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Green 5d
Seldom settling souls
Carrying water around
Since greedy surrounds
And are foul.

Peace bought in bottles
Seeking sleep now , hopeless.
Big wallets full of cash
Nothing to feed a dwindling class.

Peace sold in bottles.
For suits buying hotels.
Suits shouldn't be worth
A billion.
Selling peace in bottles
Anais Vionet Mar 21
(It’s that vernal, infernal, tax season. How about a tax avoidance vignette? It’s poetic—in it’s own way)

Some students at a table near us in the dining hall were discussing America’s financial inequities. One guy was saying that we ought to “tax the crap” out of billionaires and their billions—and there was agreement all around—the consensus was downright mob-like.

I had to chuckle though, because these guys have no idea how wealth is managed in the world today. I bet, for instance, they think Musk has 200 billion dollars in his basement somewhere, but no, Musk’s 200 billion is his ‘net worth,’ the theoretical value of his stock portfolio (or his unrealized assets).

Just between us chickens, I’m related to a few ‘filthy rich’ people, (no, NOT my parents) and I’ve met many others and I can assure you, dear reader, that the ‘filthy rich’ have nothing you can tax. Now, I’m not a finance major. Everything I know, I learned from my Grandmère and my parents who thought a girl ought to know about money. So anyway, just for fun, here’s a quick (I’m condensing and simplifying), lesson on how taxation and wealth work in 2025.

The wealth of the rich lies in their assets—the value of companies they own or stocks they’ve invested in. Those “paper assets” can only be taxed when they’re sold—or, in tax terms, when their intrinsic value is “realized.”

Now instead of selling off (taxable) assets to live, the superrich use those assets as collateral for “securities backed loans” which are nontaxable. Elon Musk, for instance, takes no salary. He uses his ($94 billion) Tesla stock as collateral for loans he uses to fund his lavish lifestyle and provide ready cash as needed.

Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos—to name a few billionaires we all know of, take little or no salary—their compensation comes in the form of untaxable stock options they can leverage.

If you think this can’t go on forever, you’re wrong. Even when these billionaires die, the value of assets gained during their lifetimes are immune to taxation. At that point, some assets can be sold by heirs to pay off the outstanding loans, again, without worrying about taxes.

TA DAAAA. Now you know how the rich do it. How they avoid taxes in both life and death, and manage to leave massive fortunes to their heirs.
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Songs for this:
Done Changed My Way of Living by Taj Mahal
Run On by Elvis Presley
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 03/20/25:
Vernal = something that occurs in the spring


P.S.
If you snarl, “Well, that’s unfair, we need to stop this pilfering and tax unrealized assets!
Well, he Biden administration proposed just that: proposing households with over $100 million in wealth, face an annual tax of up to 20% on the appreciation of assets. But the republicans killed it, and even if such a policy had passed, it’s quite possible that the Supreme Court would have ruled it unconstitutional.
Arcassin B Feb 16
By Abpoetry

Suffered my whole life.
Tryna' keep a job , keep the checks flowing,
Keep the momentum of the ongoing,
I was a pawn of the unknowing,
35 jobs and still nothing felt right,
A black man can only build so much foresight,
Odds was always stacked against me too,
I needed a outlet , I needed to fight,
Then I soon realize being a slave wasn't really an option,
They want you to work til you still in a coffin,
Third eye banged and punched out of my Noggin,
**** prosecution and **** being an object,
A number , a gear in the cog wheel,
Meditate now , I could feel what nature feel,
powers been growing , I don't derive from guilt,
Ask me what I know , you won't believe in the matrix still,
Job / School / Prison , same thing,
Please , bare , witness, vibrate,
Everything , timelines happening all at once,
So in Another I'm probably rich for god sakes,
Been thru a lot , So if Another ***** Tell Me That She Don't
Want Me Cause I'm "Broke",
I Didn't want you anyway.
https://arcassin.blogspot.com/2025/02/ungrateful-heffas-featured-on-real.html?spref=tw
I was never his queen.
I was a beggar for love,
for respect,
for a partner.
I was never rich in love
it is the defining answer as to why
in the infinite measurement of time
we are quickly fading as a species
the heroes and those given the gift of genius
quietly silenced in the shadows
in the whispers that fade quickly like dreams

the light of untethered thought
the discoveries that lay in wait to bring us to an enlightened world
are crushed by the deviants
the malicious
the maggotry that userp and violate the natural progression of mankind
more brazen they have become
more defined are their goals
unflinching in their task
these oligarchs who see utopia as a world under their control
they ******
they destroy
they bury all ideas and creations
that interfere with their burning desire
for personal gain
greed owns them
greed drives them
and in the end
will come darkness
May all the brave journalists, inventors, politicians and whistle blowers who gave their life to reveal the truth rest in peace
Mark Wanless Jan 11
don't want to be king
don't want to be rich
want be word breather
Have you ever seen,
White light shine,
Through black diamonds?
Seen the reflection of moonlight,
Off of gold?
Do you walk around parties,
In black suits and dress attire.
How great it feels,
To keep time on gold watches.
Black diamonds,
Silver seas.
I'd give you riches,
If you'd love me.
Trying to capture elegance is not an easy task. Happy Monday everyone!
Madison Tomes Dec 2024
Gold sprinkles from the ceiling
Green seeps from my eyes
Scent of sweet water in the air
I feel fair in yellow
Head to toe
A monster of glistening lights
Im ugly yet you love me
I adore how money blinds
again experimenting with more styles and feelings.
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