4 ms·

It’s a lot like the famous “I’ll know it when I see it” concept. Also none of us here are lawmakers… But hey, you seem very sure of yourself. Do you think ther

by yunohn 5y ago

It’s a lot like the famous “I’ll know it when I see it” concept. Also none of us here are lawmakers… But hey, you seem very sure of yourself. Do you think there is any amount you consider too much?

Teever 5y ago
To be clear here you're advocating for a law that forbids the private ownership of an unspecified quantity of property. How do you intend for this law to be enforced? Will every single private transaction be subject to scrutiny by some sort of administrative panel that takes into account the current holdings of the prospective buyer? It's curious to me that there is such a visceral opposition to Bill Gates owning some farm land in a place neither of us have ever heard of when he has so much more direct power over all of us through Microsoft. I don't think that there is a specific quantity of stuff that is too much stuff for one person to own. I think that there are issues with wealth concentration but I don't think it's absolute. The issue isn't that one person owns a lot of stuff the issue is that one person owns a lot of stuff while most other people own nearly nothing or are in debt.
- akudha 5y ago
  The issue here isn't that one person owns lots of stuff, the issue here is that one person is in the process of accumulating something that is vital for humans to live, something that is also limited in supply. I mentioned Ferraris etc, you conveniently keep ignoring it. There are alternatives to every Microsoft product. Comparing vital resources like food/water supply etc with a computer operating system makes no sense. I don't think anyone is proposing any laws here, at least not yet. Simply pointing out the fact that one individual is in the process of amassing insane amounts of a vital resource which will result in him having insane influence on something as basic as food. You seem to be more concerned about causing a minor inconvenience to someone with crap ton of money (if and when some laws are enacted) than the risk of one individual having power over vital resources. Already some 80% of meat in US is controlled by 3 companies, 50% of seeds are controlled by one company and so on. The situation is only getting worse. I am going to stop arguing. By all means, please support billionaires with hideous monopolistic past/insane amounts of money and let private, unelected individuals influence policies etc if that is what you believe in.

by yunohn 5y ago

Teever 5y ago

To be clear here you're advocating for a law that forbids the private ownership of an unspecified quantity of property. How do you intend for this law to be enforced? Will every single private transaction be subject to scrutiny by some sort of administrative panel that takes into account the current holdings of the prospective buyer? It's curious to me that there is such a visceral opposition to Bill Gates owning some farm land in a place neither of us have ever heard of when he has so much more direct power over all of us through Microsoft. I don't think that there is a specific quantity of stuff that is too much stuff for one person to own. I think that there are issues with wealth concentration but I don't think it's absolute. The issue isn't that one person owns a lot of stuff the issue is that one person owns a lot of stuff while most other people own nearly nothing or are in debt.

akudha 5y ago
The issue here isn't that one person owns lots of stuff, the issue here is that one person is in the process of accumulating something that is vital for humans to live, something that is also limited in supply. I mentioned Ferraris etc, you conveniently keep ignoring it. There are alternatives to every Microsoft product. Comparing vital resources like food/water supply etc with a computer operating system makes no sense. I don't think anyone is proposing any laws here, at least not yet. Simply pointing out the fact that one individual is in the process of amassing insane amounts of a vital resource which will result in him having insane influence on something as basic as food. You seem to be more concerned about causing a minor inconvenience to someone with crap ton of money (if and when some laws are enacted) than the risk of one individual having power over vital resources. Already some 80% of meat in US is controlled by 3 companies, 50% of seeds are controlled by one company and so on. The situation is only getting worse. I am going to stop arguing. By all means, please support billionaires with hideous monopolistic past/insane amounts of money and let private, unelected individuals influence policies etc if that is what you believe in.