this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (8 children)

Bernie Sanders is out there talking about eating the rich.......he always convienently leaves out that HE HIMSELF is rich.

I'm never sure if that's meant to say like "Yeah, I'LL pay my fair share if we get all the other rich people to do it too".

Or if it's meant to be something that sounds good on a soundbyte that makes you angry at the rich......while you're not supposed to know HE'S rich.

I never know what to take that context as.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Bernie isn't rich. He's in the low millions, which pretty much can't even buy a home in most places anymore.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (8 children)

If someone has even 1 million dollars they're rich. That's the thing about numbers. They're infinate.

You say you couldn't even buy a house with a few million dollars? I could buy a house for $70,000.

For another $10,000 I could fit the house with solar, and use the other 900,000 to live off interest.

How is that not rich?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

A million isn't even enough to retire on anymore. That shit'll be gone in a couple years in a nursing home. A few million might let you leave a house to your family.

The cheap houses in my part of Ohio (a fairly cheap state to buy a house in) start at about 200K

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago

The difference between 1 billion and 1 million dollars is just about 1 billion dollars.

And maybe you could find a house for 70k in your area, but that is not common at all. The AVERAGE home price in my area is 525-550,000.

Having a single million dollars just does not mean you're rich these days.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Where are you buying a house for 70 grand?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

It's one of those Gen Z living vans we see in the memes because they can't afford a house.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Here in Brazil you can, but we have ways to curb real estate speculation, the government can force owners to rent or sell properties that are idle, this helps keep the prices under control. On top of that, mortgages for ones first home is strictly regulated, especially in terms of how much interest can be charged.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh crazy. That’s a good idea. Do you find it works well for your country?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yup. Thanks to those controls and a federal program called "My home, My life" that I managed to buy a condo on a nice neighborhood for around $50k. By coincidence, it's across the street from the labour union founded by our current president, Lula. Sometimes he visits the place to make speeches, so I get to see him :-)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Oh that’s dope. What are wages like in Brazil? Like is it easy to find a job making around 60k a year?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Brazil in general seems like it really wants a middle class, y’all’s consumer protection laws are seriously good for the consumers too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

And they were so close to tipping into fascism under Bolsonaro. The opposition ran a leftist candidate and it worked! Imagine that.

Brazil is not the USA obviously but there might still be lessons to learn.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I was wondering the same thing, as well as living off of the interest of 900K? Assuming an interest rate of about 4% (and that's if the Fed doesn't start cutting rates again), that'd be 36K a year? I mean, I guess it could be done, but I'm not sure it'd be what someone might call rich...of course, there is the cushion if you don't cut into it...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I recently looked at a 2BR house where I live (Philly suburb with an excellent school system) that was listed for $69K. It was in great shape except for the very minor problem of termites having eaten through literally all of the floor joists. Walking in the house was like walking on a trampoline, very weird experience. It had been occupied up until a week prior, somehow.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So I’m a carpenter and own my own contracting business. Having to replace every floor joist in your house is INCREDIBLY expensive. Like depending on the size of your house you’re looking at anywhere from 20 grand to 100 grand, just to make your house legal to live in.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well yeah, that was the point of my comment. You can find houses for $70K but they're going to need a shitload of expensive work. For this particular house, it would have been on the $20K end, though. It was a very small house (2BR on one floor, about 650 sq. ft.) and I had priced the lumber for the joists and new decking at around $6K or $7K. The labor costs with a proper crew would have taken it well north of $10K for sure; I could have done all the work myself but probably not without permanently damaging my body. Fortunately it sold almost immediately - for $90K.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (16 children)
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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (2 children)

You do know what net worth is right? It's combined wealth. A lot of people are worth 1mil or more.... especially since the housing boom. This is some of the dumbest logic to bitch about someone who is worth a few million. Get your head out of your ass, bitching about millionaires is hilarious, while the billionaires are running the country.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (4 children)

if you want $900k to provide a steady return every year indefinitely, and while accounting for inflation, taxes on proceeds, fluctuations in the market, etc. you won't be taking out nearly as much as you think each year.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Username is accurate. You're a dunce.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (13 children)

He's a pedigreed professional at the top of his field at the end of his career. Literally a world class statesmen regardless of if you favor his positions. Why wouldn't such a person be worth 5-10 mil? He earned his position which can be with a strong salary... For decades. Even tame investments in the whole market would steer him handily towards that worth

That doesn't even touch on the mountain of social good and enrichment and support of the poor that he has directly contributed to over his career

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Bernie doesn't say "eat the rich", you're saying that. Bernie makes specific statements about who to tax, and when and how.
He does pay his fair share. If the richest in the US paid tax like he does, there wouldn't be a problem.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I think it's possible to be 'rich' and humble.

It may depend on how you become rich.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

What a brain dead thing to say. Is your whole argument that only the non rich are allowed to mention that the system is broken? Does he have to divest of all his assets before making any observations about our economic system? What a weird thing to get hung up on. This cant be real.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Class analysis is the only thing that matters. Read theory and stop being a wrecker.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

You needn't be broke to want to end billionaires. Plenty of people clinging to their status as 'middle-class' want to end billionaires. They can be insulated AND correct.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Brainrot bot comment.