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How is it hoarded? Becoming a billionaire requires creating massive value where millions of people willing pay you. The means of production that you leverage is

How is it hoarded? Becoming a billionaire requires creating massive value where millions of people willing pay you. The means of production that you leverage is due to capitalism, and the same freedom is offered to anyone else. Nobody complains when the entrepreneur goes bankrupt from a failed business. Is society going to absorb those debts too then? Wealth is power, but raising taxes is transferring it to politicians who already have political power. It's only being further concentrated, and that's a dangerous precedent that we can see from state-controlled economies like Russia and China.

pmoriarty 7y ago
"Becoming a billionaire requires creating massive value where millions of people willing pay you." There have been a number of articles posted to HN and elsewhere which argue that luck plays a great role in success. Furthermore, the rich need not be providing any value, as they could simply be ripping people off (with extremely egregious and famous examples like Enron or Madoff, but there are plenty of others, most of whom don't make the news), exploiting the poor (see Amazon's treatment of its warehouse pickers for another famous example that's pretty close to home.. or the use of sweatshop labor to build products the world round), or they could be bribing politicians to grant them favors in the form of laws that are beneficial to them or just outright government contracts which they don't deserve, or they could be manipulating consumers through advertising to buy stuff they don't need and otherwise wouldn't have wanted and that might not work anyway or have a variety of deleterious effects (like the endless list of quack cures throughout history which made their sellers very rich but the patients very sick)... the list goes on and on. "Nobody complains when the entrepreneur goes bankrupt from a failed business. Is society going to absorb those debts too then?" Remember the government bailouts of banks that were "too big to fail"? "Wealth is power, but raising taxes is transferring it to politicians who already have political power. It's only being further concentrated, and that's a dangerous precedent that we can see from state-controlled economies like Russia and China." I am against the concentration of power in the hands of politicians as well. There needs to be more, and more effective direct democracy in the US, rather than buring our heads in the sand and leaving up to the political class to worry about politics. That needs to be done hand-in-hand with a greatly improved education in civics, history, ethics, and reasoning, so people aren't so easily manipulated and mislead. In any case, there are lots of problems to solve, and the concentration of wealth is just one (though a critical part) of what needs to be done.
- manigandham 7y ago
  Luck playing a part doesn't take away from the whole. You still need to work and create opportunities. Ripping people off is already a crime. Exploiting the poor is a complex equation of personal choices and societal policies. Bribing politicians is an issue with govt politics (something I've stated several times). Poor corporate practices require regulation. Taxes do not solve any of these issues. The bailouts were completely paid back with interest. It was one of the few examples of good govt spending and one of the best investments ever made. And it wasn't about saving a particular business but rather ensuring we don't go into a greater depression. Is that what you would've preferred?

pmoriarty 7y ago

"Becoming a billionaire requires creating massive value where millions of people willing pay you." There have been a number of articles posted to HN and elsewhere which argue that luck plays a great role in success. Furthermore, the rich need not be providing any value, as they could simply be ripping people off (with extremely egregious and famous examples like Enron or Madoff, but there are plenty of others, most of whom don't make the news), exploiting the poor (see Amazon's treatment of its warehouse pickers for another famous example that's pretty close to home.. or the use of sweatshop labor to build products the world round), or they could be bribing politicians to grant them favors in the form of laws that are beneficial to them or just outright government contracts which they don't deserve, or they could be manipulating consumers through advertising to buy stuff they don't need and otherwise wouldn't have wanted and that might not work anyway or have a variety of deleterious effects (like the endless list of quack cures throughout history which made their sellers very rich but the patients very sick)... the list goes on and on. "Nobody complains when the entrepreneur goes bankrupt from a failed business. Is society going to absorb those debts too then?" Remember the government bailouts of banks that were "too big to fail"? "Wealth is power, but raising taxes is transferring it to politicians who already have political power. It's only being further concentrated, and that's a dangerous precedent that we can see from state-controlled economies like Russia and China." I am against the concentration of power in the hands of politicians as well. There needs to be more, and more effective direct democracy in the US, rather than buring our heads in the sand and leaving up to the political class to worry about politics. That needs to be done hand-in-hand with a greatly improved education in civics, history, ethics, and reasoning, so people aren't so easily manipulated and mislead. In any case, there are lots of problems to solve, and the concentration of wealth is just one (though a critical part) of what needs to be done.

manigandham 7y ago
Luck playing a part doesn't take away from the whole. You still need to work and create opportunities. Ripping people off is already a crime. Exploiting the poor is a complex equation of personal choices and societal policies. Bribing politicians is an issue with govt politics (something I've stated several times). Poor corporate practices require regulation. Taxes do not solve any of these issues. The bailouts were completely paid back with interest. It was one of the few examples of good govt spending and one of the best investments ever made. And it wasn't about saving a particular business but rather ensuring we don't go into a greater depression. Is that what you would've preferred?