You also have universal health coverage and first work infrastructure unlike many parts of the U.S.

Private schools are perceived as "better" than public schools for these reasons: Charging tuition keeps out the riff raff. And if any riff raff happens to enter even though their folks can afford the tuition, they can be booted out at any time for any misbehavior. Couple that with no obligation to educate special needs kids or anyone else on the fringes, and there you go.

Percentage of income is what matters, not amount. Warren Buffett even admits that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her income than him. When passive income (capital gains) is taxed at a lower rate than active income (people who work for a living), things are skewed for the rich. Sales taxes or any flat taxes are regressive and affect working and poor classes more since a much higher percentage of their income needs to be spent in order to live.

As far as you or any other rich person "moving away", yeah right.

Exactly. I don't know many people personally on here either. But I will tell you this. The idea of people pulling themselves up by the bootstraps and becoming rich in America is an exploded myth. Most were born on 3rd base and thought they hit a triple. People need to stop pretending like the exception is the norm.

And now that Iceman has finally officially exposed himself for what you could only speculate about before with the "limo lib camp" comment. Those comments belong on Breitbart, not here.

Right. You would think that basic reading comprehension would be a prerequisite for being a self-made rich guy.

Many got it from daddy and then go around preaching that if they can do it, anyone can.

Nothing says a free exchange of ideas like shutting someone out that you disagree with.

This would be great if it were so simple. There are a lot of complex reasons why some people who start with "nothing" do way better than people who actually do start with nothing.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-self-made-success-lets-kill-that-myth

This is the kind of story that never gets told from the "I did it all myself" crowd. The best quote is here: "I didn't inherit my wealth. I created it.

But look a little deeper, and it turns out that version of my success story is a lie. Yes, my family background is rather humble. Both of my parents were teachers. I grew up in hand-me-down clothes from our neighbors.

But, before I was born, my parents got help from their parents to buy a house in a safe neighborhood with good schools. When my grandmother passed, she left each of her grandkids some money, not a fortune, but enough that I made it through college without school debt.

My wife's nana was a school teacher as well. She and her husband saved their humble income and bought land decades ago. And when I started my business, she believed in me enough to sell her land and invest the money in my start-up.

So, we can blow up the myth that I'm a self-made success. Sure, I had something to do with it, but I also had some serious help."

The story goes on to talk about other forms of generational privilege, but you get the idea.

On that note, we're certainly not going to resolve our differences of opinion here. The reality is that this tax has just upped the cost of the hobby.

No. He is an example of one of those supposed "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" guys who supposedly started with nothing. He was not a born millionaire, but had plenty of hidden advantages. Remember when everyone laughed and scoffed at "You didn't build that."? Well, this guy is a shining example. The difference between him and most is that he admits it and is honest about it.

So, even if you happen to be born on 2nd or 1st, you still have huge advantages that the vast majority of the population does not have.