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re: on parasites
gbaikie — (archived)

"...but I just wanted to point out that your remark about parasites is, imho, an overstatement.

I have no such sentiments toward the wealthy in general. I *do* think, however, that the wealthy who skimp on their responsibilities are somewhat parasitic. And paying taxes is a responsibility."

But of course, in America the wealthy pay the most towards taxes.

The "issue" is that person "A" who has a billion dollars in net worth and pays a million dollar per year in taxes, compared to Person "B" who has net worth of 100,000 dollar and pays $10,000 per year in taxes. Person B is obviously paying less taxes, but would be paying a higher percentage of his wealth.
You would call person "A" a parasite, since "A" is only paying a 1/1000th of his wealth per year compared to "B" who pays a 1/10th.
Or if person "B" gives a bum $1, then "B" is being generous, while if Person "A" gives a bum $10, "A" is being somewhat stingy.

So, the measure of "parasitic" in yours and many others view is dependent upon the capacity to pay.

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