AF-AM Group: At what point should an entertainer give him/herself up to financial servitude?

[SaschaHM]

Recently, the mention of Beyonce buying a 90 mil has caused a lot of "concern" among certain DUers who feel it could have been spent on other social causes and a few that are concerned that someone could make that much money.

So my question is, at what point should Beyonce stop taking a percentage of the proceeds of her various products and start doing stuff without receiving compensation (Mhmm, I think there was a word for that.)?

Forbes places her at 340m in income this year, a chunk of which comes from her extremely successful 250mil Formation World Tour. So should she be a 240m slave, only being allowed to keep 100mil of her earned income or a modest 300m slave? How much of their hard earned income are the descendants of slaves allowed to keep in America before being cast back into servitude?

It's a serious question. I support liberal policies, but on the otherhand, the moment I'm paying more than 50% of my income in taxes, I'm going to be rallying for a huge change in direction in the party. I personally refuse to work for less than a majority of my income and frankly, it pisses me off when DU goes on a tizzy about a black performer or our president (President Obama) making exactly what the market will pay them for their services.

[Billy Jingo]

1. Taxation as slavery?

Did I stumble into an Ayn Rand forum?

[SaschaHM]

2. I think that African Americans should get to keep a majority of the income that they make.

Do you agree? I think coming from a history of not receiving any of it at all, 50+% of the income from our labor isn't a hard ask.

[Billy Jingo]

3. No. I oppose using melanin for tax policy.

By the way, would it be a sliding scale? Would there be some sort of melanin test where the greater the concentration the lower the tax rate?

I pity the Dutch. Other than freckles, they are pretty much boned.

[Billy Jingo]

5. You really didn't think this through, did you?

Ah well. Enjoy your weekend.

[SaschaHM]

6. Insults because a Black man would like to earn a majority of his income.

[pnwmom]

7. Your insult was much greater, suggesting that the poster should be at Stormfront

because the poster didn't think tax rate should be determined by race.

[SaschaHM]

9. I asked him a simple question.

Did he think that African Americans should earn a majority of the income for their services?

He said no and then went on some tangent about melanin not determining tax policy. This is a low count poster that has in multiple posts brought up the "not about melanin" excuse to dismiss the racial aspects of something. Sorry, I'm not dealing with that shit.

[pnwmom]

11. I think African Americans should pay the same tax rate as anyone else of the same income.

That isn't a racist opinion.

But the top Federal income tax rate is 39.6%. Only people with high state and local taxes might pay more than 50%.

And an entertainer like Beyonce probably takes a lot of deductions before her income is taxed.

[SaschaHM]

12. Of course, it doesn't make you racist.

You haven't been pulling a "melanin is not the reason" card on DU and you have a history here.

And personally that is fine, but I'm not voting for any political candidate that ultimately has me paying more than 50%+ of my income in taxes. I refuse to work for less than a majority of my income, which tbh is still vastly smaller than what a corporation would make off of my labor.

Deductions aside, Beyonce is still probably paying a much larger amount of taxes than most of us on DU combined. The state property taxes on a 90mil house purchases is probably more than what many posters pay in a year.

[pnwmom]

13. Someone who makes her kind of income

spends a much smaller proportion of income than the rest of us on basic expenses. So she can afford the taxes on the investments she makes.

I don't begrudge her her amazing income, but I'm also not worried about her having to pay the same tax rate as anyone else. And I think people with 90 million dollar homes should pay proportionately higher taxes. Even at 50% total income taxes (or whatever her amount is) she would still have more disposable income than the vast majority of people.

[Billy Jingo]

8. You consider that to be insulting?

You are pretty sensitive.

[SaschaHM]

10. Again with the insults?

I don't have to be affected by the words of some anonymous poster looking to get internet points to realize that they're meant to be an insult.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. I haven't been on DU

A lot lately - but it's same old same old.

[JI7]

15. discussing tax policy is one thing. but these are aimed at usually minorities/women especially black

women. it's more about resentment than it is about tax policy. just look at the complaints about money she spends on giving birth. like WTF .

if it was about tax policy they the issue would be what her position is. i doubt she has a detailed view of it but she does vote for the more liberal party under which she would pay more taxes.

another thing is they got angry when i mentioned how lower income/working class white men vote republican and are more responsible for the tax policies that favor the wealthy.

[JustAnotherGen]

16. This with a cherry on top

lower income/working class white men vote republican and are more responsible for the tax policies that favor the wealthy.


Amen.

My take? A lot of those guys voted for Trump out of resentment he gunned up against minorities of ALL socio-economic flavors.

They believe that only THEY work hard.
Only THEY are allowed to get rich in America.

Truth be told - if the Carters had 3 kids and needed tanf and snap to get by . . .they would be just as angry.