Dubai, the number of Abandoned Luxury Cars lying around is kind of a Problem

[Dino]

Who cares what someone else thinks?  Who's planning the rental of several shipping containers?  Dibs on the DMC.

In regards to the 2000 cars in Dubai, hold off on ordering the shipping containers. The author tried to buy the few that are salvageable but the country won't issue titles or export documents. It appears they will all rot into oblivion.

Well that sucks.  I wonder if locals can get them cheap to turn them into sofa's, bars and other forms of art.  Anything's better than this.

[Mike DC]

 

Umm, I'm guessing you missed the part that I highlighted above. I'll even change the color for ya

I hear you saying it, but I'm not convinced that even you really believe it. 

[Tilar]

I absolutely believe it. At least in this country, people that have nothing and are doing nothing to get ahead have no drive. People that make it do it by hard work, and those that had it handed to them learn to make it and keep it or they end up losing it all. That's why I said "Strip them of everything other than the clothes on their back and $500, and in less than 5 years time they will be right back where they started. The rich guy will be rich again because he has the drive and the poor guy will still be a bum because it's easier."

[Kern Dog]

I totally agree with Tilar on this subject. I Believe that there has been research done on this very topic.
I find it very conflicting how Republican/Conservatives can often be wealthy buinessmen but somehow embrace the bible and the tennants of poverty....Sorta odd to me.
I vote Republican nearly every time. I feel that whatever income a person earns through LEGAL means should be theirs to keep, spend or invest in any way they see fit. I also feel that they should not be hijacked of their money to benefit any other able bodied person. I am not against helping others, but I feel that it shouldn't come as the result of force or excessive taxation.
Just because someone has great wealth, it doesn't mean that it had to occur because others are poor. Money and wealth are infinite. You can have more affluent people if the poor had the determination to improve themselves. Immigrants do it every day and I respect them for it. Learning English and starting a business is something many Asian, Latino and Europeans do here every year. Meanwhile, there are millions of natural born US citizens here that do nothing productive for this country. They get a check each month and merely exist. Should we give these people MORE money? What are the chances that they would ever start a business or invest it wisely? Why should anyone with great financial means be obligated to give money to a segment of society that does nothing productive? With all of these people on Welfare, General Assistance and other programs, since they are NOT working during the day....WHY are they not required to perform some form of public service? Clean the parks. Pick up trash. Volunteer at a convalescent home or an animal shelter.

[Tilar]

I am not against helping others, but I feel that it shouldn't come as the result of force or excessive taxation.

Exactly. I'm all for SHOWING people how to make it through hard work and determination, but damn if I'll just hand them a paycheck because they're too lazy to get off their dead ass and go to work. People that have disabilities that prevent them from working are a different story, but many people even with limbs missing have the determination to go out and get a job.

When I was driving truck, I used to get people coming up to the truck when I was parked at a truck stop wanting money for food. The first time or two I gave them enough to go get a sandwich. Then I decided that instead of that, I would actually give them something to eat. I always kept canned food and things in the truck that didn't require cooking. So when someone would come up and ask for food, I'd hand them a can of food and a styrofoam bowl and plastic spoons... 99% of the people that asked for money for food, will turn down actual food. All they want is the money. I did have a man and little boy come up asking for food and when I went to hand him the cans of food and bowls he thanked me and was real appreciative, So I put the cans of food in a bag for him and then I took him and his son inside and bought them the buffet at the restaurant. This was at the TA truckstop in Albuquerque NM.

[Ghoste]

I bet if you give them free cell phones it will end social dependence.

[Mike DC]

                 
It has been said that people don't starve in the USA.  It's true in general.  And that's my entire point - people DO starve in many places all over the world.  Is that because there is nobody as lazy & worthless in the USA as there are in many other places?  The society provides more of a cushion based on the criteria that you are living in the USA.  Hell, they don't even go without cell phones here.


Did O.J. Simpson suffer for losing his money?  Even in America most people who go broke don't get to continue with the nice clothes & playing golf lifestyle.  He did.  I'm not saying O.J. never did any work in his life, I'm saying he rose high enough in our society that the normal rules about income & entitlement stopped applying to him. 


Same with somebody like a Kennedy or Bush - you could not take enough away from them to force them into a fast food job against their will.  Not in this lifetime.  If they rejected all the family money and denounced their whole family, they would still get attention & offers from other people & media in high places just from that interesting fact alone.  So they STILL would not end up at the bottom.  You literally couldn't put them at the bottom unless they wanted to go.  That is not the situation that most of us are born into.  The playing field is not level.

[Ghoste]

Yes.  Look at the Kardashians or Paris Hilton both of which are basically famous for being famous.  In an effort to go back on topic, I wonder if Paris ever abandoned one of her high priced sports cars?

[69hemidaytona]

I totally agree with Tilar on this subject. I Believe that there has been research done on this very topic.
I find it very conflicting how Republican/Conservatives can often be wealthy buinessmen but somehow embrace the bible and the tennants of poverty....Sorta odd to me.
I vote Republican nearly every time. I feel that whatever income a person earns through LEGAL means should be theirs to keep, spend or invest in any way they see fit. I also feel that they should not be hijacked of their money to benefit any other able bodied person. I am not against helping others, but I feel that it shouldn't come as the result of force or excessive taxation.
Just because someone has great wealth, it doesn't mean that it had to occur because others are poor. Money and wealth are infinite. You can have more affluent people if the poor had the determination to improve themselves. Immigrants do it every day and I respect them for it. Learning English and starting a business is something many Asian, Latino and Europeans do here every year. Meanwhile, there are millions of natural born US citizens here that do nothing productive for this country. They get a check each month and merely exist. Should we give these people MORE money? What are the chances that they would ever start a business or invest it wisely? Why should anyone with great financial means be obligated to give money to a segment of society that does nothing productive? With all of these people on Welfare, General Assistance and other programs, since they are NOT working during the day....WHY are they not required to perform some form of public service? Clean the parks. Pick up trash. Volunteer at a convalescent home or an animal shelter.

I don't know if I'm being misunderstood or I wasn't as clear as I should have been, but I agree 100% with the above post. I was referring to the poor in the nations surrounding Brunei. Most of them are not poor because they are lazy. They just don't have many options like we here in America do. Furthermore the owner of the 2000 cars abandoned in Brunei stole the money to buy them. He then lets them sit until they will be nearly worthless. If the cars aren't going to be sold to pay back the money he stole why not sell them and help feed those who are hungry? Why let them sit there and waste them? No, I don't want the government seizing money from the rich, they should be helping those who need it and can't provide for themselves of their own free will. Their refusal to do that constitutes greed.

[Mike DC]

  
I see what you're saying.  

But that Sultan's car collection is probably a just small piece of the poor-starving waste going on over there.  That sort of stuff isn't news there, it's standard procedure.    

   

[Plum Crazy 68]

I was 10 years old in 1976 and this is how I saw the muscle cars.  They were laying around in people's back yards collecting dust. 

50K could probably buy one of those sports cars, and then you could rip out the motor and put a hemi in there!

[Ghoste]

Now there's a good comparison.  I'm not sure if it's 100% apples to apples but at the very worst it has to at least be apples to pears.