5 ms·

"My dad got to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I get to watch the guy who killed book stores ride a giant dick into space." https://ibb.co/t2tcN3p http

"My dad got to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I get to watch the guy who killed book stores ride a giant dick into space." https://ibb.co/t2tcN3p https://ibb.co/t2tcN3p

minikites 5y ago
Imagine if we taxed the enormous wealth of billionaires and used it for the good of many in society instead of inflating the ego of a single person. Our society is sick and I don't think people will stand for this level of inequality much longer.
- Traster 5y ago
  I don't think it's productive to talk about tax. Our economy should be designed in a way that workers capture a good proportion of their work. The problem at the moment is that when there are successful companies, a handful of investors and senior management capture practically all the gains. Amazon is an incredible company, and it's even more incredible that practically no one working at Amazon benefits from that. Just letting that system persist and then hamfistedly grabbing the gains at the end and redistributing them is difficult for a huge number of reasons including both fairness and regulatory capture.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    What you describe is equity distribution. It is a tax, but simply implemented as inherent ownership through citizenship or similar constraints. https://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity https://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity
    - Traster 5y ago
      I think shared equity is one way of solving that problem, but if you look at other social democracies, regulatory regimes that favour workers and collective action can have similar effects.
      - toomuchtodo 5y ago
        I would agree. There is no silver bullet, but various levers that can be actuated in a manner that arrives at the desired socioeconomic equilibrium.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  World governments spent $35 trillion last year. That's annual spend. Why do people on the internet act like all of our social ails could be resolved if only we could tax Bezos and spend $35.01 trillion instead? It's seems governments have a budgeting problem, not a funding problem.
  - ithkuil 5y ago
    Inequality is a strong psychological issue. No amount of correct math and logic can offset that. We're wired to despise those who have more than others, especially when others are struggling and especially when those who have show off. You can point out objective things like that contemporary billionaires are nothing like super-rich monarchy or noblemen in the past, who literally didn't have to work one day of their lives and could dispose of people around them as they pleased, quite literally. There was no me too, no rape allegations, they just did whatever they pleased with minimal consequences. You can point out all that, but it's irrelevant. Many humans just don't tolerate "rich entitled jerks who show off". Other humans don't tolerate other kind behaviours; humanity is clearly not a uniform bunch.
    - missedthecue 5y ago
      I understand what you're saying, but I don't see why it should be an excuse. After all, xenophobia and racism are natural human behaviours as well, (and not just human behaviour) but they shouldn't be tolerated, and we shouldn't promote policies that encourage them.
      - ithkuil 5y ago
        it's not an excuse; as with xenophobia and racism, these are phenomena which have to be understood and not dismissed. You cannot solve racism by just stating "races don't exist, here's the DNA evidence etc etc" perhaps implying that you're just an ignorant redneck if you don't understand science. Even if said science is solid, some people will not be moved by it because their bias doesn't stem from a misunderstanding of science (or math) but from somewhere deeper, and you don't have to excuse it in order to understanding and use that understanding to counter it.
- heliodor 5y ago
  People complain about the the many ways Amazon is crossing moral lines. Instead of asking to tax rich people, how about fixing the inadequacies of the government so that Amazon can't transgress moral lines as often and make as much profit? Saying "tax the rich" as a fix to a problem shows a lack of critical thought.
- brokenmachine 5y ago
  >I don't think people will stand for this level of inequality much longer. At the moment it seems like every government in the world is being held hostage by the obscenely rich, while workers with multiple jobs are struggling to even afford rent. Please give me some hope and tell me how the change might come about? What signs have you seen out there that things are changing? Because everything I see is just more and more wealth inequality, expanding year over year. Meanwhile the media, also in the obscenely rich's pocket, reports on these billionaire space assholes as if they've achieved something worthwhile, which is sickening to me.

"My dad got to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I get to watch the guy who killed book stores ride a giant dick into space." https://ibb.co/t2tcN3p https://ibb.co/t2tcN3p

minikites 5y ago

Imagine if we taxed the enormous wealth of billionaires and used it for the good of many in society instead of inflating the ego of a single person. Our society is sick and I don't think people will stand for this level of inequality much longer.

Traster 5y ago
I don't think it's productive to talk about tax. Our economy should be designed in a way that workers capture a good proportion of their work. The problem at the moment is that when there are successful companies, a handful of investors and senior management capture practically all the gains. Amazon is an incredible company, and it's even more incredible that practically no one working at Amazon benefits from that. Just letting that system persist and then hamfistedly grabbing the gains at the end and redistributing them is difficult for a huge number of reasons including both fairness and regulatory capture.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  What you describe is equity distribution. It is a tax, but simply implemented as inherent ownership through citizenship or similar constraints. https://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity https://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity
  - Traster 5y ago
    I think shared equity is one way of solving that problem, but if you look at other social democracies, regulatory regimes that favour workers and collective action can have similar effects.
    - toomuchtodo 5y ago
      I would agree. There is no silver bullet, but various levers that can be actuated in a manner that arrives at the desired socioeconomic equilibrium.
missedthecue 5y ago
World governments spent $35 trillion last year. That's annual spend. Why do people on the internet act like all of our social ails could be resolved if only we could tax Bezos and spend $35.01 trillion instead? It's seems governments have a budgeting problem, not a funding problem.
- ithkuil 5y ago
  Inequality is a strong psychological issue. No amount of correct math and logic can offset that. We're wired to despise those who have more than others, especially when others are struggling and especially when those who have show off. You can point out objective things like that contemporary billionaires are nothing like super-rich monarchy or noblemen in the past, who literally didn't have to work one day of their lives and could dispose of people around them as they pleased, quite literally. There was no me too, no rape allegations, they just did whatever they pleased with minimal consequences. You can point out all that, but it's irrelevant. Many humans just don't tolerate "rich entitled jerks who show off". Other humans don't tolerate other kind behaviours; humanity is clearly not a uniform bunch.
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    I understand what you're saying, but I don't see why it should be an excuse. After all, xenophobia and racism are natural human behaviours as well, (and not just human behaviour) but they shouldn't be tolerated, and we shouldn't promote policies that encourage them.
    - ithkuil 5y ago
      it's not an excuse; as with xenophobia and racism, these are phenomena which have to be understood and not dismissed. You cannot solve racism by just stating "races don't exist, here's the DNA evidence etc etc" perhaps implying that you're just an ignorant redneck if you don't understand science. Even if said science is solid, some people will not be moved by it because their bias doesn't stem from a misunderstanding of science (or math) but from somewhere deeper, and you don't have to excuse it in order to understanding and use that understanding to counter it.
heliodor 5y ago
People complain about the the many ways Amazon is crossing moral lines. Instead of asking to tax rich people, how about fixing the inadequacies of the government so that Amazon can't transgress moral lines as often and make as much profit? Saying "tax the rich" as a fix to a problem shows a lack of critical thought.
brokenmachine 5y ago
>I don't think people will stand for this level of inequality much longer. At the moment it seems like every government in the world is being held hostage by the obscenely rich, while workers with multiple jobs are struggling to even afford rent. Please give me some hope and tell me how the change might come about? What signs have you seen out there that things are changing? Because everything I see is just more and more wealth inequality, expanding year over year. Meanwhile the media, also in the obscenely rich's pocket, reports on these billionaire space assholes as if they've achieved something worthwhile, which is sickening to me.