Where is the US economy headed?

What else would you expect Sanders to say? After all, Bernie is an avowed Socialist.

I am asking a basic question about what principles on which this country and this country's constitution are founded and should be based upon now. Do we devise an economic system and a tax system in this country based upon the principle, to each according to his need and to each according to his ability to pay?

If you can't live in an area for 8 grand per month, I would look for a different area to live. If the cost of living is that high, I would consider it a ripoff area, and I would move on.

okie, Anyone earning 100 grand/year does not have 8/grand a month to live on. Try to figure out why?

Eight ZIP codes in Santa Clara County has average home prices above $1 million.

I have very little knowledge of the constitution but I would think that even it was flawed. I do not know if this is true maybe someone can help me out here?

Originally, the Framers were very careful about avoiding the words "slave" and "slavery" in the text of the Constitution. Instead, they used phrases like "importation of Persons" at Article 1, Section 9 for the slave trade, "other persons" at Article 1, Section 2, and "person held to service or labor" at Article 4, Section 2 for slaves. Not until the 13th Amendment was slavery mentioned specifically in the Constitution. There the term was used to ensure that there was to be no ambiguity as what exactly the words were eliminating. In the 14th Amendment, the euphemism "other persons" (and the three-fifths value given a slave) was eliminated.

I think that is why many of those people are selling their homes to move to more attractive areas financially, and which will afford them a nicer home in an area with lower living costs. It used to be Oregon and Washington, but more recently they are migrating into Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and other states. Unfortunately, their skewed sense of property values have driven up the home values in the areas that they have moved into as well.

okie, You don't even understand the real estate business. Our home prices have held pretty well considering how some areas suffered dramatic depreciation of their value.

As for selling and buying, those numbers are dramatically reduced from before the financial crisis of 2008 based on several reasons - which I won't bother to list.

Is EVERY millionaire a scam artist?

Can you name any millionaires that you think earned their money, or did all of them steal it from other people?

I declare, "I am not a scam artist."

I've worked and done books for two millionares. One was hardly a pleasant person, but neither was a scam artist. Everything they owned was on the line every day.

MM, ican and okie all share a single trait that they think is arguing: they pretend to not understand what is being said to them. Now, quite often, they do not understand what is being said. However, when people say "millionaires," besides being woefully out of date, they use a term that is far and away too general. The above named posters do understand the term is general, but, they pretend that they do not in order to make themselves appear superior . . . but only in their own minds. It is best not to acknowledge that sort of behavior.

Here's a rather timely piece from yahoo:

Suburbs generally provide a respite for young families and spacious dwellings for city professionals who prefer a quieter home life. Despite these broad similarities, a survey of high-end suburbs around the country shows they are not created equal -- in cost, that is, as expenditures vary greatly by state.

Take Maumelle, Ark., for example, the most expensive suburb outside of Little Rock, where the median home price is $191,000 and the average household spends $12,510 on transportation per year, according to data from real estate researcher Onboard Informatics.

Compare that with Scarsdale, N.Y., a suburb of Manhattan where the average home sells for nearly $1.2 million and household transportation costs can add up to about $32,000 per year. Businessweek.com worked with Onboard Informatics to identify the most expensive suburbs outside the largest cities -- those with populations over 250,000, or the most populous city in the state if none are so large.

The ranking is based on costs from housing and other nonretail expenditures to taxes and transportation costs. We define "suburb" as a Census place within 40 miles of city borders, including incorporated cities, towns, villages, and unincorporated areas. There are more than 25,000 places identified by the U.S. Census Bureau nationwide. We only surveyed places with populations larger than the state median.

The following are the most expensive suburbs in the 10 biggest states by median home price.

Most Expensive Suburb in California: Saratoga
Median home price: $1,405,000
Cost-of-living index: 222
Nonretail spending index: 223
Location: about 10 miles southwest of San Jose
Population: 30,287

A wealthy community incorporated in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1956, the city of Saratoga has median household income of $151,733, according to Census data. Single-family detached homes begin at $432,000 to more than $6 million for a premier estate, according to the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce.

* Some expensive California towns did not have large enough populations to be included in the survey

Most Expensive Suburb in New York: Scarsdale

Median home price: $1,177,500
Cost-of-living index: 311
Nonretail spending index: 316
Location: 27 miles from New York City and 3 miles from White Plains
Population: 17,787

In E.B. White's classic essay about New York City, "Here Is New York," he defines three types of New Yorkers -- commuters, natives, and those who relocated to seek dreams. For those in the first camp, swanky Scarsdale defines the suburban dream of the city's commuters. The town's mansions and gated communities mingle with upscale apartments and golf courses. Hence, the half-hour train ride from the concrete jungle setting of Grand Central Station is a return to trees, minivans, and lawn mowers.

Most Expensive Suburb in Illinois: Winnetka

Median home price: $1,026,000
Cost-of-living index: 309
Nonretail spending index: 312
Location: about 20 miles north of Chicago
Population: 12,039

The Village of Winnetka, a wealthy suburb of Chicago, has four beaches along Lake Michigan, numerous parks, athletic fields, an indoor tennis club, ice rink, and public golf course. Winnetka's median household income was $167,458 and per capita income was $84,134, according to 2000 Census data.

Most Expensive Suburb in Texas: Hunters Creek Village

Median home price: $865,500
Cost-of-living index: 334
Nonretail spending index: 337
Location: 9 miles west of Houston
Population: 4,819
Just north of the Houston Country Club is a suburb of quiet cul-de-sacs and dead-end roads with large homes.

Most Expensive Suburb in Ohio: The Village of Indian Hill

Median home price: $800,000
Cost-of-living index: 313
Nonretail spending index: 316
Location: 12 miles from Cincinnati
Population: 6,272

Ringed with nature preserves and parks, residents of the Village of Indian Hill pay handsomely for the feel of nature just 15 minutes from Cincinnati. Indeed, the village charter, listed on Indian Hill's website, states a goal of forming a green belt around the hill. The rural charm of the area is increased with local historical sites such as a red schoolhouse and a one-lane bridge that were both built in the late 1800s.

Most Expensive Suburb in Florida: Pinecrest

Median home price: $645,000
Cost-of-living index: 252
Nonretail spending index: 255
Location: about 15 miles south of Miami
Population: 18,478

The Village of Pinecrest, incorporated in 1996, is home to upscale gated communities and some of the most expensive real estate in South Florida ranging to more than $4 million, according to the website of Marie Story, a broker associate for Coldwell Banker.

Most Expensive Suburb in Pennsylvania: Radnor Township

Median home price: $512,600
Cost-of-living index: 324
Nonretail spending index: 328
Location: 19 miles northeast of Philadelphia
Population: 30,910

Located on Philadelphia's Main Line, Radnor Township hosts or is within a few miles of numerous nationally renowned institutions of higher education, including Villanova University, Bryn Mawr College, and Haverford College. (The term "Main Line" refers to the affluent towns that once were stops on the old Main Line of the Philadelphia Railroad.) It was settled by Quakers in the 1600s. Some of the country estates that still mark the area were subdivided for housing or, in the case of Villanova, converted into institutional or educational uses. Today, parks and golf courses dot the upscale town.

Most Expensive Suburb in Georgia: Dunwoody

Median home price: $305,000
Cost-of-living index: 156
Nonretail spending index: 157
Location: about 17 miles north of Atlanta
Population: 40,501

The City of Dunwoody, which was settled in the 1800s but only incorporated on Dec. 1, 2008, has a downtown commercial and shopping area in addition to the residential subdivisions, according to dunwoodygarealestate.net. Per capita income in 2008 was $50,951, according to Census data, and median household income was $90,355.

Most Expensive Suburb in Michigan: Bloomfield Township

Median home price: $224,977
Cost-of-living index: 214
Nonretail spending index: 216
Location: about 25 miles northwest of Detroit
Population: 40,141

The Township of Bloomfield in Oakland County is 26 square miles with rolling hills, winding roads, and lakes and streams. The median household income is one of the highest in the state: $117,880, according to Census figures.

Here's a link to site that will direct you to the most expensive suburb within each state:

http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20101116/most-expensive-suburbs-2010/slides/22

It's not user friendly. It's at 22 because that is Massachusetts, which interests me.

I lived in another Boston suburb. I remember when my ex- and I were still together and attending the Unitarian Church that there was a great deal of concern over the fact that a familial income of $96,000/annum was needed to buy a house in town. As my 27 year old son was 8 when we separated, that figure had to have been derived sometime prior to 1991. Actually, it had to have originated during the 1980s.

In California, about 25 miles north from where we live:

I'm not arguing.
The claim was made that millionaires and other rich people got their money by stealing from people, by scamming people, and by generally being dishonest.

I just want to find out if that applies to everybody that is wealthy, or if there are some wealthy people that got their money legally.

mm, Are you serious? All levels of income earners can earn money legally or illegally. That's a fact.

I dont deny that.
However, the claim was that EVERY wealthy person earned their money illegally.

I simply want proof of that statement, and to know if there are any exceptions to that claim.

can you find that claim for me? I've been re-reading the thread and can't spot it. I admit that I've got a couple of posters on ignore, but I can't imagine they'd be the ones you're trying to pick an argument with .... so where's the claim?

The funny thing is, in order to SELL their houses, someone else is BUYING them - so, if everyone is moving out of CA or other places due to the high price, who the hell is buying the houses that are getting sold?

The answer: people who want to live in a nice place, with great weather and nice people. High asset values are a sign of worth, not necessarily a negative thing. Now, as a young guy, I don't mind seeing home values fall - and think they should, as they are somewhat overpriced right now. But I don't have any desire to move to a cheaper area at this time.

Cycloptichorn