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This system doesn't eliminate people. It eliminates the pointless and harmful hoarding of wealth.

by jdiff 3y ago

eej71 3y ago
Your usage of the word "hoarding" implies a Scrooge McDuck view of wealth where its just stashed away in some vault - never put to use. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
- jdiff 3y ago
  My mental image is one of unelected, untouchable oligarchs taking actions that they're accountable to nobody for. That's far worse than Scrooge McDuck.
  - dingnuts 3y ago
    So you're imagining President Xi and the House of Saud, I take it? As long as you aren't imagining someone like Elon Musk who is certainly accountable to his debtors and shareholders and Boards, then this can be viewed as a realistic take. If you're talking about people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates who have giant wealth because of their investments in businesses, then arguing that they should have that wealth taken away would literally take money out of the coffers of businesses that are currently using that money for things like payroll. The GP is correct -- these people are not sitting around on a vault of gold like McDuck. Their money is in the economy, doing stuff. That's what investments are. That's why investors exist, and why they get a cut of the profit for taking a risk and lending their money to industry.
  - missedthecue 3y ago
    That's not the same thing as hoarding. It's always the case that the wealth of even unelected untouchable oligarchs is comprised of productive assets, not hoarded in a secret pile.
- imtringued 3y ago
  It's put to use by making the other person go in debt. Happy?
Tokkemon 3y ago
This is the same mistake Lawrence Van Dough makes in Richie Rich. He assumes the massive vault must be full of gold bars and diamonds, the wealth of the family. But it's not. It's invested in banks and stocks etc. The money is not just sitting there, it's producing other activity in the economy.
anon291 3y ago
The good news is banks continuously print money to make sure that there's more than enough cash to go around.

This system doesn't eliminate people. It eliminates the pointless and harmful hoarding of wealth.

by jdiff 3y ago

This system doesn't eliminate people. It eliminates the pointless and harmful hoarding of wealth.

Your usage of the word "hoarding" implies a Scrooge McDuck view of wealth where its just stashed away in some vault - never put to use. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

jdiff 3y ago
My mental image is one of unelected, untouchable oligarchs taking actions that they're accountable to nobody for. That's far worse than Scrooge McDuck.
- dingnuts 3y ago
  So you're imagining President Xi and the House of Saud, I take it? As long as you aren't imagining someone like Elon Musk who is certainly accountable to his debtors and shareholders and Boards, then this can be viewed as a realistic take. If you're talking about people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates who have giant wealth because of their investments in businesses, then arguing that they should have that wealth taken away would literally take money out of the coffers of businesses that are currently using that money for things like payroll. The GP is correct -- these people are not sitting around on a vault of gold like McDuck. Their money is in the economy, doing stuff. That's what investments are. That's why investors exist, and why they get a cut of the profit for taking a risk and lending their money to industry.
- missedthecue 3y ago
  That's not the same thing as hoarding. It's always the case that the wealth of even unelected untouchable oligarchs is comprised of productive assets, not hoarded in a secret pile.
imtringued 3y ago
It's put to use by making the other person go in debt. Happy?

Tokkemon 3y ago

This is the same mistake Lawrence Van Dough makes in Richie Rich. He assumes the massive vault must be full of gold bars and diamonds, the wealth of the family. But it's not. It's invested in banks and stocks etc. The money is not just sitting there, it's producing other activity in the economy.

anon291 3y ago

The good news is banks continuously print money to make sure that there's more than enough cash to go around.