If some of your income comes from investments, you are a capitalist.

This includes small business owners who invested capital in their small businesses and are realizing a return on that investment.

Though there's a difference between the petit-bourgeoisie and the haute-bourgeoisie. The small business owners would tend to fall in the former group.

It is to the advantage of small business owners for governments to regulate the large publicly traded corporations heavily.

..many small business owners believe (rightly or wrongly) that government regulations fall heavily on them, and favor the corporations who have the resources to get around regulations-or even make them more favorable to themselves.

That's part of why so many small business owners are Republican. Of course, they don't seem to get that the Republicans-by and large-don't care about the interests of small business owners (even though they love to extol the virtues of the "self-made man" who doesn't accept "handouts" ).

big businesses can afford lobbyists and lawyers to create loopholes and fight regulatory efforts. small businesses for the most part cannot. therefore the reality of regulation often does fall disproportionately on small businesses.

moreover, bigger companies are better able to take the time and cost associated with regulation in stride, whereas a small business may be critically wounded by a regulatory problem.


unfortunately, yes, most small business owners don't recognize the corruption and instead blame the problem on regulation, and wind up arguing for the benefit of their much bigger competitors.

Most of us provide the labor and not the capital. Many of us are reluctant capitalists, but capitalist nonetheless.

My dad was in the executive class until the mid 70s. He invested every spare dime he got and when he retired, his money worked for him and supported him for 10 years until he got Social Security (the corporate expiration age of 55 being a longstanding one). Now that he's gone, it's working to support me. When I kick the bucket, it will work supporting Doctors Without Borders.

It's not nearly as moral as working for my keep, of course, but I'm far too ill these days to work for my keep.

The fortune is not extensive and the income is less than the average 2 earner family income. However, it's quite enough to keep me going and I could easily support the tax increase that has now become inevitable unless the fools in Congress see the light and put the Pentagon on a strict diet.

I suppose that makes me a traitor to my class. However, there are a lot of things that are more important than maximizing an income that's already more than I really need.

All capitalist parasites are not the same. Some of us have an idea of the greater good and will vote for anyone who supports it through raising wages and yes, even raising taxes on us.

I guess I should have added the exception, didnt think I needed to

Of course there are decent capitalists, the point of the thread is most of us think we are capitalists and most of us arent

My money comes from the labor of others and what they pay for goods and services.

This is the heart and soul of the capitalist dream, that of having one's money work to generate income rather than needing the sweat of one's brow to generate income.

It's also a classic parasitic relationship. It's also the only way we have of taking proper care of children, the infirm and the aged.

I just prefer to call it what it is before an enemy of children, the infirm and the aged does.

...or are you redefining that based solely on income as well? And what if some of your income is invested in the market (either directly or through your pension plan).

FWIW, despite the venting, Republican tax proposals generally involve lowering tax rates which begin far below "billionaires". The current top marginal tax rate for a married couple is $450,000. That certainly covers me, and I suspect it covers more people than you think.

the excuse righty uses for not raising taxes on the rich or corps is we are a capitalist society and we are all capitalists blah blah blah

we are not, the vast vast majority of us are not investing in the stock market and even if we have tiny 401K's with market exposure, so what...

when average joe's wake up and realize they are not part of the game, not invited to the party, then we might see some change

...I'm just disagreeing with the OPs overly simplistic "us vs them" definitions.