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Jeff Bezos has a few billion sitting around in cash, while people that work for him are struggling to get by, and you don't see how that's a problem of wealth d
by viklove 6y ago
Jeff Bezos has a few billion sitting around in cash, while people that work for him are struggling to get by, and you don't see how that's a problem of wealth disparity?
Why, oh why, does HN love to defend billionaires like this. I guess it makes sense since it attracts narcissists who love to hoard money. Let me guess, you're one of those temporarily embarrassed millionaires?
- fastball 6y agoThe answer is that we’re not defending billionaires. We’re defending the idea of ownership. In this case, ownership of a company he founded and nurtured from the ground up into one of the most valuable companies on earth. Just like you might own a house, he owns a technology company (just like someone might own a restaurant, or a car wash, or a bank, or a toothbrush). The difference between you and I is that I am not envious of his success, and I don’t think it’s morally justifiable (if you believe in private property) to entirely randomly make up some imaginary line which, if the value of the thing you own crosses it, it’s suddenly wrong for you to own that thing. Because that is literally what you are saying: “oh, it’s fine for someone to own a website that sells books online, but when that same person grows that business into a company that employs thousands of people and improves the lives of hundreds of millions (and therefore increases in value), it’s no longer ok for him to own it. It’s even worse if the company provides jobs that require no skill at all, because that would be just heinous.”