There is opportunity for all in this market-based system. And the rich-get-poorer while the poor-get-richer! One should note as well that this number changes by geography as well.
The richest percentile of Americans makes many hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. So how could a $135,000 salary make you a one-percenter? If you’re 31 or younger, that figure puts you ahead of 99 percent of your age group.
[….]
This chart partially explains why the 1 percent is such a fluid club (about half of the top 1 percent flips over every year.) To stay in the top percentile, a 30-year-old earning $130,000 in 2010 would have to raise her salary by $80,000 by 35, and then another $70,000 before she turned 45.
In an article I enjoyed, “10 Myths in the Movie ‘Inequality for all‘.” I do think however that the article does not explain each point well enough. A good example of this is their point number two, that reads:
Just a quick addition to the above before getting to my example. When banks have large sums of money they invest that capital in loans, investment in the markets, and the like. This leads to funding many of the retirement packages the elderly retire on, creates job growth and opportunity for the poor, and all the other benefits that follow from it. So if all the rich did was stuff their money into banks ~ Great! However, as we will see from a oft tarred-and-feathered favorite whipping boys of the left, this just isn’t the case… in which case we go beyond saying “Great!” to “Hallelujah, I hope the rich-get-richer!”
I will use the EVIL Koch Brothers to make my point. The first point is that these uber rich persons give a lot of money to various “good works.” Here NewsMax zeroes in on the issue:
The Kochs’ critics are free to disagree with the Kansas industrialists and their libertarian ideas. However, most who despise the Kochs would be shocked by what these “greedy capitalists” do with their profits, beyond campaign donations.
For starters, the Kochs, support university programs and think tanks that try “to understand the nature of human freedom and how that freedom leads to prosperity,” as the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) explains.
The Kochs fund cures and treatments.CKF underwrites research and teaching at Brown, Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Vassar, and some 245 other colleges. This includes a speaker series, reading group, and essay contest at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in Harry Reid’s home state. Koch Industries (which offers same-sex spousal benefits to its legally married employees) also donated $814,000 to the Kansas State University Office of Diversity to assist “historically under-represented students.”
David Koch survived a 1991 plane crash that killed 34 people, including everyone else in first class. He soon was diagnosed with, and then endured, prostate cancer. These challenges reinforced his passion for medical philanthropy. Among $506 million in such gifts, his major grants include:
- $25 million to Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to eliminate genitourinary malignancies.
- $100 million for cancer research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- $100 million for a new ambulatory care center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. This donation actually triggered an outbreak of mental illness among leftists who decried Koch’s nine-digit check.
“Quality care, not Koch care!” unionized nurses screamed outside Koch’s Park Avenue apartment. Never mind that his contributions create work for unionized nurses.
The Kochs back the arts.
Elizabeth B. Koch, Charles’ wife, launched the Koch Cultural Trust. It has furnished $1.8 million in grants to artists and musicians with ties to Kansas.
David Koch supports PBS’ documentary series “Nova.” He also is a paleo-philanthropist, having given $15 million to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for a Hall of Human Origins and another $35 million to update its fossil and dinosaur displays in Washington, D.C. New York’s American Museum of Natural History will enjoy a new Dinosaur Wing, thanks to David’s $20 million gift.
David also donated $100 million in 2008 to modernize the former New York State Theater at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center, home to the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera.
The Kochs also steward the environment.
“Koch Industries, Inc. takes a leadership role in the promotion of biodiversity, wildlife habitat enhancement, land restoration and conservation education,” according to Wildlife Habitat Council president Robert Johnson. “Koch and its subsidiaries maintain Council-certified programs at 10 facilities throughout the United States,” including Montana’s 300,000-acre Matador Cattle Company Beaverhead Ranch.
Flint Hills Resources (a Koch company) helps Ducks Unlimited maintain 36,000 acres of waterfowl habitat on 116 Minnesota lakes. Thus, Ducks Unlimited gave the company its Emerald Teal Award.
Another point worth making is one from my own life. I have never worked for a poor person. So let us apply this to our Koch example. Koch Industries “employs about 60,000 people in the United States and another 40,000 in 59 other countries.” These are people, real people, providing sustenance to their kids, spouse, community (in being able to donate to causes they support), and the like. In our own and in the other countries Koch Industries hires people… this job may be what is keeping said family from poverty.
NATIONAL REVIEW points out the following:
Politicians often divide Americans between “the rich” and “working people,” implying that the rich don’t work for their money. Complaining about the tax deal, Rep. Jim McDermott (D., Wash.) contemptuously referred to the rich as “trust-funders,” suggesting that most had done nothing to earn their wealth. But in reality, roughly 80 percent of millionaires in America are the first generation of their family to be rich. They didn’t inherit their wealth; they earned it.
In fact, several studies indicate that the rich work very hard for their wealth. For example, research by professors Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst found that the working time for upper-income professionals has increased since 1965, while working time for low-skill, low-income workers has decreased. Similarly, according to a study by the economists Peter Kuhn and Fernando Lozano, the number of men in the bottom fifth of the income ladder who work more than 49 hours per week has dropped by half since 1980. But among the top fifth of earners, work weeks in excess of 49 hours have increased by 80 percent. Dalton Conley, chairman of NYU’s sociology department, concludes that “higher-income folks work more hours than lower-wage earners do.”
Research by Nobel Prize–winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman showed that those earning more than $100,000 per year spent on average less than 20 percent of their time on leisure activities, compared with more than a third of their time for people who earned less than $20,000 per year. Kahneman concluded that “being wealthy is often a powerful predictor that people spend less time doing pleasurable things and more time doing compulsory things.”
The rich are not sitting by the pool, sipping their cocktails; they are sitting in their offices, working their behinds off….
People do not realize this, but about 80% of America’s Millionaires are first gen rich, started with nothing and became wealthy. The Left has this idea of people being rich by the luck of inheritance… which isn’t bad itself. If I was able to “make it,” I would want to leave my kids my money. But the reality is more like INVESTOPEDIA points out:
- Millionaires Don’t Pay Their Taxes
Fact: It is estimated that millionaires, those in the top 1% of earners, pay about 40% of all taxes. Current tax regulation shifts may change these numbers to make this even larger than that – so think twice before accusing the millionaires in America of not paying taxes. (Do you know when you’re going to retire? It might not be as soon as you think. Read The New Retirement Age.) - Millionaires Just Inherited Their Money
According to Thomas J. Stanley’s book, “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy,” only 20% of millionaires inherited their riches. The other 80% are what you’d call nouveau riche: first generation millionaires who earned their cash on their own. Many millionaires simply worked, saved and lived within their means to generate their wealth – think accountants and managers: regular people going to work every day. Most millionaires didn’t get their riches overnight when a rich relative died – they worked for the money. - Millionaires Feel Rich
From the outside looking in, you would think that millionaires feel rich and secure, but that’s not so. Most millionaires worry about retirement, their kids’ college fund and the mortgage just like the rest of us. Those worries are greatest among new millionaires, the people who just recently acquired their wealth. (For more, see Don’t Forget The Kids: Save For Their Education And Retirement.) - Millionaires Have High-Paying Jobs
It certainly doesn’t hurt to be gainfully employed, but half of all millionaires are self-employed or own a business. It does help to have a college degree, as about 80% are college graduates, though only 18% have master’s degrees. - Millionaires All Drive Fancy Cars
You can get that idea of the rich guy in a fancy German car out of your head when you think of a millionaire: they actually drive a Ford, with the carmaker topping the millionaire preferred car list at 9.4%. Cadillacs run second on the millionaires’ favorite car list, and Lincolns third according to onmoneymaking.com.Car payments are an investment with little return, which is why someone looking to grow wealth avoids high-priced vehicles in favor of a more economical set of wheels. (For more, see 10 Steps To Retire A Millionaire.) - Millionaires Hang Around the Golf Course All Day
Those millionaires are all retired, with nothing else to do but hang around the golf course, right? Wrong: only 20% of millionaires are retirees, with a full 80% still going to work. It’s not as glamorous or fun, but millionaires go to work just like you do; it’s how the money gets in the bank. - Millionaires Are Elitists
We’ve already established that most millionaires earned their money not inherited it, still go to work, drive a Ford and worry about their kids’ college expenses. Sounds a lot like the rest of America, right? Millionaires come in all shapes and sizes – some may be elitists, but most are just regular Joes who successfully managed their money.
The Bottom Line
Maybe you see a pattern here: today’s millionaires are people who live within their means, budget and spend wisely, and focus on financial independence first. These are habits that take discipline, but ones we can all adopt to begin growing wealth….
Which brings us back to NATIONAL REVIEW’S article:
…The Left also makes two other contradictory claims about the rich and their wealth. On the one hand, we are told that the rich spend their money frivolously. Perhaps some do, but this ignores the fact that frivolous expenditures often provide jobs and income for the rest of us. Back in 1990, for example, Congress decided to impose a “luxury tax” on such frivolous items as high-priced automobiles, aircraft, jewelry, furs, and yachts. The tax “worked” in a sense. The rich bought fewer luxury goods — and thousands of Americans who worked in the jewelry, aircraft, and boating industries lost their jobs. According to a study done for the Joint Economic Committee, the tax destroyed 7,600 jobs in the yacht-building industry alone.
On the other hand, we are told that lower taxes on the wealthy won’t help the economy because the rich don’t spend enough of their money. That old-fashioned Keynesian economics — which assumes economic growth is driven by consumer demand — ignores the fact that money not spent by the rich is not simply stuffed under millionaires’ mattresses. The savings of the rich provides the investment capital that funds new ventures, creates new jobs, and spurs innovation. The money that the rich save and invest is the money that companies use to start or expand businesses, buy machinery and other physical capital, or hire workers.
No doubt there are dishonest or unscrupulous businessmen who have gotten rich by taking advantage of others. And it’s hard to feel much sympathy for the Paris Hiltons of the world, flitting through life with a sense of entitlement that they haven’t earned. But most wealthy Americans have worked hard for what they have, pay more than their fair share of taxes, give generously to charity, and, most important, drive the economic growth that all of us non-rich people rely on.
That’s something to remember the next time that politicians start to beat the drums of class warfare.
What do these “class warfare” politicians do to create jobs and wealth? Not much. You can see more on this and other subjects via my ECON 101 Topics Page. In the following 11-minute audio, Radio talk show hos Michael Medved sheds some light on the Koch’s and takes a dissenting call on the matter:
Again, I will let other’s share my point about the rich with the Koch’s as my example:
- Koch Industries employs about 100,000 globally (60,000 in the US alone).
- Koch Companies support more than 200,000 US jobs and “about $11.8 billion in compensation and benefits.”
- Of Koch Companies’ 60,000 US employees, approximately one-third are unionized.
- Koch Industries and the Charles Koch Foundation’s partnership with the United Negro College Fund has resulted in a “$25 million grant that will provide nearly 3,000 merit-based awards to African American undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctorate students seeking scholarship assistance.”
- Globally, Koch companies “have earned 917 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and customer service.”
- Koch Industries has sponsored the Special Olympics in Wichita, Kansas for the past 33 years.
- “Through the Helping Heroes initiative, Koch companies have contributed nearly $230,000 to emergency response organizations in communities where they operate since 2011.” Koch’s Georgia- Pacific Bucket BrigadeTM program, “has contributed more than $1 million to fire units in communities where the company operates to meet critical needs, as well as provide educational materials to schools.”
- Through the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, Koch has contributed or pledged “more than $1.2 billion to cancer research, medical centers, educational institutions, arts and cultural institutions, and to assist public policy organizations.”
- David Koch’s charitable foundation also provided $100 million to New York Presbyterian Hospital to build a new ambulatory care center, as well as $28 million to research causes.
- Yet another major Koch grant contributed $100 million to research cancer at MIT.
- Flint Hill Industries (a Koch company) earned a Clean Air Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The question is “what happens when you do tax the rich”? Well, we know from past experience: