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What a gal. The world would be a much different place if we saw more of this kind of wealth transfer.

by spicyusername 2y ago

croes 2y ago
The world would be a better place if wealth weren’t spread so uneven in the first place.
- the_optimist 2y ago
  The ocean would be much better place if the meat weren’t so uneven in the first place.
Neonlicht 2y ago
You want wealth transfer raise taxes- but you really don't. I observe that Bernie Sanders didn't make it to the White House.
keiferski 2y ago
This isn’t really wealth transfer, it’s a billionaire funding organizations that work on things she wants to promote. Philanthropy is probably better than merely hoarding wealth, but an actual democratic process would be to directly give the wealth to fellow citizens. Somehow, that never seems to happen…
roenxi 2y ago
Realistically it probably wouldn't make a difference. $2 billion is ~25 cents/person globally, we aren't talking about a significant amount of money here except for the fact that it is concentrated to a small number of people. Which is a problem for a lot of "tax the rich" schemes. The rich don't actually have that much money relative to the large number of people who want a piece of it. The trick is in the effective deployment of capital but that rarely gets enough focus.
- noisy_boy 2y ago
  If the transfer is done to orgs working on foundational issues for the poor instead of spreading it directly, the impact could be tangible.
- akudha 2y ago
  “Tax the rich” isn’t just about the money. It is more to the power that comes with a handful of people having insane amounts of money. Money is power, whether we like it or not. Why else an unelected private citizen (Elon) is able to bully congress? He is going to pour 100 million plus dollars to mess with British elections. More than 60% of the money raised by the GOP this year came from ultra wealthy people. Striking Amazon workers are getting beaten up by cops for using their right to protest. And so on
  - roenxi 2y ago
    > Why else an unelected private citizen (Elon) is able to bully congress? In China their Elon Musk equivalent can't bully congress. That is Jack Ma, he disappeared for a bit, reappeared and then ... a cynic would say he fled to Japan and has spent the last year or two cowering. Xi Jinping stands unbullied! The question here is who do you want to hold it and why are they qualified? Should Trump have free reign? Should Congress be all-powerful (noting that the likely outcome of that is that power then effectively goes to the whips). I like the idea of no individual having too much power, but outsiders being able to bully congress seems like a great idea. The US Congress is a disgrace to basic principles of competence, honesty and good governance. The US would be well served by more entities that can challenge and bully them, not less. Private citizens being able to loom over them represents a strength of the US system. Better to have someone transient but competent who is powerful than a known-bad institution.
    - akudha 2y ago
      Your logic seems to boil to “Person A is a bully, so let’s bring a bigger bully, aka Person B, to bully A”. Nobody (other than billionaires) is happy with congress, their approval rating is the lowest it has ever been. That doesn’t mean we want one man to bully them, especially one as dumb and vile as Musk. The right way to fight back is by peaceful protests, voting corrupt officials out etc.
jollofricepeas 2y ago
Exactly. Unfortunately, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of destruction that Jeff and other billionaires have wreaked on US small businesses and the poor. EXAMPLES: Billionaires are driving up single family home prices across the US: https://www.commondreams.org/news/wall-street-buying-houses https://www.commondreams.org/news/wall-street-buying-houses https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-single-family-homes-and-put-them-up-for-rent.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-s... Bezos and Musk fight unionization and workers rights? https://www.jwj.org/emboldened-billionaires-take-aim-at-new-deal-era-labor-institution https://www.jwj.org/emboldened-billionaires-take-aim-at-new-... The prison phone market is owned by billionaires: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmate_telephone_system https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmate_telephone_system Amazon now accepts SNAP/EBT payments after destroying small businesses: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amazon-now-accepts-ebt-card-payments/733575/ https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amazon-now-accepts-ebt-car... Farmers are not allowed to reuse seeds from billionaire firms: https://grain.org/en/article/5142-seed-laws-that-criminalise-farmers-resistance-and-fightback https://grain.org/en/article/5142-seed-laws-that-criminalise...
- the_optimist 2y ago
  Notably, each item you cite involves some manner of prior government-centralized policy decision. Each forms the basis for a gross economic distortion.

What a gal. The world would be a much different place if we saw more of this kind of wealth transfer.

croes 2y ago

The world would be a better place if wealth weren’t spread so uneven in the first place.

the_optimist 2y ago
The ocean would be much better place if the meat weren’t so uneven in the first place.

Neonlicht 2y ago

You want wealth transfer raise taxes- but you really don't. I observe that Bernie Sanders didn't make it to the White House.

keiferski 2y ago

This isn’t really wealth transfer, it’s a billionaire funding organizations that work on things she wants to promote. Philanthropy is probably better than merely hoarding wealth, but an actual democratic process would be to directly give the wealth to fellow citizens. Somehow, that never seems to happen…

roenxi 2y ago

Realistically it probably wouldn't make a difference. $2 billion is ~25 cents/person globally, we aren't talking about a significant amount of money here except for the fact that it is concentrated to a small number of people. Which is a problem for a lot of "tax the rich" schemes. The rich don't actually have that much money relative to the large number of people who want a piece of it. The trick is in the effective deployment of capital but that rarely gets enough focus.

noisy_boy 2y ago
If the transfer is done to orgs working on foundational issues for the poor instead of spreading it directly, the impact could be tangible.
akudha 2y ago
“Tax the rich” isn’t just about the money. It is more to the power that comes with a handful of people having insane amounts of money. Money is power, whether we like it or not. Why else an unelected private citizen (Elon) is able to bully congress? He is going to pour 100 million plus dollars to mess with British elections. More than 60% of the money raised by the GOP this year came from ultra wealthy people. Striking Amazon workers are getting beaten up by cops for using their right to protest. And so on
- roenxi 2y ago
  > Why else an unelected private citizen (Elon) is able to bully congress? In China their Elon Musk equivalent can't bully congress. That is Jack Ma, he disappeared for a bit, reappeared and then ... a cynic would say he fled to Japan and has spent the last year or two cowering. Xi Jinping stands unbullied! The question here is who do you want to hold it and why are they qualified? Should Trump have free reign? Should Congress be all-powerful (noting that the likely outcome of that is that power then effectively goes to the whips). I like the idea of no individual having too much power, but outsiders being able to bully congress seems like a great idea. The US Congress is a disgrace to basic principles of competence, honesty and good governance. The US would be well served by more entities that can challenge and bully them, not less. Private citizens being able to loom over them represents a strength of the US system. Better to have someone transient but competent who is powerful than a known-bad institution.
  - akudha 2y ago
    Your logic seems to boil to “Person A is a bully, so let’s bring a bigger bully, aka Person B, to bully A”. Nobody (other than billionaires) is happy with congress, their approval rating is the lowest it has ever been. That doesn’t mean we want one man to bully them, especially one as dumb and vile as Musk. The right way to fight back is by peaceful protests, voting corrupt officials out etc.

jollofricepeas 2y ago

Exactly. Unfortunately, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of destruction that Jeff and other billionaires have wreaked on US small businesses and the poor. EXAMPLES: Billionaires are driving up single family home prices across the US: https://www.commondreams.org/news/wall-street-buying-houses https://www.commondreams.org/news/wall-street-buying-houses https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-single-family-homes-and-put-them-up-for-rent.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-s... Bezos and Musk fight unionization and workers rights? https://www.jwj.org/emboldened-billionaires-take-aim-at-new-deal-era-labor-institution https://www.jwj.org/emboldened-billionaires-take-aim-at-new-... The prison phone market is owned by billionaires: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmate_telephone_system https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmate_telephone_system Amazon now accepts SNAP/EBT payments after destroying small businesses: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amazon-now-accepts-ebt-card-payments/733575/ https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amazon-now-accepts-ebt-car... Farmers are not allowed to reuse seeds from billionaire firms: https://grain.org/en/article/5142-seed-laws-that-criminalise-farmers-resistance-and-fightback https://grain.org/en/article/5142-seed-laws-that-criminalise...

the_optimist 2y ago
Notably, each item you cite involves some manner of prior government-centralized policy decision. Each forms the basis for a gross economic distortion.