Youth focused media companies struggling ( dying prolonged, awkward, deaths is probably more accurate) at a time when young American consumers believe everything should be free.

“Does every single one of those 180 million people think their care is affordable?”

The average annual premium cost for an American that gets insurance through their employer across all plan varieties is $1400 for an individual and $5200 for a family.

“Tax wages more progressively.”

There are a handful of founder owned companies in my area that are relatively small ( < 50 employees), revenue in the 20-30m/year range, that would probably have valuations in or nearing the nine figure range.

Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security are a shitty deal for the people that actually have to pay for them. Your father is objectively right. It’s just an unusual perspective from someone benefitting from their unfair nature.

The government should owe everyone with positive tax liability somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/12th of their 2019 return for the month of non-essential services we paid for that we aren’t getting.

I know marginal is what you meant.

The day when all these people find out that income (the thing that addresses homelessness, puts food on tables, and pays for medical treatment) and wealth (the thing that makes Gates and Bezos and Buffet billionaires) are not interchangeable.

“After all, that’s what happened in the 1960's and 1970's when the top-end tax rate for people earning $5 million or more annually was 90%, right?”

There are certainly people that simply do not know any better. Those people might be reached with education. I believe there are far more people that are actively making these decisions with full awareness that they may be hurt by them later.

“Have you seen the statistic that 57% of Americans would not have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $500 expense?”

Sure. He absolutely could. What kind of house do you think that would buy? One that’s in a desirable part of town? One that’s near where he works? One that doesn’t need substantial additional “investment”?

“Why, if you make almost twice the U.S. median household income? Why. Why!!!”

Tyler couldn’t afford to buy a home with no student debt. The recommended maximum you should spend on a home is supposedly around 2.5x your annual income.

Employers and the government provide massive financial incentives to save. People turn those incentives down every day because they have different priorities.

Obviously you’re stealing from the people because theft is the only way to retire in 2019. What’s all that living below your means nonsense about?

“That means first paying off your debts”

The point was that it’s about income and what people do with said income. Redistributing wealth without first reforming the rampant, financially ignorant, consumerism that led to that distribution in the first place is like dropping a ball at the top of a slope and expecting it to stay. There’s a reason most lottery…

Don’t confuse the fact that I can’t afford to waste my limited income on “uncomfortable conversation avoidance” services from the IRS with being loaded.