Bust your ass and get rich.
Make a boatload of money. Pay your taxes. Lots of taxes. Hire people. Train people. Pay people. Spend money on rent, equipment, services. Pay more taxes.
When you make a shitload of money. Do something positive with it. If you are smart enough to make it, you will be smart enough to know where to put it to work.
I don’t care what anyone says. Being rich is a good thing. Not just in the obvious sense of benefiting you and your family, but in the broader sense. Profits are not a zero sum game. The more you make the more of a financial impact you can have.
I’m not against government involvement in times of need. I am for recognizing that big public companies will continue to cut jobs in an effort to prop up stock prices, which in turn stimulates the need for more government involvement. Every cut job by the big companies extracts a cost on the American people in one way or another.
Entrepreneurs are needed to create and grow companies to absorb those people in new jobs. If entrepreneurs don’t create those jobs, the government ends up having to spend more money to help them one way or another.
So be Patriotic. Go out there and get rich. Get so obnoxiously rich that when that tax bill comes , your first thought will be to choke on how big a check you have to write. Your 2nd thought will be “what a great problem to have”, and your 3rd should be a recognition that in paying your taxes you are helping to support millions of Americans that are not as fortunate as you.
In these times of “The Great Recession” we shouldn’t be trying to shift the benefits of wealth behind some curtain. We should be celebrating and encouraging people to make as much money as they can. Profits equal tax money. While some people might find it distasteful to pay taxes. I don’t. I find it Patriotic.
I’m not saying that the government’s use of tax money is the most efficient use of our hard-earned capital. It obviously is not. In a perfect world, there would be a better option. We don’t live in a perfect world. We don’t live in a perfect time. We live in a time where the government plays a big role in an effort to help lead us out this Great Recession. That’s reality.
So I will repeat my point. Get out there and make a boatload of money. Enjoy the shit out your money. Pay your taxes.
It’s the most Patriotic thing you can do.
I’m busting my ass. Trying to get rich. And trying even harder to live it up!
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Nice post, will be sure to share it.
Comment by David J. Miller -
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Right now, the most patriotic things we can do is buy American. As of now i only buy American Cars, clothes, services. I know its hard but try it can make a difference. What differentiates Us americans from other countries is that we are go getters, we dont expect things to be given to us, capitalism at its finest. Will higher taxes take the entrepreneurial spirt away? i’m not sure , as a small business owner, i dont think it would because i’m ljust naturally a go getter but it would be such a relief if my taxes were lowered. I could expand, higher more. If i make more the Irs make more. Just let me do my thing. i’m sick and tired of everyone blaming the rich. Who says they dont donate money they do and alot. Who is the government to tell us to give more. Ill Say this though millionaires that dont donate are no better than those leeches that suckthe taxpayers money through entitlments. I hate people like warren buffet who says millionaires should be taxed more. If you really feel that way the IRS takes donations. Instead of leaving your fortune to Africa leave it to the country that gave you the opportunity to make that fortune. Thats patriotism
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Good thoughts
To get where you want to be also has to start with getting money out of DC&politics. You do that by getting rid of former politicians, retired generals and the lobby groups they work for paid for by special interests. You go to grass roots efforts with public/gov funded campaigns. DC is broken and both sides are to blame. People need to stop watching fox and msnbc and take this great country back! I have never seen a more inept government in my 47 years of existence. The answers are not all on the right or left but a proper balance of government, private sector and motivated citizens.
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Quite interesting ( and admirable, I must say) to note a self-made member of the Forbes 400 publicly call for a greater tax burden on himself. We, at “Daycoup” a college city/campus deal start-up with mobile apps on Android and iPhone platforms (www.daycoup.com), hope to meet with people as yourself someday!
Comment by daycoup -
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He is right about making a bunch of money. He is wrong about taxes. The United States of America was started because of unfair taxation, the exact same thing we have now.
In a condo association, those who pay the most, have the most say. But in our system, each person gets one equal vote. Democracy is 2 wolves and 1 sheep voting to decide what’s for dinner and that is why we have a republic.
Government is so far out of control. We need a REVOLUTION! Those in Congress are all guilty of treason because they have not upheld the US CONSTITUTION. They pass laws and exempt themselves. Do you think Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, etc… would tolerate that? Of course not, and that is why there is the SECOND AMENDMENT. But government doesn’t fear the people because they outgun the people. They talk about criminals outgunning the police. But that’s the tail wagging the dog.
There are only 3 legitimate functions for government:
1) Protect our country from foreign invaders
2) Keep the peace within our borders
3) Settle disputes between citizens
Anything else should be left up to the private sector including and especially education and health. The government has proven its incompetency in these and other areas.
Don’t you find it odd that most of your tax dollars go to Washington, DC instead of staying in your community or state?
WAKE UP AMERICA AND SMELL THE HYPOCRISY!!
Comment by therumpledone -
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Some great stuff here Mark! Especially the remarks at the end about small business.
You might enjoy a look at the Human Investment Tax Credit program on the Aesop Institute website.
Designed to generate 6 million jobs and assist 4 million small firms, a few of the incentives were tested in the 1977 Jobs Tax Credit. They produced 2 million jobs!
Then read A New, New Deal, on the same site. It is designed to use well proven private capital techniques to grow the economy and generate jobs with small business the focus.
On the same site, now note the little known threat of multiple nuclear meltdowns from a very possible Solar Superstorm. Far worse than any terror attack, this can bring down the nation. It can also unite us to prevent the worst and minimize the impact.
Note how needlessly vulnerable we are until energy is decentralized.
That last item, encouraged to occur on a 24/7 basis, may save millions of lives. In the process, it could generate far more jobs than might be imagined and reboot the economy.
Comment by markgoldes -
—Standing Up for what is Right—
Mark, guys who think like you give me hope for the future of your nation and other nations in desperate times. (The youth taking charge in the Middle East also offer such hope.) The way things have been going, the arguing heard and seen on the divided US media by thoughtless evangelists, Fox Network in particular, the negative condemnation of the poor and disadvantage by many forum posters, doesn’t give much hope for the future of your nation. Your lone voice speaks above them and should be supported and spoken out loudly, far and wide, by those who believe in the dignity of all sentient beings and those who truly wish all nations to support the needs of their citizens.
—Many Talents Make a Nation—
A complex nation is made up of complex and varied citizenry, and in that mix there are many great talents. Every nation is made up of great athletes, artists, entertainers, great thinkers, entrepreneurs vested with great ideals and dreams, skilled craftsmen, caring people who sacrifice their time and efforts for others, individuals who try their best with whatever skills they possess. Yet it is only those who have the skill to make money that are held up as truly successful and valued for their beliefs on how our world should be designed. Some of those moneyed people are kind, caring and sharing. Some actually earn their worth through honest enterprise that creates jobs and support their communities. But from the look of America today, most do none of these services. They make money purely by monetary manipulation and speculation with little regard to the harm they do to the nation. Were it not so, then 1% controlling 90% of a nation’s wealth might be a good thing.
—Taxes Are Good—
I and most of my fellow citizens gladly pay taxes as we have shared invested interests in our family’s, friends’, neighbours’ and all fellows’ fair fortune and good health through the great medical care, schools, and other social programmes that help our communities prosper. But we don’t live in USA. We live in Europe, Canada, Australia and many parts of the world where taxes are seen and respected as the foundation to nation building, to further developing a more caring and honest society.
—Shared Taxes Makes Kindred Hearts—
Sharing the taxes burden takes pressure off everyone from the individual to small businesses so we can all do our jobs, enjoy our opportunities and support the care of one another, without the presentiments of fear, without the resentments of anger, and respective of our economic standings. Were these sentiments understood by all, paying fair taxes would also lend respect to responsible corporate enterprises, the best of which would be more supported than those who decry their responsibility with empty words and tricky manoeuvres for their own special intersts.
—Free from Fear through Emancipation—
Every sentient being should be free from fear and be able to revel in emancipation from such awful times our neighbours to the South are experiencing and may suffer for many years to come, or at least until patience wears thin and revolution becomes the only road to reform. Close to two-thirds of USA’s population, both Democrats and Republicans believe and support fair social entitlements, services, and a government that is in line with the needs of the people, not obsessed with corporate privilege. I am confounded by any understanding of governments that have given so much tax privilege to the large corporate structures who in return, decimated jobs and factories in their own country shipping them off to foreign countries. Even more perplexing, the same governments resorted to leaning so heavily on small business and its own struggling work force that impoverishment is now at hand.
—Care-Mindedness the Goal—
Mark, your example underscores the potential for what all human beings can realise when hope and opportunity is at hand. Upon this I shall meditate whilst continuing to pay my taxes with a heart that knows the less fortunate of my country are being cared for and my efforts are part of that support. The simplicity you bring to the meaning of taxes and care-mindedness, could awaken many from their improvident slumber in these impoverished times of greed, despair and lack of enlightenment. I believe this to be what the Buddha meant by an awakening, that happiness can be achieved through human effort and understanding.
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Reply to your Huffington Post entry 9/21
But Mark, taking a wish list to this congress is really just a way to avoid doing anything, and palming off our responsibility to a stale mate congress. We all know that.
The economy needs jobs now. We can get many of them by next month through a National Hiring Day. Would you be willing to hire one person on a national hiring day? Now the responsibility for patriotism and love of country and for jobs is in YOUR COURT! And mine too and all of us.
There is a solution to the jobs problem and it could quickly put hundreds of thousands of people back to work. It is not pro left or right. It is not from any corporation, it’s outside the government control, it’s totally voluntary, works in about one week, and helps all with little sacrifice from anyone.
National Hiring Day – This is a day that corporations are encouraged to hire new employees. Corporations are called on to put patriotism first and help their country in
hard times. Those corporations that cannot hire, are asked to stop firing for that month.
http://wp.me/p5S9X-nv
“A friend … discovered that were all the large corporations … to hire .5% of their work force, most businesses with fewer than 50 employees to hire one employee, those with up to 500 add two or three, then the unemployment problem would be back down to the place where people would feel there is hope.” – TXfemmom
Comment by musea -
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While I commented earlier about job creation and entrepreneurship, I failed to address the “tax paying” issue that Mark raised.
THE BUFFETT TAX RULE
The entire raise the taxes on the millionaire proposal that Obama offered is not exactly fair. If you earn via salary $10,000,000…then sure, you should get taxed at a higher/highest rate. But if much of your income is passive, ie: investments, why should someone of extreme wealth, who already paid a high tax on their initial income, be again taxed at a higher rate for investments such as bonds, safe stocks with high dividends, etc? Also, wouldn’t raising the tax limit on long term capital gains kill the incentive to make investments? There is no risk in salary yet there is high risk/uncertaintly in investing. Rightfully, congress recognized that and taxed them accordingly. Reversing this will not be a good thing.
As for being “patriotic” by paying more taxes: I understand what you are trying to convey, however, you are espousing giving more money to the most dysfunctional part of our economy, our government, and giving it more revenue will not solve the problem, but exacerbate it.
CHANGE GOVERNMENT
You should want to change the system, not throw dollars at it. Unfortunately, those who create laws are the ones who directly benefit from them: campaign regulations, PACS, lobbyists, etc. Eliminate all enticements of indirect financial gains from public service. Increase their salaries. Increase the terms of representatives from 2 to 4 years (currently they need to start campaigning right after they win an election) and set term limits for them to 3 terms (Senate 2). No good comes from a congressman who has served for 25 years. Eliminate most/all outside influence dollars and put massive restrictions who/what can donate to their campaigns. (Wouldn’t it make sense to restrict all donations to come from only the districts/states they represent?)
MISCELLANY
One final note: how the heck can you live in a part of the country where it’s 100F+ for 2 months straight…and have to be in Dallas Cowboy country? Feh.
From MC> In a perfect system we could just change everything to exactly the way we want it. Except that a), we dont have a perfect system b) my view of a perfect system is probably different than yours which is probably different than theirs, etc. So given that we have the system we have, and the reality that change is difficult because we as voters allowed our politicians to become so entrenched and have chosen to enable over the top partisanship , we have to deal with the facts in front of us. One of those facts is that we have clueless politicians that are horribly inefficient at distributing our valuable tax dollars, HOWEVER, the bigger problem is that even if only 50cents on the dollar gets to a destination that helps, if we don’t get it there we could face far bigger economic and social consequences that cost us all far more than more tax dollars. Look what is happening in Europe. Its not impossible for it to happen here. A little give on the part of those who have gained wont change it or cure it, but it just might delay it long enough for us to get lucky and find solutions. In this day and age, higher taxes on anyone are never a solution, but we have to realize that before we get to the solution we have to put ourselves in a position to succeed and right now tax money buys us some time. The biggest problem we face right now is not higher taxes, its the fact that neither the dems or the republicans care about solving problems. They care about getting elected. That is what we need tofix more than anything
Comment by Bad Bad Leroy Brown -
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Hi Mark, and thank you for this brilliant post. I found the link at crooks and Liars through Digby. Both very good sites. I have sent the link to your post to many of my friends on both sides of the issue. America needs more voices like yours. Here is an example of a reply I received from a client (very successful one as you will read:
“So true! in my case, i received a ~free B.E.E. degree, ( CCNY $26/year
tuition over the 5 years, came to $130 dollars, but needed a ‘national
defense’ students loan of $3k to pay for books and bus/subway fare to get
from the Bronx to 135th street.) That was in 1959-1964) graduated 47 years
ago, 35 years ago i hired my first employee, never looked back have
employed 60-70 people almost continuously over that period of time. Paid
$millions in taxes, reaped the personal benefits of a free excellent
education. The City of New York, founded CCNY in 1848 to do just that,
“provide a channel for citizen mobility”, something the Republican Party
would frown upon-clueless.
Thanks for the article, very true.”
Comment by philatelicphilosopher -
Agreed. Unfortunately in the tech world I’ve seen the following all too often.
Make a boatload of money. Pay your taxes. Lots of taxes. Hire people. Train people. Pay people. Spend money on rent, equipment, services. Pay more taxes. Cut US jobs. Outsource overseas.
Comment by sames1 -
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jgbennet, thanks for the link. Sounds intriguing!
Best, P
Comment by krizpe -
Awesome!
Comment by SalesManagerX -
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Wow, Mark, huge response to this particular blog. A lot of emotion. As an entrepreneur myself, I think there are a few things you may be too separated from to keep in mind:
1) Banks won’t loan money to an entrepreneur
2) Individual investors (ie. already rich people) are holding onto their money with both hands.
3) Companies are more risk averse than ever due to shrinking margins, no matter how good the idea/business plan, so the investment or absorbtion is difficult there as well.
I got it done anyway, but luckily my business development skills are as good as my product/business.
What’s upsetting to me, is that visionary/rich people like you who want to put there money to work, are doing so on more things we don’t need than things we do need. I really can’t wait to watch season 3 of Shark Tank to see the next round of chochkies we’ll get. I love your enthusiasm to create jobs, but I think you might want to take some time and really figure out what the best ways to do that might be. Then when you do, tell your rich friends. Thanks.
Comment by hailguardian -
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Mr. Cuban,
A corporate for-fee use of the SSN would actually be a more sincere means of showing patriotism. At a time when all usages of the SSN are illegal (except for when paying into or receiving benefits from the SSA), to support the SSA with a government subsidized corporation that has the means to effectively verify the issuing and use of the SSN and to charge for these verifications-is the patriotic plan of plans.
Corporations are under duress from having data bases attacked for theft of consumer/client personal identifying data information(D.O.B., SSNs and addresses) to then be fined by the federal government once victimized by hackers and all others. Corporations lose hundreds of billions annually due to fraud and many other criminal financial enterprises that have one common denominator-the use of the SSN to establish ID, consumer accounts and that require Point-Of-Sales transactions.
As a society that consist of the government, the American people, corporations/businesses and consumers-the solution to joblessness is the SSN. Take out your calculators and follow me everybody.
1. Information has been discovered that will secure the issuing and the national use of the federal SSN. Vetted and evaluated by the Senior Fellow for EDS/HP Enterprise Services, the B-System Identity Management System (IMS) is the needed method.
2. Establish a congressional subsidized corporation that under license agreement will provide a for-fee verification each national use of the SSN.
3. Free when issuing a SSN to an American (only people in the country that by law should have an SSN)
4. $7.50 when requested from any entity (U.S.A.) and the SSN will be used to initially issue ID or to establish an account (if storing into data base $7.50)
5. .55 when verifying consumer accounts at point of sale (online, over the phone and at counters U.S.A.)
B-System has a unique algorithm that will identify an American upon initial entry into the B-System Directory. Then the method will yoke a P.I.N. to the SSN-prior to accounts being issued to a SSN wielding individual.
Estimations are that the $7.50 and .55 fees will generate $139.0 billion annually and create 750K to 1M U.S. have to be located jobs. This is for a U.S. B-System alone. Over 100 countries are in need of effective identity management that also have the infrastructure to go with fraud and ID Theft problems.
A SSN, a finger print and a digital photo along with an algorithm (no civil liberty violations) supported by a P.I.N., businesses saving hundreds of billions and credit ratings not destroyed for consumers that today are removed from the economy due to being a victim of fraud-is a patriotic concept that will position Americans to put America back to work. Then, if it requires a P.I.N. to use a SSN to get a job-Illegal Immigration will be deterred. Friends and family members of an illegal will be deterred for permitting authorized use of their SSNs for the purpose of circumvent the eVerify system.
The problem? Funding to develop a prototype.
Google Ray de Beasley Inventor and read the Inventor Forms Joint Venture report. Not a new tax. A service that will save loss and cost that will take from criminals and hire hundreds of thousands of American middle class workers-pennies at a time. Now that is patriotic.
Research us at http://www.bsecuritysystems.com.
Comment by debeasley -
Mark, Why is giving money to a bunch of corrupt, incompetent,wasteful crooks patriotic? The false premise of liberalism is that gov’t will take care of the poor and down trodden. The reality is they screw up every thing they do. They are not capable of doing the job. Would you get Bernie Madoff out of prison and give him a billion dollars to invest for you? What is the difference between him and the gov’t? Obama spent a 500,000,000 in a company that blew it in just 2 years. Some of our cities didn’t get any gov’t grants close to that. And you think its a good thing to give the gov’t more money? You think you should just give money blindly, I don’t get it. The more you give them the worse they are. Tell me I’m wrong.
to a bunch of corrupt, incompetent, wasteful crooks and in an act of denial call it patriotism? Is that how you conduct your businesses? Would you hire Obama to be the CEO of your organization? Shear Idiosy. Shear stupidity. Is it okay for your head coach to be lazy, incompetent, unproductive? Of course not. If he doesn’t give you a championship, you want answers. Why shouldn’t we treat the gov’t the same? You cut them off, make them give us a balanced budget, be responsible and then will talk about giving them more.
Comment by corruptgovt -
Tell you what Mark. You and Buffett and Gates get to keep only 1 million each in total assets and write a check to the US Treasury for the rest. I think that’s fair. You don’t need tax laws for this just write the check and leave the rest of us trying to get wealthy so we can employ others alone.
Comment by rpasquale -
@musea above … they cannot have a national hiring day it would have to be an international hiring day because most corporate employees reside outside of U.S. boarders … It would be rejected immediately. Why, would they want to pay a $100,000 per year salary when they can pay $500 or less yearly salary – close corporate loopholes – lest not forget the prosperous years of Calvin Coolidge when the radio, Model ‘T’, and the beginnings of airplane manufacturing was here ON U.S. Soil … wonder why we prospered then could have possibly been because the stuff was manufactured here, taxes were paid here, and in U.S. banks, money circulated throughout, workers bought and spent their earnings because they had decent jobs … reflect, learn from history.
Comment by mrbottomtooth -
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Mr. Cuban please just write the government a check for a few million dollars. You can then change your name to Mark “Patriot” Cuban.
Comment by michael1vick -
Mark,
I’m trying…
http://www.trustbusinessloans.com
Comment by trustbusinessloans -
I don’t earn a lot of money, particularly when you consider that I live in a very expensive area, Washington, DC/Northern Virginia.
That said, I think it’s outrageous to expect “the rich” to pay higher taxes than they are already responsible for. The government needs to spend less—-a LOT less. They need to be more efficient. They need to have a balanced budget and if need be, an amendment to the constitution to force these children to live the same way my family does—-making sure the spending doesn’t exceed the earnings. The notion that they should penalize the achievers in our society by forcing even more of their income to be seized is…well, it’s UNAMERICAN. The bottom half don’t even pay income taxes—-where is the “fairness” in that? The top 5% pay an incredibly large share of all revenue received by the feds. Time to change this pattern of tax more and spend more. It can’t continue or we’re doomed.
Comment by dcangelo -
Reliable and trusted stats show that throughout our nation’s history that when corporate taxes have been at their highest that we as a nation, the people, have prospered – don’t try arguing it, just research any reliable non-biased source such as the World Book of Facts – it’s there in black and white print.
When I get a pay increase may taxes, state and federal increases as well; therefore, when a corporate billionaire or millionaire makes another billion or million they should pay tax increases accordingly – what’s good for the goose is good for the gander – right!
That’s the American way … always has been. However, unfortunately, due to corporate attorneys and lobbyist, the elite have circumvented this fair and balanced tax code, which by the way is supposed to be according to Article 1 section 8 of our U.S. Constitution.
Is this patriotic of them – no! Is it patriotic to work the people third-world-nations as slave labor, even children, for a profit? Furthermore, is it morally and ethically just? According to Emmanuel Kant it’s not: One should not use another as a means to their end without ‘just’ compensation.
No, none of the above is morally just actions … especially when people of this country are starving, struggling, loosing homes, underemployed if at all, and are just as educated as those in other countries – maybe that’s the problem we are to smart.
My grandfather told me before he left this world “greed is going to ruin this country.” He was correct. The man was a visionary, wealthy in every sense of the word, but not greedy. He knew he had it if he needed it, but didn’t abuse it. He saw many farmers during the 1970s loose it all, but he wasn’t one. When he died he had plenty, ‘all’ of his wealth – land and money – left for his family. But the one thing he did was treat people decent – even the poorest man on the street. He didn’t cater to the elite, even though he may have been one, he treated all as equal.
I’m glad that he’s not here today to see what has become of this country that he and his father and his father before him help to feed and supply through two world wars.
My family has roots that run deep so deep that most, even the notoriously patriotic Glenn Beck couldn’t begin to fathom.
And one other thing … That land my grandfather owned couldn’t be shipped to Mexico, Taiwan, or China – he had to pay hefty taxes on it every single year. Thus, if a company’s headquarters resides on U.S. soil, and their factories are off shore – so what – they should pay U.S. taxes as if the factories were here – no exceptions – and if not and they refuse then make them pack their bags and ship them off shore with the factories.
That’s my rant – live with it.
Comment by mrbottomtooth -
MARK CUBAN, you are my hero! Sir, you are a patriot and a shrewd businessman. You should be in Washington telling our POTUS how to make America a viable nation again.
Comment by trietschaney -
krizpe
i was thinking that perhaps when this organization http://www.americanselect.org/ gets rolling mark just might be in the race.
if you have not heard about it is kind of like pandora.com but for a presidential candidate. it is a very interesting concept and evidently a person can be nominated who is not actively chasing the presidency.
it was created by an afghan war hero and his billionaIre dad plus others.
i wish them luck and who knows CUBANOMICS sounds revolutionary. 🙂
think about mark, you could be the guy who dumps neoliberal economics a ushers in the birth of a new american way…..
Comment by jgbennet -
Mark,
This is my first post to your blog. Have you considered throwing your hat in the ring for the Presidency? I am sure many others have posted along similar lines. However, if the “answer” is not you, it is someone like you and therefore may as well be you, no?
You have a great joie de vivre, something that used to characterize Americanism. You are a patriot in the great traditions of both the American Enlightenment and the bold American ethos. You are a successful business owner several times over dealing with very different personalities. You are a strategic thinker during a generation when the lack of strategic thinking is flushing this great business model down the toilet.
Nixon used to say he represented the silent majority. In this generation, the majority is not so much silent as frustrated with a GOP, Democratic Party and increasing Tea Party that are perverted versions of the American ideal.
You have conquered many tall peaks in your lifetime. How about Mt. Everest itself, that of restoring American greatness? We have reached the point, where we as a nation literally “need” greatness in the Presidency, just to get this great ship to change course. While there are incredibly qualified people out there–most of whom staying away from politics as if were the plague–but only a handful possess the charisma and edge needed to survive as a political maverick. You are in that small group.
Best,
P
Comment by krizpe -
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What you don’t spend we’ll tax … SoCooL
Comment by socoolbob -
Mark,
I’m convinced that you are either an idiot savant or you are getting audited by the IRS right now and trying to make it end more quickly by carrying their water.
Comment by Jeff Nabers -
Pingback: “The Most Patriotic Thing You Can Do” by Mark Cuban — BROcrastinator
If Cuban wants to have a blog
& not a website to post his announcements,
he should reply to our comments…
If he is capable to…
Comment by harrysmatical -
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Also, nobody owes society anything. If I borrow something from you, I owe it back to you. The idea that you owe something to “society” means that you borrowed something from that society. The idea that the rich owe society something stems from the belief that economics is a zero sum game. It’s not. The wealth creators do not borrow anything, but are creating value. Thus, they contribute to society. It would be like borrowing $10 from me, then insisting that I owe you $5. Further, one cannot owe society anything. One can owe particular people. So there is also a problem in anthropomorphizing society and treating it as teleological. From this perspective, saying someone owes society is just plain speaking nonsense
Comment by zatavu -
Mark, you are both right and wrong. First, what you are right about. You are right that the patriotic thing to do is to go out and make a ton of money. By doing so, one engages in economic transactions, which are the only things that will improve the economy. But you are wrong about the taxes, and you are wrong about the government. Government does not create wealth, and government does not improve the economy. Government creates economic distortions, creating either bubbles that inevitably burst or dislocations that prevent economic growth from taking place. There is no bigger waste of money than to give it to a government. That money you want to give to our governments is money that could have been more fruitfully spent expanding the company, giving workers raises, or even donating to private charities that will actually do good things with the money. There is no bigger waste of money than to channel it to the government.
The problem is that you are conflating government and society. Government is not society. It is but a part of it, and not the best part. It is at best a necessary evil — and too often an unnecessary one. When restricted to protecting people from force and fraud, it is a necessary evil; when it expands its role into the economy, it is an entirely unnecessary one. All of the problems that resulted in the recession we are in were caused by government programs. And the more money we throw at it, the worse it becomes. It’s like complaining about a pack of vicious wild dogs in your yard, then feeding them with the belief that they will somehow become tame or at least go away. Instead, you just attract more of the same.
I would love to become one of the wealthy. Too bad our governments set up innumerable barriers to entry to make most of my ideas impossible to implement. The rest of my ideas require more money and programming skills than I have. I could probably be in a position to take care of the latter, if the barriers to entry our governments impose did not prevent me from doing the things I can actually do.
So let us not conflate society and government. Or government and the economy. Government is only good at killing people and breaking things — or putting people in prison. Leave it, then, to those things. It should otherwise leave us alone so we can finally prosper without distortionary bubbles.
Troy Camplin
Comment by zatavu -
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“We live in a time where the government plays a big role in an effort to help lead us out this Great Recession.”
I like your attitude. But, unfortunately, it was the Government that led us into this recession.
Comment by Guzzo -
b3fingers: I’ll give you some advise: Get off your ass and work.
You don’t need to start a business. Get a first job. Then get a second job. Work from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, and then work some more.
And it doesn’t matter where. McDonald’s is a great second job.
Do what you have to. There are lots of jobs out there. Just people are high and mighty and don’t want to work at “menial” jobs. Guess what? You have to start (again) somewhere.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
Mark Cuban, we need jobs, and we both agree on being patriotic. How do you feel about corporations helping their country with a National Hiring Day?
There is a solution to the jobs problem and it could quickly put hundreds of thousands of people back to work. It is not pro left or right. It is not from any corporation, it’s outside the government control, it’s totally voluntary, works in about one week, and helps all with little sacrifice from anyone.
National Hiring Day – This is a day that corporations are encouraged to hire new employees. Corporations are called on to put patriotism first and help their country in
hard times. Those corporations that cannot hire, are asked to stop firing for that month.
http://wp.me/p5S9X-nv
Comment by musea -
Dear Mark I have many wonderfull ideas and unlike those on the reality show you hosted a few years ago I accually am willing to do anything to be rich. However I live in the middle of nebraska have zero capital due to an ex wife and have to raise 3 children so what is your suggestion for a dirt poor single father of 3? I do not dissagree with the notion of making a boat load of money, but I do know reality it’s not what you know or what you can do it’s Who you Know and what they can accomplish with you. Priority one even for the rich is to take care of your family and if you do that where is the time for buisness without capital?
Comment by b3fingers -
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Great post, read my response here: http://thelogo-mat.blogspot.com/2011/09/most-patriotic-thing-you-can-do.html
My business: http://thelogo-mat.com has become a modern success story, next step is the getting rich part.
-Matt
Comment by thelogomat -
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Amazing, I used to follow your blog because you used to be kinda wise. Now you are just turning into a rich dick.
1. Consumerism is a blight on humanity. If you do not believe me watch the way it was created in THE CENTURY OF THE SELF. Freely availible on Youtube
2. Money is not everything. Middle class people should not bear the tax brunt so that rich people can get tax breaks. Recently German billionares asked why Americans are so proud of the fact that they are so philantropical. If they paid taxes governments have great institutions to rationally distribute their tax, why distrust them if they are democratically elected? If you go against the democratic will of the people you are not a democrat but a capitalist.
3. The most patriotic thing you can do is to enjoy life and be a good person to the people around you, even if you decide to sweep the streets of New York.
Mark, seriously, just because you had a lucky break doesnt mean you can look down on other people
Comment by ck89zulu -
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Mark… I must say, you’re a breath of fresh air in this whole shitbag we sometimes live in. A breath of fucking fresh air. You’re great inspirado, I appreciate it…
Comment by greg420blues -
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harrysmatical: Absolutely. And let’s not forget that Cuban got his money by creating a .COM bubble company and getting stupid Yahoo to buy it for a ridiculous amount of money. It doesn’t even really exist anymore. He (smartly) rode a stupid bubble caused by free money given out by the fed and has spent the rest of his life coasting and playing owner of the Mavericks. His current ventures are doing about as well as his first in a real world economy.
I’d love to debate him on this issue. I’d hand him his ass. And if he really believes what he wrote about Fountainhead then he doesn’t believe what he wrote in this blog article anyhow.
Bring it Mark. Your value system that you espouse is evil. I’ll happily demonstrate it any day.
From MC> Feel free . Any time. You obviously don’t know my history or the histories of the multiple companies i created and sold. I will give you one little secret. I sold a company and retired BEFORE broadcast.com. And right now, every company I run, but 1 is profitable.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
frightnight: A successful person is successful because they work hard and use their brains and build things that people want.
Unsuccessful people are either lazy or built things that people don’t want.
A successful person has no obligation to the unsuccessful other than to continue to be successful and produce wealth. The side effect of continuing to pursue their own objectives is that they make others wealthy in the process.
What you’re pushing is enslaving (Yes I mean that term exactly as you read it) those that work hard to those that do not. That’s the same old tired socialist BS that has failed for over 100 years and is bankrupting this and essentially every other country around the world that has tried it.
You nor anyone else has any right to anyone else’s property unless acquired through free trade with a willing individual. Using the government to condone or otherwise assist in your theft is still theft. You cannot give rights to others that you yourself do not possess. But what it makes you when you do, is a coward. If you really think that you’re entitled to the hard work and wealth of the successful, go take a gun and hold it to their head and take it. But of course you realize that that would be theft and thuggery so you get the government to do it, as if they have some magical right that you yourself don’t possess!
Notably, there is a book that was written about 60 years ago. It confronts your failed morality and demonstrates why it is wrong and immoral. It further demonstrates what the logical and only conclusion to your value system is: Atlas Shrugged.
The more you steal from the successful and hard working, the less they will work. It happened in the Soviet Union, and it’s happening here today. They will simply stop as is morally the right course of action, and then you and your freeloading brothers will sink because you’ve grown up TAKING instead of EARNING.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
Mark – well said. More who are successful need to understand responsibility for community and those less fortunate. I too welcome tax time. It gives me a chance to pay my debt to society and gives me the right to complain about politicians…Enjoy the day.
Bob
http://www.prospectcity.com
Comment by frightnight -
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I wrote a 100% true post,critical of Cuban & his hypocricy
& got 1 positive &…23 negative votes…
It is obvious that Cuban through the Mavericks bought out a few fans…Too many worship him here…
However, I challenge him to respond to my arguments…
He uses to pose as straight-arrow,bold,tell-it-like-it-is guy,
who doesn’t dodge criticism….
He says capital ,taxed at 15%,should be taxed like income,at 36%.
Why doesn’t he do it, right here right now..?
From MC> where did I say that ? I said carried interest should be taxed as regular income. I also said that there should be taxes on stock transactions.
He can liquidate his capital gains,declare them as ordinary income & pay 36%.
He doesn’t do it because he is like so many others,who embrace populistic socialism in order to show off & pose as “friends of the poor”.
If he is a friend of the poor,he can liquidate his fortune & give $1000 to 2 million poor people.
Or 10K to 200K poor.
10k is a lot of money for a poor family & 200000families are a big number.
He can rise himself to the status of a “National Benefactor” …
Of course he can keep the “change”,some 200-300 m for his family…
He will not be broke …( joke)…
BTW,are his employees unionised & what will he do if they stage a strike,asking a few bucks from his 2.5 b fortune..?
From MC> You really don’t pay attention do you..
Let’s see if he is capable of confronting my arguments…
Comment by harrysmatical -
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The interest on student loan debt is ridiculous! If I didn’t have this interest, I could get rid of my loans quicker, and become a consumer, which would help the economy. I could also help someone with lesser loans get out of debt. There is no loan forgiveness if you work in the private sector. It’s ironic that my taxes helped the banks, but they won’t help me. I am so frustrated.
Comment by doctorcpa -
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Well put. You are one of a kind, Mark.
Comment by omonubi -
Mr Cuban we also have an investment called “solandra” solar idea that we would like the government to use your tax dollars (appx $535 million) to invest in so a few guys can get rich and sell off tax credits, so your money becomes our money….
Lets all pay more taxes so we the few can get the QE3 Money…Yahoo I love your patriotic ideas !!!!
Best Regards
M
From MC> I actually don’t have much of a problem with Solandra. It was a catastrophe from the beginning . A lot of dallas people lost money. I wouldnt touch it for a lot of reasons. However, even the best VCs lose money on most of their deals. I get that we dont have the right people making investment decisions for the country. But I dont know if i agree that the government should never get in the investment business.
Comment by markrittmayer -
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90% of people becoming wealthy today are people in finance jobs which are largely rent-seeking enterprises performing zero-sum or negative-sum transactions.
Don’t be them.
Be one of the people that creates awesome things, makes things and services that people want, employ happy, hard-working people and does a ton of good for everyone not just in the US, but the world.
Don’t be one of those people that figures out how to steal .0001 cents from every stock transaction by getting their servers closest to the central nyse servers. Don’t be one of those people that moves money around without caring if it’s doing any good.
Be one of those people that does awesome stuff. Stuff you can brag to your parents and grandparents about.
Comment by zaqmlpxswnji -
Thank you for voicing your opinion proudly. It’s refreshing to hear this from someone wealthy who hasn’t forgotten the rest of us. Let’s hope that others will follow your example.
Comment by koujokakyuu -
OK. I am now a permanent fan of the Mavericks. I’ve had years where I made very little money and paid very little tax. I’ve had years where I made a lot of money and paid a lot of tax. I like the second one better. I wish that fate on all my friends.
I am a patriot. I pay my taxes to the United States of America, and I do so proudly.
Comment by eyelessgame -
Dear Mr Cuban,
I like your idea of paying taxes…so if you could share how much you pay as a percentage of your income by releasing your tax returns it would be a pleasure for me to review them as a PWC/CPA so I can assess your comments transparently and provide you insight where exactly you might pay a little more as deductions like basketball teams are always a bit grey you know.
Or should we not go there and walk away from your comments in “shock and awe”
From MC> I honestly dont know what I pay as a percentage. And yes, I have tax accountants and CPAs that conservatively take the deductions that are offered to me. I pretty much get audited every year , stick to the letter of the law and dont take chances. I remember back when I sold broadcast.com I got hit up with every scheme to defer or avoid paying taxes. My partner and I listened to all of them and made the decision that it was well worth it to write that painful check. And back then rates were far higher than today. So to answer your question, I dont have an answer. And no im not going to make my taxes public. Im a private citizen and i plan on staying that way.
God bless you for trust in the US government, and for me as a CPA I’ll just rely on the details and facts…Tax returns for 2008-2010 please by email !!!
Mark
Comment by markrittmayer -
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A great post Mr. Cuban. It’s unfortunate that the Obama administration has made millionaires seem like evil rich people who were born rich. Isn’t earning wealth part of the American Dream?! When millionaires are demonized and stop being heroes for young entrepreneurs to idolize we will become a different kind of nation. I see us taking steps in this direction and I DON’T like it!
In an extremely competative-global marketplace, it is of paramount importance for us to light fires under peoples asses to start businesses, invest capital, create jobs and earn wealth!
Comment by colewaldron -
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AND HOW THE HECK DO YOU “GET RICH”?!?!?!?
Comment by ardententhusiast -
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Do you know why we are failing as a country? Ask the free market libertarians…….
From the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He was a chief architect of the Austrian school of economics aka our economic ideology we live by today……
THEIR WORDS NOT MINE & THIS IS THE PATH WE ARE ACTUALLY ON…… http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=353
Special interests have long used the democratic political process to produce legislation for their own private benefit, and the U.S. Constitution contains flaws that make this easier. One attempt to remedy these flaws was the Confederate Constitution.
The Confederate Constitutional Convention opened in February 1861. Robert Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina, called the “Father of Secession” for initiating his state’s breakoff from the union, thought that the U.S. model was the best. The other 50 delegates agreed. He nominated Howell Cobb, a Georgia attorney and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to preside over the meeting, which was completed by March I 1, 1861. By the end of that year, 13 states had ratified the new Constitution.
In broad outline, the Confederate Constitution is an amended U.S. Constitution. Even on slavery, there is little difference. Whereas the U.S. Constitution ended the importation of slaves after 1808, the Confederate Constitution simply forbade it. Both constitutions allowed slave ownership, of course.
In fact, slavery only became a constitutional issue after the war had begun. In his 1861 inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said, “Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican administration their property [is] to be endangered…. I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists…. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclina6on to do so.”
But the differences in the documents, small as they are, are extremely important. The people who wrote the Southern Constitution had lived under the federal one. They knew its strengths, which they tried to copy, and its weaknesses, which they tried to eliminate.
One grave weakness in the U.S. Constitution is the “general welfare” clause, which the Confederate Constitution eliminated.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.”
The Confederate Constitution gave Congress the power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, for revenue necessary to pay the debts, provide for the common defense, and carry on the Government of the Confederate States…”
The Southern drafters thought the general welfare clause was an open door for any type of government intervention. They were, of course, right.
Immediately following that clause in the Confederate Constitution is a clause that has no parallel in the U.S. Constitution. It affirms strong support for free trade and opposition to protectionism: “but no bounties shall be granted from the Treasury; nor shall any duties or taxes on importation from foreign nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry.”
The use of tariffs to shelter domestic industries from foreign competition had been an important issue since tariffs were first adopted in 1816. Southern states had borne heavy costs since tariffs protected northern manufacturing at the expense of Southern imports. The South exported agricultural commodities and imported almost all the goods it consumed, either from abroad or from Northern states. Tariffs drastically raised the cost of goods in the Southern states, while most of the tariff revenue was spent in the North.
The Confederate Constitution prevents Congress from appropriating money “for any internal improvement intended to facilitate commerce” except for improvement to facilitate waterway navigation. But “in all such cases, such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby, as may be necessary to pay for the costs and expenses thereof…”
“Internal improvements” were pork-barrel public works projects. Thus the Southern Founders sought to prohibit general revenues from being used for the benefit of special interests. Tax revenues were to be spent for programs that benefited everyone, not a specific segment of the population.
In another attack on pork-barrel spending, the Confederate Constitution gave the President a line-item veto. “The President may approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill.” Anticipating the U.S. Constitutional amendment that would become necessary after Franklin Roosevelt’s four terms, the President himself would serve only one, six-year term.
In many circumstances, Confederate appropriations required a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority. Without the President’s request, for example, a two-thirds majority of both Houses would have been necessary for Congress to spend any money. This one provision, if adopted in the U.S. Constitution, would eliminate much of the spending that goes on today.
The Confederate Founders also tried to make sure that there would be no open-ended commitments or entitlement programs in the Confederate States. “All bills appropriating money shall specify…the exact amount of each appropriation, and the purposes for which it is made,” said the document. “And Congress shall grant no extra compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent, or servant, after such contract shall have been made or such service rendered.” Such a provision would have eliminated the cost-overrun,” a favorite boondoggle of today’s government contractors.
The Confederate Constitution also eliminated omnibus spending bills by requiring all legislation to “relate to but one subject,” which had to be “expressed in the title.” There would be no “Christmas-tree” appropriations bills or hidden expenditures.
These changes would have had a profound effect in keeping government small and unintrusive. Their inclusion demonstrates much wisdom on the part of Confederate statesmen in improving on the Founding Fathers. Unfortunately, the federal government was not willing to let them give their system a try…………
WHERE WE ARE NOW
One might make the argument that if you take the long view, the Confederacy actually triumphed. We can start with the Republican Party, founded in 1854 to oppose the Dixie way of life, but now a reflection of Southern attitudes. In capturing the Republican Party, the political descendants of the Confederates are accomplishing through politics what their ideological ancestors failed to accomplish on the battlefield.
http://www.denverpost.com/quillen/ci_17850612
Comment by jgbennet -
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Fully agree BUT lets make sure the taxes I pay as a successful entrepreneur are equal to at least my employees and also that I can’t hide all my business profits like BIG business. Then it will be a patriotic act. Thanks Mark
Comment by monteh -
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Cuban,
I read in Wiki that,like many other Jews,
u r a fan of Rosenbaum ( “Ayn Rand”) .
She was a hardcore capitalist.
U r an appeaser of socialism.
U present the “government ” & the ” poor ” as neutral.
There is the gov sector & the private sector.
There are “poor ” who believe in socialism
& those who believe in capitalism.
By definition,u r a capitalist.
If u cannot even defend the system which made u rich,
then give away all your fortune to the gov
& keep “only ” 20m for u & family
( more than most Americans will ever earn…)
Just do it…
And don’t lecture us about patriotism.
Israel should be your fatherland…
Comment by harrysmatical -
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FYI, if you want a more efficient way to handle your tax dollars (more efficient, that is, than waiting to see what government decides to do with your money), check out CivicSponsor.
We’re trying to solve two problems listed here at once: (i) being patriotic as described by building a great company, and (ii) giving taxpayers more control and transparency with respect how those patriotic dollars are used by government.
Comment by Russ Wallace -
Mark,
I’ve never posted until now although I am a long time reader. Great blog!
There is an important distinction to make. We want our entrepreneurs to make gobs of money. That will help the country and the economy. But, the people that are making gobs of money are not the entrepreneurs but the hedge fund managers, Wall Street bankers, and the CEO’s of only the biggest of the big companies. In the land of cheap money, it is easy for bankers and publicly traded company CEO’s to pocket more than their fair share, but it takes a toll on the welfare of the economy as a whole.
You know this as well as anyone. The way to make GOBS of money is to build a company and go public or get purchased by a public company.
At this point in the history of our country, it is clear that the banks are running the country and not vice versa. In the long run, wars will be fought on economic grounds, and the strongest countries will be the ones that can control their banks and not vice versa.
We are in the land of 0% interest rates, which has proven a bonanza for the banking sector but not the economy as a whole. Worse yet, this is the new normal. 0% interest rates and 9% unemployment.
Comment by chengrob -
Something clearly needs to be done. It’s pretty sad when you can contact over 100 businesses and not a single one is financially able this year to help sponsor a youth select hockey team. I know that may seem petty to most people, but these kids work harder than most adults I know, and earn the honor of playing at a highly thought-of tournament in Chicago. As a reward for their hard work, they are constantly told that no one is able to help this year.
The above example is just that…an example. It’s just symptomatic of a much larger problem.
Comment by stephanieamox -
Mark I Agree with you! I Sent you a Letter back on around 03/22/2011 with a couple of Good Projects …And Since Then, I’ve Come Up with and DO have Many More as I’m a Very Prolific Thinker Idea & Concept Creator… However I’m a Lil Disabled and Financially Unable to get My Stuff of the ground. I WILL as you say Become “Obnoxiously Rich” MUCH FASTER with Your Possible Partnering/Investing/Assistance. So~ If Your For REAL~ Let’s DO BUSINESS, (I’m Drabo DeSeeker on Facebook) Cheers! Drabo. B-}
Comment by drabodeseeker -
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Seriously? It’s patriotic to agree to do whatever the government tells you to right or wrong?
Which includes killing tens if not hundreds of Iraqis that never did a thing to us, and the same in Afganistan…
It’s patriotic to help support the American Empire that enables socialism in Europe because we’re their military?
It’s patriotic to enable a government to force other governments to do what they want them to do instead of negotiating peacefully?
For every one example of justice enforced by the American Military there are a hundred of the opposite.
The military is the embodiment of the government’s monopoly on force. And if they had it their way, no other government would be armed – Ever.
Sorry but fighting for a corrupt regime that long ago ceased to be a beacon for freedom and has become that which is the antithesis of what this country was founded on, is not patriotic, it’s morally wrong.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
Amen, brother!
I’m always blown away by self-proclaimed “patriots” who talk about their willingness to defend the country and the American way of life with their very lives (although, often, they seem to be talking about their willingness to defend it with “someone else’s life,” not really their own), but then they recoil at the very suggestion that they should be willing to defend it with their check books as well.
“Lay down my life for the U.S.A.?” Sure. “Open up my check book to pay the tab for the freedoms and luxuries of living in the greatest country on earth?” No way! What hypocrisy.
Hey – consider joining the new Facebook Group “Americans Willing to Pay More Taxes”
Comment by Jeff Yeager -
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Mr. Cuban,
At what % are you taxed effectively? I’m assuming most of your income is from capital gains, which is taxed quite low at 15% in comparison to the 20+% that most middle class men and women are taxed at. If the capital gains tax were back to 28% like it was in the early 90’s, would you change anything about the blog post above?
Best,
Christian
Comment by dotayoda -
The most patriotic? I’d say serving your country in the military is the most patriotic. Paying taxes is the law, serving your country is a choice.
Comment by Scott Cropper -
Irhann: GM was forced to go into bankruptcy by the government. They likely would have done so themselves and the outcome would have been far better. Why? Because the debitors would have been put first in line like they should have been and they wouldn’t have flushed their money down the toilet so that the union could take their 40+%.
The key is the use of force. We can’t FORCE the government into bankruptcy because the government has a monopoly on the use of force and thus might makes right.
We are helpless to the government. We have a one party system and the votes are rigged through careful slicing and dicing of the districts.
The only thing we can do is Shrug. We can simply stop empowering the looters by stopping producing. People are already doing it, but because they themselves are freeloaders and aren’t producing because there is no hand outs. (they’re collecting unemployment for 120 weeks) And more and more big business owners are retiring to run a vineyard or something similar and leaving lackies that will run the business into the ground to run it. It’s happening every day. It started with Gates III and continues through Jobs and several other high profile retirements recently. They’re all walking away, because when you have no choice, the only choice you have left is to stop.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
“I’m not saying that the government’s use of tax money is the most efficient use of our hard-earned capital. It obviously is not.”
See, that’s the part that really grates on me. I think it bothers most people more than they realize. During the meltdown, General Motors was forced, kicking and screaming, to streamline their operations. They killed the Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer brands, closed unneeded dealerships and renegotiated union contracts. Terribly painful, not at all voluntary, but GM is stronger now than they’ve been in decades.
Who’s going to force the U.S. Government to undertake the same painful streamlining? Could there be a few Oldmobiles and Hummers in the big D.C. tent?
I agree that paying taxes is patriotic, but I am convinced that our federal government needs a GM-style cleansing if we want to avoid pouring good money after bad.
Comment by lrhann -
For those who think taxes are too inefficient, find a family in need and give them $10K-$20K. Or a budding entrepreneur that looks smart and give him or her $100K. The only requirement for “the patriotic thing to do” in this Great Recession is for wealthy people not to sit on their wealth but to altruistically change lives with it. More voluntary altruism by those who can afford it would reduce quite a bit of the need for taxes.
Comment by aepxc -
Opps Cut myself off.
The funny thing was the names on the buildings were not Japans companies like Canon or Panasonic but American companies like HP and Deloit. We have become a culture of blaming someone else for what for what they do wrong without taking responsibility for own actions. Have your even heard one big company that is moving their labor over seas talk about it being for profit? No they try to hide the fact they are moving the jobs and blame the government for why they are not hiring. Doing the right thing and fixing what you can is so simple to do but it takes a mind frame of not being selfish. There are so many selfish people out there right now that want to hide behind what someone else is not doing rather than face up to their own actions
Comment by vrieling -
So tell me how much do you have put aside to do the right thing with? That is what Regain said would happen and what Bush1 called “a thousand points of light” but it didn’t happen. The growth in charitable spending is not even in the ballpark of what has been reduced in tax intake. It didn’t work just like now giving the money to big corporations is not creating Jobs, at least not here. I just got back from Kolkuta Inda where I saw miles of cranes building mult-story buildings to handle the white-color jobs that are moving there. The funny thing was themson the buildings were not Japanes companies like Canon or Panasonic but American companies like HP and Deloit,
Comment by vrieling -
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If you want to help those in need, taxes are a terrible way to do it. You’d be better off paying nothing in taxes, then taking half of those savings and funding a non-profit. Assistance to the needy is a tiny part of your taxes; don’t forget about the huge part that goes toward killing foreigners, subsidizing corporations, enforcing unnecessary (and often immoral) regulations and laws, and paying interest to foreign governments.
If you become rich, you’ll help the world with better products and services, more jobs, and the charity that you voluntarily share with your neighbors in need, not because it was taken from you, but because your care about your fellow man.
Comment by Steve Cronk -
No quarter for tax protesters?
Is patriotism always a good thing?
Comment by KLP -
@vrieling – You say:
“I am really getting tired of hearing the whiners (even in this blog) that want to hide behind what the government does wrong or some other imperfection in the system as an excuse for them to NOT do the right thing.”
You make the claim that paying taxes is the “right” thing. Tell me, is it “right” that the government used your money to bailout rich Wall Street executives and give CEOs golden parachutes? Wouldn’t the “right” thing be to reduce taxes so that you can give that money DIRECTLY to the people that need it, rather than have it filtered through many hands that don’t?
Comment by Gavan Woolery -
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Patriotic indeed.
Comment by KLP -
And here I am thinking you was a dick……
au contraire……my friend your a freaking genius.
As of today I’m officially in search of all your literature.
Sorry for catching on so late 🙂
-b
Comment by mrbyronmartinez -
I agree with Mark (and wish I had as big of a problem as he does) but I have 60 employees from three different businesses that I started from scratch,(and a fourth in development now), I do gulp when I pay my taxes. I even agree that my taxes should be higher. I don’t like writing the big quarterly tax checks but I do know it is the right thing to do. And I believe it goes further. I provide heath care to my employees. Not because it is mandated in my state (it is not) or because I get less turnover in my company than others in my sector (which I do) but because it is the right thing to do. The people that work for me are not my tools but in a military sense, part of my unit, and under my command. How can you not take care of your own in this world?
I am really getting tired of hearing the whiners (even in this blog) that want to hide behind what the government does wrong or some other imperfection in the system as an excuse for them to NOT do the right thing. If you believe there are problems with waste in government or that clean air or other regulations are inadequate or not being enforced, get involved! Do something about that too. But first, even before you take your own well deserved big ass salary, pay your taxes, make sure your employees are ensured if they get sick and be a good corporate citizen by recycling, using less energy, cutting your companies pollution etc. We are all part of an ecosystem that works best when we all do a few simple things like be caring people, be good citizens, and run a smart business that looks at everything that is important in life rather than just looking at what makes it into your own pocket. If you are not already running a business like that it is really easy to get started, just pay more attention to what you can do than what someone else is not doing. A nice side benefit is you will get a good night sleep without having to hide behind excuses for why the selfish things you do are justified.
Comment by vrieling -
Linda Nelson: Yes, those jobs are not coming back. But others are being created. But the US is too busy feeling entitled and freeloading to WORK. So the jobs go elsewhere because the rational person generates the most amount of profit from his work as possible. That means that they don’t want to hire high school drop outs that can barely add to put a bolt in a hole on an assembly line for $60,000 with benefits when they can pay the reasonable wage for such an unproductive lout.
It’s time we realized that yes, jobs that robots can do as well or better than the union workers of today at one one thousandth of what they cost should be valued as such. The rest of the jobs require hard work, self-education and self-responsibility. We must get up off our asses and work to earn these jobs. They will not come nor be created in the first place if we sit in-front of the TV and blame government for there being no jobs.
There are no jobs because we freeloaded for so long that we flushed them down the toilet. Now we have to bust our ass to get them back. No amount of government is going to change that. Although they can make it FAR FAR harder.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
And one other thing, Mark: “Entrepreneur” is the rarest of people. It’s something you can’t learn or train to do. It’s just who you are…starting something from an idea that you had while laying in bed at 3am and turning it into something real…it’s almost like having a baby! First one is the toughest and scares the crap out of you…all the others that follow…tough job but been there already. Unless you have been there, you don’t realize the highs/lows that accompany such ventures. This restaurant (see prior post) is my third baby. Just because someone has an MBA does not mean they have the cohones to start a business on their own. Ask yourself this: would you rather have a salaried 9-5 job or be your own boss, have 100x the headaches and make less with the possibility of earning more? 9-5…not me, never will be.
Comment by Bad Bad Leroy Brown -
Great advice. This is a new world and people have to re-invent themselves. Technology is eliminating millions of jobs and THEY ARE NEVER COMING BACK. How can people not understand this. It’s a great time to go into business for yourself, figure out how to make a ton of money, hire people, then pay your taxes so the people that just can’t figure this out can survive. It’s never been easier or cheaper to start your own business, so DO IT NOW!
Comment by Linda Nelson -
Well said. I’ll do my best …
Comment by Patrick Foley -
Ok, here my 2 cents…Its a good thought and I agree with it but people and businesses with the money to do all that won’t spend money as long as the gov’t has to take a lot to spend and create on its own. Its a catch 22, the businesses won’t spend cuz the gov’t keeps taking taxes to stimulate because the businesses won’t spend! No businessman in his right mind would go out and spend lots of money for patriotism especially when taxes are high. One side will have to give and in my opinion that should be the gov’t who steps aside, keeps taxes low, and allows businesses the opportunity to spend.
Comment by culperjunior -
trip1ex: You’re absolutely wrong. There is only one time where your gain is someone else’s loss: When force is used. Why? Because only when force is used is choice removed.
In every other exchange you choose to do business with someone, they choose to do business with you. You both choose the terms that are mutually beneficial. If they are not, then you go somewhere else. Period.
Me getting the contract that you do not, is not a loss to you. It wasn’t yours in the first place. I out competed you and I got the business because I was willing to make the deal on terms agreeable to the person offering the contract in the first place.
My ability and my hard work don’t take something away from you. That socialist BS that is at the root of this evil. My accomplishment isn’t theft of you. It’s creation of wealth. It is production.
Wealth is the difference between overhead and profit. That is, the difference between what you pay for something or the parts of something and what you sell it for to someone else. That requires effort, creativity and planning. It specifically those three things that are by definition WEALTH because that is the difference between overhead and profit.
I strongly suggest you go read Capitalist Manifesto or Making of Modern Economics and understand economics because your statements demonstrate a huge ignorance of both logic and the economy.
Comment by johngalt1717 -
I’m about to sign a lease to open up a pretty decent sized eatery in Chicago. It will employ 40+ people (job creation) and generate an estimated $225,000 to the city in sales tax revenue. Unfortunately, Chicago makes it very difficult to open a restaurant in a timely fashion. Inspections/permits are necessary but are incredibly slow to schedule and reschedule and reschedule…. I have two friends who opened places in the past two years. They were ready to open but delays with inspectors put their openings back by 3 and 5 months. No exaggeration. This while in a recession! Newly created jobs were delayed as well as sales taxes that could be paid to the city. There is no way I’m putting my real name out there or type of restaurant as those who rely on the city of Chicago for “permission” to open best keep their mouths shut, if you know what I mean. So to try to keep things on a timetable, I have to kiss my alderman’s behind as well as rely on connections in some city departments to try to help me out best they can. Opening a restaurant is a risky venture as is, but having the city put up too many roadblocks to open just makes no sense from an economic standpoint. Too bad you’re not a Chicago resident Mark. I could use your clout in return for a naming a sandwich after you.
From MC> Go get em./ Nothing more maddening than administrivia..
Comment by Bad Bad Leroy Brown -
Let’s also realize making money is a zero sum game. There’s only so much money to go around. Not everyone can be billionaries and millionaires etc.
Your win is often someone’s else loss if not always someone else’s loss.
So this notion that making money creates taxes is …..not accurate. Really it’s a massive pyramid scheme.
What is really happening now is no different than what happens when you borrow too much on your credit card than you can pay back in a month. WE are making payments towards the big ass line of credit this country took out during the housing boom.
We have to work that off and really no amount of taxes or programs etc is going to bring that forward. I mean the line of credit is what got us into trouble in the first place.
No what will happen is eventually we’ll soak up all the empty houses out there. And new construction will bloom again some spring. And that will bring about jobs and get the economy started again. This cure all is called TIME. That’s the only cure for the bust that follows the boom.
Now that isn’t to say that I don’t favor doing something about the gap between what the richest make and what the blue collar worker makes. The gap is ridiculous.
Too many make money with little to no downside. CEos. Execs. Wall STreet.
Too many make money in areas where they can always go to the piggy bank and charge more. The judicial system is getting ridiculous. And all they do is make the law more complicated to serve their own interest. There is little incentive to be efficient there.
Same with taxes. Accountants keep the taxes as complicated as possible to serve their own interest. Health care is the same way. And notice these industries are government related and terribly inefficient.
Comment by trip1ex -
Maybe preaching to the choir (fans of Mark C need to be pretty independent thinkers), but ABSOLUTELY!! I love giving people work, and paying them well for it!
Comment by rwcipod -
Mark, This is mom and apple pie. Everyone starts out thinking they can and will get rich. They are bombarded with stories of work hard and “follow your dream”. But there are plenty of other factors at work. For one thing, the system we have doesn’t allow everyone to get rich. Even when regulated to allow in the entrepreneurs and keep out the phonies and crooks, there will only be a small percentage of wealthy people. The critical factors are timing, preparation and confidence. A great idea can be ahead of its time and fall flat. It can also fall flat because the creative individual doesn’t have the background and education to successfully develop the idea and ends up with a struggling ice cream shop instead of Ben and Jerry’s. Finally there’s confidence. This falls into two parts: the self confidence to decide that their idea is the right one in the face of objections and to continue to pursue that idea beyond the first rejections. The second part is having the confidence to abandon security and step into the unsafe and unknown world of the entrepreneur. This gets harder as one gets older. Of course, there are just plain bad ideas that are not thought through or totally impractical for all sorts of reasons. This is why there are so few successful entrepreneurs and those individuals (you are one of them) are a limited breed. Any socio-economic system that is successful MUST have and reward these individuals. I agree that this should be everyone’s goal, but I also know that everyone will not and cannot be a successful entrepreneur. The system also must allow those who are not entrepreneurs to be able to be good at some more modest activity that is a service (like a mechanic), trade (like a plumber) or a profession (like a teacher or doctor) and not demean their abilities or self worth because they are not rich. On the other hand, rewarding those whose activities result in only self-enrichment without value added – the paper traders among us – or those who manipulate the system or just plain lie (like Madoff) to enrich themselves at the expense of others will result in a system that will not only discourage the entrepreneur, but will fail in the end. Your advice is golden for those just starting out, but time and experience will sort out the true entrepreneurs among us. The rest should not be rejected or discouraged because their idea didn’t work.
Comment by maduceone -
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You got it right up until the point where you said this:
“a recognition that in paying your taxes you are helping to support millions of Americans that are not as fortunate as you.”
It should read: “a recognition that in paying your taxes you are helping support tens of millions of freeloading Americans that don’t work as hard as you but think that they have a right to your money.”
The fact is that < 50% of Americans pay any tax at all. That means that the top 49%+ are handing their hard work to others. There is no possible way that anyone can claim that those 50%+ are incapable of working and making a living. The percentage of people that are completely incapable of making a living is less than 1%. The rest are freeloaders looting your hard earned wealth.
And to be pragmatic (it doesn't really matter, but it makes the point as to why any other way is immoral from a non-philosophical point of view) you are wealthy because you know what to do with the resources you have. Be it money, time, effort etc. You know better than others that are not wealthy. Thus the wealth you create will be cared for better because it's yours and you'll be careful and you'll use it the way you know how. The moment that some disinterested party takes that wealth from you by the point of a gun and gives it to someone else, they are throwing away potential new wealth creation.
This is both immoral and ultimately the cause of the collapse of American civilization. You have the right to that which you produce. NOTHING ELSE. Or as the founding fathers put it: You have the right to your life, your liberty (including the freedom to fail) and your pursuit of YOUR happiness.
We live in an evil state of entitlements. We're only slightly less bad than the rest of the world, but catching up fast. You are not entitled to health care. You're entitled that which you can pay for. Your right to your life, does not give you the right to steal from another to pay for health care because you cannot violate anyone else's right in the pursuit of your own. You are not entitled to free prescription drugs. You are entitled to that which you can pay for. And in both cases, it is your responsibility to budget for and pay for those expenses. It is not the government's job to nanny you specifically because to do so, requires that they steal and enslave others.
You are not entitled to other people's social security money. That is you're not entitled to the money I put in so that you can retire. You're entitled to your money and only your money. Not the 14x more money that will be required for your retirement than you contributed and earned in interest. And again, it is your responsibility to plan for and save for your retirement. Retirement isn't a right. It's a privilege of those that plan ahead. The rest of us must work for a living as long as it takes even to the day we die.
You are right, it is MORAL to make as much money as you possibly can and keep making money because it isn't a 0 sum game. You are right that you making money makes other people money because you trade with them. Be it jobs, or purchases on raw materials or be it goes that you purchase to entertain yourself with others get wealthier as a result. But your second part is a logical and moral contradiction. You are literally advocating throwing away your wealth. Flushing it down the toilet. (see Milton Freeman for an excellent allegory about this)
I strongly suggest that everyone watch this and really think about what it's saying. It is the core to this class warfare that Obama has started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I
Look yourself in the mirror very hard and long and admit that "socialism" and "wealth reallocation" is nothing more than pretty words covering up slavery empowered by men with fine hats that have a monopoly on force.
Then ask yourself if it is moral for the enslaved to allow themselves to be enslaved or if they should fight back and hide their money from the looters that wish to steal it?
And further, ask yourself what the natural consequence of taking a man's wealth, that is, the product of his hard work and creativity away? What do you think the moral and logical woman does?
She stops making wealth. In short, Atlas is and will continue to Shrug.
The American dream is quite simply based on Wealth of Nations. That is the recognition that the wealth of a country is not how much is in it's own treasury but how much is in the pockets of it's own citizens. The initiator of such an idea is the understanding of property rights. That is, you own that which you produce and can trade it on whatever terms you agree to without the use of force or fraud. We have forsaken the American dream because we truly do not own that which we produce. The government owns it and allows us to keep whatever portion it deems we should be allowed to have. (not even keep)
The only moral government that is funded voluntarily. Either through non-monopolistic user fees or through donations. Any other form of taxation is theft and ultimately slavery and ultimately the death of the American dream. Because the moment free trade between individuals becomes the use of force by one group of people against another through the one party that has a monopoly on force (government) is the moment where this country stands for nothing more than violence and theft and everyone is subject to the will of the looters. Be they the majority or be they well funded special interest groups lobbying and bribing congress.
Mark Cuban: I would have thought that you of all people would understand this. I know you're a fan of Rand's work and I know you're intelligent enough to understand Objectivism and that her value system that she presents is the only non-contradictory value system ever presented. And further, true capitalism is the only system ever created that is compatible with those ideals and more to the point the only system ever created that creates with for EVERYONE not just a select few "really smart people".
I'm disappointed. I thought better of you.
(As for the 1% that cannot make a living, there can and would be charities that would care for these people along with families. No one would go hungry or without medical care etc. This is the way it was prior to socialism in America)
Comment by johngalt1717 -
Mark – Our government simply spends more than it earns. That is not good business, that’s not patriotic, it’s just plain stupid.
Spending less of the People’s money is more patriotic than paying a ton of taxes to a an insatiable Federal Govt.
I believe the government should be reflective of the people who they supposedly represent. Everyone I know is cutting back from previous years, making do with less.
But not our federal government…Has Uncle Sam has EVER spent less than or even the same as they have in the previous fiscal years? Can’t we ask our Gov’t to do just that?
Then I think your argument of paying more taxes makes sense…for you.
Comment by harrylalor -
It’s a lot harder being an entrepreneur and *getting* rich when the government and big financial institution’s policies and (cough) “mistakes” keep impoverishing your customers and potential investors alike. Build a better mousetrap and they will beat a path to your door? They still have to have some money to buy the mousetrap.
Comment by robertoschler -
no, the most patriotic thing you can do is understand that 9/11 was an inside job making much of the current government unconstitutional. the economy is dysfunctional largely because of war and moentary policy, the latter of which creates bubbles which have the effect of exacerbatign income inequality, politicizing all money, and creating the class warfare we now have.
ignorance is futile. only the truth can set us free.
9/11 was an inside job,
kid mercury
Comment by kidmercury -
Awesome post Mark, Thank you.
Charles Ellingson
Comment by buddhacharlie -
Thanks, Mark. More people need to believe in and LIVE the American dream. Any person, regardless of their current situation, can move ahead. Trouble is, too many are used to living on the government dime and that mentality will have to change.
Comment by bigmouthcowboy -
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I define “patriotic” as doing what is best for the country – not necessarily what is best for its government. The government does a very bad job of increasing the GDP, because there are very few physical objects that they produce (infrastructure is only a fraction of their budget, and military vehicles obviously have limited external value). A good deal of money gets lost in bureaucracy – that is money that could produce food, housing, and consumer goods. You can sink money into the government, but it is like watering a fern and expecting fruit. The government does create value in its own way, but a very small portion of the budget could do this effectively. Do you really want to give more money to a government that has recklessly racked up trillions in debt?
Comment by Gavan Woolery -
Thank you.
Well said
I’d love to pay more in taxes
Comment by markwolfinger -
There’s way too much “oh, hard times, oh, more hard times are comin’, and oh, even more hard times” talk in America. We hear it ad nauseum. Doesn’t that over time exacerbate the problem?
21st-Century-minded entrepreneurs may be the only long-term solutions. “How do you make the current state of the economy work?” That’s the only relevant question. And who besides the creative modernized entrepreneur is willing to answer it?
The only alternative is another collosal mindless bubble, which is probably not in the immediate future.
Comment by newmediarules -
Wouldn’t it be more patriotic to hire more workers, expand your own business, or invest in other businesses rather than waste money on taxes? Lets not forget that the major destination of tax dollars is welfare (both corporate and individual) and warfare. I don’t see how it is more patriotic to subsidize poverty, crony capitalism, and warfare instead of creating jobs, wealth, and opportunities for Americans.
Comment by informationjunkie1984 -
IF YOU THINK TARIFFS ON THE CHINESE ARE BAD……read this, it is the smoking gun, the bomb craters & spent shell casings of a trade/jobs war we are losing badly….
the chinese are kicking our ass with the shoes we pay them to make for us….
http://politheo.com/chinaisourenemy.html
Comment by jgbennet -
This is just false Libertarian thinking. Most businesses have externalities (effects on others/society) that are not reflected in the business’ own P&L). The classic example is a company that saves money on waste disposal by polluting public lands. You cannot possibly argue that such a business is doing society a service by enriching himself at everybody else’s expense. Externalities can also be positive, like a profitable charter school that churns out well educated students with strong values every year (though the value of those students to society is difficult to quantify). The true measure of a person or business’ economic worth to society must take into consideration the positive and negative externalities of their operations. So, getting rich alone isn’t enough! Instead, getting rich while enlarging the overall economic pie rather than shrinking it should be the goal, and the truly patriotic thing to do.
Comment by epolitical -
Totally agree, MC – Great post! Now, back to work….
Comment by beemonkey -
Great read!
Comment by tdevelops -
HOW ABOUT THIS IDEA?
Lets tax Chinese imports for 5 to 7 years and take the billions we collect and turn them into entrepreneur grants in the amount of $250,000 each.
The strength of our economy is individual ambition, good ideas, solid advice and lastly is the funding.
Think of the innovation that has been created in the US economy with a good idea, 250 grand and the right mentor.
Create $250,000 entrepreneur grants and give participating mentors access to a venture capital network willing to work with the program.
Here is how it works.
We The People, It is our money why can’t we choose who gets it?
It is not the government or a banker who decides if an applicant is worthy of the grant it is a citizen who decides.
Each citizen decider/volunteer/mentor has to be a proven business success (a multi-millionaire) and committed to working with 2 grant applications/business plans/entrepreneurs during a calendar year plus be willing to mentor the recipients and work with venture capitalists.
The payoff for the mentor is a tax deduction that is residual.
The tax deductions take effect and the percentage increases with each of the chosen applicant successes (they can pick a couple every year if the program is extended).
Success is determined by a winning applicants hiring of a minimum of 4 employees the first year and keeping them employed for 365 days in the following year after their approval (it is a two year plan).
If the approved applicant continues to succeed in the future years the “mentor” gets a tax break for those years as well and the more his choices succeed the smaller his annual tax liability.
The well screened and pre-approved “mentors” (they have to apply to be a mentor) sign contracts not to steal ideas and can then scan through the web-based business plans database and choose the applicants/business plans they think have a real shot at success.
Access to the venture capitalist database is for the mentors only.
Millions of entrepreneurs could post their plans online and have a shot at not only 250 grand but also a top gun mentor with something to gain from their success.
Even if the mentors game the system for tax deductions by assisting the winning applicants with funding or creating companies the American people still win and hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses are created.
If the business goes bust and the money is lost, so what it was spent here. Losing the money here is a better than giving it to the Chinese. We enrich our country not China.
http://politheo.com/philanthropreneur.html
Comment by jgbennet -
Completely agree with you Mark – it’s much better to focus on producing and making more rather than penalizing those who work hard. It’s definitely our responsibility to support those who can’t afford certain things, but aiming for the big wins is clearly a great target.
Comment by dbalin -
I am getting on that business plan I had let atrophy right now. Totally agree!
Comment by colinlowry -
Let’s test this get rich thing and help me get a job.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/russell-k-jones/39/828/15a
Comment by russell44jones -
I’m in.
Comment by johnwhynot -
Great post!
I also find it sad when I hear some argue that raising tax rates a little will stop entrepreneurs from trying to make more money. Really? That makes no sense to me. Sure, a 90% rate is one thing, but the modest increases being discussed should not discourage anyone.
Comment by northcoastblog -