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Jim Schout's avatar

Another word that is similarly used is “Rich”. Politicians keep saying “Tax the rich” because no one thinks they are rich. But, in fact, the super rich know how not to be taxed.

The idea of an income tax was sold to us with the promise that we would tax the rich and a look at the 1913 IRS Form 1040 shows that the cut off was $3000 while the average annual income was under $1100. Plus, dividends were deducted from income because they had already been taxed at the corporate level. But, today dividends are considered as income and citizens are taxed at more inclusive income levels. So the definition of rich has changed to fit the needs of the government.

So, what I have determined as the current absolutely definite definition of the word “Rich” is, “Anyone who pays taxes”. If you pay taxes, by definition, you are rich. This means Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are actually not rich because they are not taxed due to their huge donations to charity. In many cases the charities are their own family foundations, but that is legal. Just ask the Clintons.

We have developed a very sophisticated language where words mean the opposite of what most people think they mean. Politicians are expert at using them to confuse the public.

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Kelly D Johnston's avatar

Superb post. I love the use of the parable to make a really important point. The best response is often to ask someone to define their terms, or simply ask “what they mean.” The responses often surprise and always entertain, and result in either a thoughtful discourse or someone running away in anger and frustration when you don’t immediately embrace their rhetoric.

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