$39,000 Alligator Handbag

Disgusting. But I'm far more concerned about Mary Kate and Ashley's sanity and health. It's horrible how bad they look. As my dear husband says...yeah, I know he's not anyone's favorite around here... But he would say they look like they've been drug down 90 miles of muddy road.

I know that's not the point of this post. They've just been on my mind since I saw a recent photograph of them.

Anyone that would buy, make, or sell a 39,000 dollar handbag needs to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere, """without make-up"""... After all, no one would recognize them without make-up... and without a dime to their name. Let them struggle for awhile and then see what they think of their spending habbits in light of how the under dog lives.

Wow, $39,000 handbag. 2 of them.. Wouldn't that help a few of the moms and their families here on mamapedia?

Some people have money but no sense.

It is their money, but gosh I wish someone could show them how pitiful this type of spending is.

I don't usually even comment on this because it just makes me mad or I try to accept the fact. I have worked my butt off for the past twenty years in medical sales and I'm certain that I pay more in taxes than many families make in a year. I'm also paid a great part of my compensation in quarterly commissions and that has always calculated to greater with holdings that I don't seem to get back. Really, about half is gone! I'm not receiving any more government benefits than families that make 25K per year. So I'm feeling that I pay too much.

IMO it is really not any of your business or mine how the wealthiest 1% spend THEIR money. Additionally, I think you should do your own research so you stop stating such outlandish comments (ie. The wealthiest 1% pays a lower tax % an us) The latest data show that a big portion of the federal income tax burden is shouldered by a small group of the very richest Americans. The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 per cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent—those below the median income level—now earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes. These are proportions of the income tax alone and don’t include payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare.

3. But didn’t the Bush tax cuts favor the rich?

The New York Times reported recently that the average family in America with an income of $10 million or more received a half-million-dollar tax cut, while the middle class got crumbs (less than $100 shaved off their tax bill). If we examine the taxes paid in a static world—that is, if we assume that there was no change in behavior and economic performance as a result of the tax code—then these numbers are meaningful. Most of the tax cuts went to the super wealthy.

But Americans did respond to the tax cuts. There was more investment, more hiring by businesses, and a stronger stock market. When we compare the taxes paid under the old system with those paid after the Bush tax cuts, the rich are now actually paying a higher proportion of income taxes. The latest IRS data show an increase of more than $100 billion in tax payments from the wealthy by 2005 alone. The number of tax filers who claimed taxable income of more than $1 million increased from approximately 180,000 in 2003 to over 300,000 in 2005. The total taxes paid by these millionaire households rose by about 80 percent in two years, from $132 billion to $236 billion.

4. But haven’t the tax cuts put more of the burden on the backs of the middle class and the poor?

No. I examined the Treasury Department analysis of how much the rich would have paid without the Bush tax cuts and how much they actually did pay. The rich are now paying more than they would have paid, not less, after the Bush investment tax cuts. For example, the Treasury’s estimate was that the top 1 percent of earners would pay 31 percent of taxes if the Bush cuts did not go into effect; with the cuts, they actually paid 37 per cent. Similarly, the share of the top 10 percent of earners was estimated at 63 percent without the cuts; they actually paid 68 percent.

5. What has happened to tax rates in America over the last several decades?

They’ve fallen. In the early 1960s, the highest marginal income tax rate was a stunning 91 percent. That top rate fell to 70 percent after the Kennedy-Johnson tax cuts and remained there until 1981. Then Ronald Reagan slashed it to 50 percent and ultimately to 28 percent after the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Although the federal tax rate fell by more than half, total tax receipts in the 1980s doubled from $517 billion in 1981 to $1,030 billion in 1990. The top tax rate rose slightly under George H. W. Bush and then moved to 39.6 percent under Bill Clinton. But under George W. Bush it fell again to 35 percent. So what’s striking is that, even as tax rates have fallen by half over the past quarter-century, taxes paid by the wealthy have increased. Lower tax rates have made the tax system more progressive, not less so. In 1980, for example, the top 5 percent of income earners paid only 37 percent of all income taxes. Today, the top 1 percent pay that proportion, and the top 5 percent pay a whopping 57 percent.

Here is a link to the full article...http://www.american.com/archive/2007/november-december-ma...

edit: do you really think " in essence" you are helping to pay for a $39,000 purse? Absolutely ridiculous!

EDIT II: Re: Warren Buffet...perhaps you did not read the other post of yours that I responded to... Here is the link....http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/8665565414396461057
It sounds to me like you are for wealth redistribution however so It looks like we will always disagree:).

I have a very wealthy couple in my family...they make in the very high six figures a year...probably close to seven. And they pay over 50% in taxes...I believe is was either 55 or 57%. I don't think that is fair....they have worked very hard and taken huge risks to open and run their business and have to pay half their income in taxes.

Admittedly what they to keep is still a very large amount...but it still seems unfair to me when I see how hard they work.

Oh, and they live in a smaller house than my family does and you would never guess if you met them they have any money at all.
I would say they are in the top percentages of wealthy Americans and they aren't only paying 17%.

Edit: Warren Buffet - if you would LISTEN to what he says - is misleading you - he pays 17% of his CAPITAL GAINS...NOT his pay check. And don't say I don't like Warren Buffet - I do...he says he is willing to pay more...like I've said NUMEROUS times - he is MORE than welcome to send a check to the Department of Treasury...anyone can...maybe he needs to put his money where his mouth is.

Not my business or yours what people do with their money.

Like Jess In Texas said - if it were me? I'd put $39K into a new car...

I'm not going to get into a political debate with you over taxes and wealth...if they earned or inherited their money - so be it. at least they aren't mooching off others...and we all know that there are people who TRULY need help...do I think it would be better if they used that money to help out another family? Yeah - but again - it's not my call.

So instead of complaining about it here - why not take some of your money and spread the wealth? Help make our economy better by spending YOUR money...helping someone out who needs it????

That 1% is ALSO paying out millions in taxes, and millions into charity groups.

If I had 100m, and paid a bare min of 35% in taxes... 35million, and 10% in "tax breaks" (aka charities), 10 million... I think I could cheerfully spend whatever I wanted on clothing without reproaching myself AFTER putting 45 million dollars into our government AND humanitarian outreach, not to mention shouldering the BRUNT of our educational system since the majority of our academic growth (from private grants for individual students, to research grants for major research into science/history/etc, to actually BUILDING and stocking university libraries, dorms, and entire schools -like comp sci building- etc comes from funding from the top 1%).

What some people don't understand is that many of the super rich 1% are NOT paying anywhere near 35% income taxes as the rest of us do. They make their money in a different way, as investments, much of their income is taxed at a much lower rate.
Why is that fair? Why does it matter how you make your money or how much money you donate to charity? I donate to charity too and take my tax break but I think that all Americans should do that automatically as a civic responsibility. Wealthy people shouldn't get an extra pat on the back for it because they can afford more, it's just a percentage of what they make, same as my family.
I thought everyone would have read the Buffett article I quoted below. It's very clear, saw him interviewed on Charlie Rose the other day. He is not some crazy Commie as some of you have said in the past. He loves capitalism, he's a business man. Don't listen to the fuzzy logic the far right uses.
Why are we coddling these people? Silly question right? We are not coddling them because they are making up the rules in this country. So I guess they are coddling themselves. Read what he's saying below, really think about it, how can any middle class or poor person not agree with that???

"While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent."

By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Published: August 14, 2011

Who cares what they spend their money on. Fact is, we are never gonna see any of their money. My main concern, the animals of the world that are mulitated for the luxuries of the self-serving humans.

the olsons pay their taxes just like you and i do, even more than you and i. they also donate to charities of their own choice. if they have the money. good for them. i don't expect them to pay my bills. and neither should you.

If someone can afford to pay almost 40 thousand for a handbag, they need to send me some cash!! ;)

I don't understand how the rich could possibly be paying a lower percent of tax than the rest of us. I hear that a lot but it seems like a lie. Some people will live very frugally and save up for that "splurge" that others wouldn't normally do. People think we're rich because we have a big house and nice vehicles (right now it's just one vehicle). But they don't understand that we sacrifice A LOT that others don't so we can have a big place for our 5 kids that we homeschool so we're home a lot AND we do what we can to have nice vehicles because that's my hubby's passion. But he also knows how to score a good deal and patiently waits and hunts for that deal. For others looking at us, they think we must be rich!! We're far from it. We're just frugal, clever and spend our money on our house and car... but that's it. I think the filthy,spoiled, rich that have so much money they don't know what to do with it, that get out of paying taxes are far and few between. Not the norm.

I always think in terms of questions which go unasked in debates like this. Here are only a few of them:

Is a person earning $1,000,000 a year worth more 17x more as a human being, as part of our human society, than people who earn $60,000 a year? Is their work needed 17x more than that lower-income worker?

Is a person who earns nothing, say a child, or a stay-at-home mom, or a severely handicapped or ill person, or a person who's been desperately seeking work for two years, or a retired person who worked for 50 years, worth less as a human being? Are people worth less if they were born or married into a poorer family and not a wealthier one?

Does a CEO in a profitable company, earning 400x more than his secretary, have more personal worth, or is more loved by his Creator, than the mail-room guy? Does he really, when all values are considered, have that much value to anybody besides investors in the stock market?

Does making a profit on money and investments (capital gains) require labor, like a electrician's or a day-care worker's income requires labor? Is it more or less valuable to society? Do school teachers, ditch diggers, truckers, farmers, waitresses and cashiers add anything of real value to our society? What if they all suddenly disappeared? Do their incomes accurately reflect their value?

Does an electrician's or day-care worker's life entail less actual "risk" than a venture capitalist's life? Isn't economic survival downright risky for those who barely make ends meet from one month to the next, those who could lose everything in the event of one more economic blow, one more medical emergency? Weren't their homes, livelihoods, and retirement accounts put at risk by people with all kinds of money in their control, and the power to make terrible decisions with our money?

Income disparity is growing. A smaller proportion of the general public is doing well every year. Every year, this nation is more closely approximating economic conditions in the Third World, where a small, elite class holds all the power and money, a huge underclass does most of the work, children get poor educations and grow up with little hope, go to bed hungry, and large numbers of people live off the economic grid simply to survive.

Why should this not be all of our business?

Afterthought: My daughter is in medical equipment sales. She works her butt off, jumps through flaming hoops, meets impossible quotas. She makes a great deal more money than I do, and I'm proud of her. And I also sacrifice deeply to make my life as an illustrator/editor for a small non-profit publisher possible. I get notes from students and teachers every month who love my work and are grateful that we make learning fun. And notes from teachers and homeschoolers, grateful that we make our materials affordable.

My work may pay 1/4 of my daughter's, but it is at least as valuable to society. And the structure that allows her fabulous income is driving up the cost of medical care, putting more and more of it completely out of reach for those of us who earn less. There's something seriously wrong with that picture.

This i SOOO a baited question and NOT about handbags.
It's not my place or yours to worry about what the wealthy are doing with their money. It's THEIR money , they did earn it. And if you don't want to pay for their new handbag then don't buy the products their companies sell.
And as for the aligator wanting to be turned into a hand bag, would you rather his skin go to waste after he attacked house hold pets and children and killed because of that or after someone killed it and ate it?

how is Mary Kate and Ashley's new handbag a "news report"??

ETA: Current tax rates :
http://www.efile.com/tax-service/tax-calculator/tax-brack...

The people that aren't paying their fair share in taxes are the people who can afford to buy a $39,000 handbag!

you are BRAINWASHED, please watch some real news YES like Fox News

the top 1% pay higher taxes than you do or I do, stop drinking the Kool Aide

Why don't you google Mayor Michael Bloomberg who just said that Obama & Buffet are "disingenuous" ....here is the quote:

“The Buffett thing is just theatrics. If Warren Buffett made his money from ordinary income rather than capital gains, his tax rate would be a lot higher than his secretary’s,” he said. “I think it’s not fair to say that wealthy people don’t pay their fair share. They pay a much higher percentage of their income, they have a higher rate than people who make less,” Bloomberg added. [CBS/AP]

Diana D :The alligators are going extinct because they eat there own babies...If they don't care about their lives why should the fashion industry?

Ahh heck Im running to the lake and catch an alligator and making some too! But I'll sell them for half the price! Yea in all reality I don't get it either, sometimes wealthy people have to much money to spend but hey I guess they earned it right.

Did anybody consider asking the alligator what he thought about being turned into a handbag?

Sick.

I'd much rather buy myself a nice new car.
That's just ridiculous. I'm sure animal rights activists are all up in arms about it. To each his own.

I would assume that there are only 2-3 on the shelf, so yes, they're flying off, but only a few rich, bored, wasteful people with no taste are buying them LOL!

Why do you assume the 1% of American rich are the ones buying these bags?

Are you for real? Do you know how many billionaires are in China alone? And they all like brand. Do you know that many of them consider 2-3 mil USD a weekend shopping change?

What do you have against the rich? Do you know if worst comes to worst, they will board the plane and park their cash elsewhere? They already have a PR (permanent residence) or two in their wallet or lined up somewhere. And you? You will be sitting in the country that will be quickly becoming second and third world WITHOUT all the rich.

Just look at the big banks. You squeeze them - they move, or do not lend - either way, it is bad for economy! Why bother with US? The world is huge, and hungry, and ready to work for peanuts, and not asking for much. BRIC countries are rising (Brazil, Russia, India, China). America needs to work hard to keep the riches and rich inside. Remember - it is always sunny in the rich man's world. You may get some sunshine too if you get smart fast. Americans have been sitting on the sunny side for way too long, perhaps many got heat stroked! That is why it is cooling now.

Added: As for Warren Buffet example, again:
The point is Buffet is paying 15 % on his income in CAPITAL GAINS. And working people in question pay tax on their EARNINGS. Those are two different things. Capital gains are the money Buffet invested and had gains on AFTER he paid his income tax on earning whatever that is for his bracket. The working people just pay tax on their income, they do not invest the surplus of the money and subsequently DO NOT HAVE any CAPITAL GAINS to pay taxes on! So, WB paid taxes twice - they just failed to mention that!
This is another way of explaining what WB is being taxed on:The amount an investor is taxed depends on both his or her tax bracket, and the amount of time the investment was held before being sold. Short-term capital gains are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate, and are defined as investments held for a year or less before being sold. Long-term capital gains, which apply to assets held for more than one year, are taxed at a lower rate than short-term gains. In 2003, this rate was reduced to 15%.

So, that is why this is so misleading and stitched with white thread! It is like comparing apples to pears and trying to tell you that apple is really the pear.

Please educate yourself.
Ignorant people are prey and asset to manipulative politicians.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I do know that anybody that can spend that much on a handbag is no one that would actually relate to the things that I deal with in my life!

Holy Snykees! I would have to take out a loan for that. I could find something else to spend that kind of money on although i guess if you have a lot of extra money to spend, hey why not. I don't even know what those 2 look like any more.

I could pay my house off and pay my car off and have money left over and have something to show for it for that price.

That's sad because we are struggling to pay them off but its chump change to others that can afford to use it to buy a purse that will only be in style for a season...

guess I should have became an actress instead of a sahm for so many years ;)