Hey Occupy Wall St.: Mark Cuban Has a Message for you!

couldn't agree more

quite happy to pay my fair share of taxes....

I have paid every cent I owe as my fair share and will continue to do so.... It sucks, but so does dog-eat-dog anarchy. Death and Taxes = Two constants I can handle.

Yea, except the working class bust their ass and don't make billions of dollars. Work with a non-union construction company for a few weeks and tell me they deserve only 1/10000 or less of the pay that he makes. The point  he is missing is that people born into wealth are usually the ones that stay at the top, and that the idea of the American dream is that you can make as much as you're willing to work for... and that's just not the case. Especially with the state of the economy today, there are many Americans who would love to work for a decent wage, but are denied the opportunity to do so.

If he is claiming the only requirement to make a billion dollars is to "bust your ass", he is either full of shit, or stupid.

- I do agree paying your taxes is "patriotic" in a sense, and that you should give back to the community that allowed you to amass your wealth

So we have a choice between the current political system and dog-eat-dog anarchy?

it's quality as well as quantity.

Someone busting there ass on a building site for there whole life to me is stupid. Get your fucking thinking cap on, and come up with a plan to change your life.

NOBODY is gonna do it for you. NOBODY is going to hand you that way out... only you can figure that out - it takes intelligence, initiative and ambition. If a person is not fucked, and quite happy to work laboring their whole life, then that's their decision - they shouldn't complain about it. i'd sweep the streets if they paid me enough to do it.

It's simple - and here's my advice to all you kids trying to figure out what it is you want to do.

a) find something you enjoy, BUT
b) try and make sure it's some kind of niche or specialty - something you can do, or will learn to do that many can't (or are too lazy to learn!!). Why do you think construction workers get paid hee haw for busting their ass? because there a millions of people who can and do do it. It's just manual labor. I found out that in the 80's there was a generation or two lost from the oil industry when the oil price dropped to $6 bucks a barrel.... mass redundancies, and the industry never recovered. Add to that the fact that more and more new developments are in deeper and deeper water offshore, and that there is a global shortage of subsea engineers who know what they're doing - i saw a great opportunity. Because at the other end, people don't stop retiring. There was and is a huge skills gap - and therefore a huge demand.... demand = always employed and also high $$$ value for your skills. Hey presto - it worked... and i get to do cool shit. But above my age, most people are in there 40's... you see a 5-10 yr gap in talented people - and that's a big issue.

Ok so that's just an example, my example, but - follow your heart, but let your head guide it.

You say denied the opportunity? who by? someone else yeah? exactly - never rely on anyone but yourself to create opportunity - nobody will hand it to you on a plate.... you have to create your own.

yea its good for people to be rich but some people are too fucken rich. If companies would distribute profits more evenly across all its workers the country would be a lot better off. Nobody needs billions of dollars..

If you abolish taxes? That's dog-eat-dog anarchy...

it should be pointed out that most people who are raised in poverty and in lower economic "classes" (i don't like the word class because it's pretty antiquated but forgive me here) are physically incapable of "rising above" their situation. The environment one is raised in (primarily concerning parents) has a HUGE effect on brain development. So much so that much of a person's life can be predicted at a very young age by brain scans and psychological analysis. Their trajectory is possible to change in some cases, but it is extremely difficult and takes years of work. The self is extremely inert.

fuck this new NS and its bullshit economics know-it-all nonsense. I know where this thread is headed. This world is fucked, nobody has the answer, and everything is crooked and wrong. You all don't have the answer, neither does your professor, or any book you have ever read.

and that there is the problem. I agree totally.... and i have no answers. Although i personally know several people that have done.

America has huge "class" gaps.

I also agree with the other guy that nobody needs billions, but that's such a minority.

I agree, it's nothing I would do for a lifetime, but it has to be done, and it's damn hard work... that was my point. And I do see the value in being able to do something others can't... and that should be factored in to your wage, BUT the fact is that he talks as if busting your ass is all that is necessary to make the kind of money he makes. He speaks from a completely ignorant standpoint, and completely ignores the socioeconomic positions of 99% of people in America.

And again, are you making billions of dollars and starting new businesses and creating jobs by being a subsea engineer? Or are you just working to further someone elses business? - which is what most of the people in this country do. Occupy wall street seems to me, to be about working people who are tired of not sharing the wealth that they worked hard to create for someone else.

Other people are required to make money... where the fuck do you think you're going to make profit if not from other people? You HAVE to rely on other people at some point to make money. And again, this leads to a complaint of those occupying wall street, big businesses with little to no regulation are terrible for small business growth... yea, it's easy to say "go out and create your own opportunity [business]", but when it's impossible for you to compete with big businessses that becomes only a meaningless mantra of those who already have a decent steady job. And do you think it's honestly viable for everyone who is unemployed/underemployed right now to "make their own way?"... I would love to see a viable business ran by one average man (obviously not a woman, we're not trying to run a bakery) that has no employees and makes millions of dollars, because apparently that's an easily acheivable income if you "bust your ass"

I'm not saying you're wrong, as I agree with most of what you've said, but I think that you're ignoring the fact that not everyone can be extremely wealthy, which was my point.

I think the only real solution is better parenting. But then again, how to bring that about is another big question. The class thing is really sad. The poverty level in america was decreasing by 1% every year post World War 2 until the social programs of the 60's and 70's.

yep i agree - most of my post wasn't really focused on the article, but you're right....

The morale of the story is you don't get anything for nothing. I do actually own my own company because at the end of the day - if you want to set out to make a lot of money, you'll never do it by working for someone else. However, that's not why i have my company - it's actually just a better way of working, avoiding corporate politics and having flexibility... the cash is a bonus though. ha. However, i don't consider myself lucky, because i did have to work super hard to get to where i am now, for the last 12 years or so.... and im only just now starting to see the reward...

But again you're right, and i don't have the answers to socioeconomic problems. But my advice to you guys is lookout for number 1, because nobody else will when it comes to earning a living. and that's all i can really say.

Oh but as far as parenting goes, the good news is that it is improving and will continue to improve. We can see this just by looking at history, it's a natural process. The unfortunate thing is that other institutions lag far behind. This can be seen in our government sending people to Egypt and other countries to be tortured. They have to outsource their torture because that kind of abuse just isn't acceptable to your average american. And that kind of empathy only occurs with good (or at least not bad) parenting.

well this is where the government needs to be concentrating. On the simple fact that 49% of americans pay ZERO tax and realigning that whole demographic in the poverty zone. that's literally unforgivable for a government of the most powerful country in the world to have on their resume. And it's not about giving money from wealthy people etc... the root causes are so much deeper.... deeper than jobs even. it's a deep seated, socioeconomic and cultural problem in america.

I'm amazed at the amount of political rhetoric that is spent on the tiny minority of wealthy people, and corporations, when the root cause of all of the problems is that monumental statistic above.

Fair enough... I'll address your point and then the union comment after.

I agree with his message of "create your own opportunity, do something unique, etc, etc.", but his saying that that's all it takes is wishful thinking. So many other factors conspire against us, too. He isn't an asshole. He's well meaning but naive.

Oh and modernize the tax code, I agree with the closing of loopholes, that would allow for a lower personal income and corporate tax, which is more job friendly for large corporations, creates jobs... as long as unions are ok with that.

good thread.

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Thank you sir! + karma to you!