There is a lot of talk of higher tax on the wealthy in America now. There is also a lot of negative reactions from people these taxes will never effect. They are angry on behalf of a very small percent of the world population. As low as a few dozen or maybe few hundred are "rich" in the world yet the common man is so angry. So why do you think America worships the billionaire so much? Why is this a cultural goal since when you examine it economically billionaires are actuly terrible for freedom of choice and the markets. When they are present in a capitalist system they create poverty and are able to simply buy any laws they need to own the world thus eliminating the competition which is crucial to capitalism. This is VERY easy when the society is so pro rich as America is. The elite know they are a hero not a normal man. Like a celebrity everyone will be nice to them. My opinion is greed. They are good since they are a goal for others to have it all and share none. Deeply embedded into the American dream is wealth. You can not be a king in Europe unless you are born into the right family. America is different since you can make yourself the king and have all the perks. If the peasants are poor it is their own fault not yours. There can be no other way society must have winners and failures so win if you are not a failure. Charity and tax are for communists. This pro-capitalism message is drilled into us from birth. I did not really question what the USSR or Communism was until I was in middle school Prior to that I just thought socialism=bad. Yet that philosophy regulates the rich much more. Can we really say it's bad in theory? I would love some thoughts in here on why or why not we need billionaires in society. And why if one has so much money they do or do not have extra obligation to society in the form of tax for public welfare. I think we need to move beyond greed and understand we need to care for each other. We need to examine what ideas like socialism really mean and separate it from places like Venezuela which is the result of CIA interference not strictly socialist policies.
If someone gave you $100 million. What would you do with it. Would you then have an "extra obligation to society"....or would you go blow it on coke and hookers Hint: everyone thinks youd go blow it on coke and hookers
The wealthy don't want you to know, or remember, that the wonderful fifties, when one parent worked and the family had good, affordable, health care, housing, schooling, and food, the top tax bracket was over 70% and remained over 70% through the sixties and seventies. In order to finance U.S. participation in World War One, Congress passed the 1916 Revenue Act, and then the War Revenue Act of 1917. The highest income tax rate jumped from 15 percent in 1916 to 67 percent in 1917 to 77 percent in 1918. Congress raised taxes again in 1932, during the Great Depression, from 25 percent to 63 percent on the top earners. To pay for WW11, In 1944, the top rate peaked at 94 percent on taxable income over $200,000. Today we have a national debt that might bring this country down and tax on the top earners is under 40%. Oh well, they'll have enough stashed overseas that they can just leave when the country fails.
Everyone in the first world, everyone on HF You can send a tin of peaches to random addresses in Africa every once in a while if you wanted too
I actually do give quite a bit of my income away, and don't really have many luxuries. All comparative, of course. We're all hypocrites to some degree.
We certainly are. I think that’s why it is so irritating to some when a lefty comes across as sanctimonious. I get it. It IS kind of irritating, and I’m a lefty.
I feel terrible for the poor out in this cold, being all hungry. I’m gonna go play my PS4 now and murder fictional people.
Yup. We could all be renting a room in a shithole, eating rice and beans every night, and donating everything else to people who need it more than us, but we're not.
Being middle class isnt really comparable to wealth hoarding though. Not that all billionaires hoard their wealth and avoid paying taxes but some certainly do
And I’m gonna be honest, there is ZERO chance I’ll ever consider doing that. Even if I did, I’d still be buying cheap clothes made from a sweatshop. There’s just no getting around it. I think it’s cool you do donate and help though. I wonder if VGs idea is feasible... just sending out food to random addresses. I know he was kidding but the idea fascinates me all the same.
That's the thing, you can't avoid exploiting someone, no matter the choices you make. It's just an inherent part of capitalism. Yeah, I can buy fair trade coffee, but what does that even mean? It's still trying to fix capitalism with more capitalism. I highly doubt that the lives of African and Latin American fair trade coffee farmers are anything close to the lives of farmers in my country.
I say we tax the rich like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez says, and go after the super ultra blasphemous rich just like Elizabeth Warren says. In addition to all that, I say we take their guns and stinking pickup trucks.
If I had 100 million I could give 98 million away and still have anything in the world I want and more. I would never work, do anything I wanted, eat fine food and still have money. I would feel bad knowing I had so much when the world is hungry and cold. I would need to help and give back. A billion is a thousand millions. You can not spend that much money it's all ego and power. If a few million is not enough examine your goals. People who worship wealth are often very middle class. So money is the solution to their financial struggles. They don't have a real understanding of how much a billion or even million is since they will never see it.
I think most people love the notion of being able to do whatever the fuck that they want, without worrying about financial constraints. & I can't speak to the character of every billionaire. Your OP is a little bit too simplistic--there is much more to this than "good" and "bad"