bilby
Fair dinkum thinkum
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2007
- Messages
- 34,279
- Gender
- He/Him
- Basic Beliefs
- Strong Atheist
The bottom line is that wealth and power is being highly concentrated into the hands of a small percentage of the population, the so called elite.
And that this is not beneficial for society as a whole. Not economically, ethically or morally.
It's obscene in any way you look at it. Those in positions of power, wealth and prestige have, of course, an interest in defending their position, spinning tales of perceived benefits and trickle down economics, yada, yada.....
Mostly true but there are those who do work to benefit others. Look at the companies Musk has started and tell me he his just “spinning tales of perceived benefits”.
Look at Jared Isaacman and his company Shift4 Payments, how he became wealthy and what he does with his wealth. Read about the relationship between Inspiration4 and St Jude’s.
As we go through life hating those who have achieved what we have not and lying to ourselves of how altruistic we would be if only we were in such a position, hit the brakes and read a bit before admonishing.
Should billionaires be made to share the wealth? Most definitely. Do I think government is the best steward for disbursement of this wealth? I’m not so sure anymore.
Its always been a bit of a conundrum to me whereby everyone laughs/grumbles about government waste, fraud, inefficiency, $600 hammers for the military, etc, yet simulataneously insist that the very rich keep giving even more to Uncle Sam in the form of taxes. Wouldn't their excess wealth be better served by giving directly to reputable charities, or medical/technological research to make our lives safer and healthier? Fortunately, many of the wealthy do this on their own already but perhaps more incentives to do so are in order.
It's always been a mystery to me why Americans have such disdain for government, while simultaneously claiming that their nation is the best in the world because of its constitution and democratic freedoms.
Do you people even know what a government is, what it does, and why you have one?
You literally cannot separate a nation from its government. If you say that you like the USA, then by definition you are saying that you like the US Government.
It seems to me that you just want a nice nation, but don't want to pay for it. Sorry, but that's not how anything works.