3 ms·

The bigger problem is that there are much or more of these fat cats that abuse their wealth than use it for good.

oulipo2 1y ago
And even if that weren't the case, it's still not democratic to let people individually decide who gets what dollar. We build states so that we can direct their action through democratic means, using our votes. That's the best way
- jimbokun 1y ago
  Not sure the abolition of private property is going to turn out the way you think it will.
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    How did you jump from that comment to 'abolition of private property'?
    - jimbokun 1y ago
      “it's still not democratic to let people individually decide who gets what dollar.” Only way to prevent people from deciding who gets their dollars is to abolish private property and let the state make all those decisions.
      - jacquesm 1y ago
        That's not a realistic position to take, no society works on that principle. The state always levies taxes (ok, Somalia may be excepted here) and the state always does the allocation of that money.
- sc68cal 1y ago
  Exactly
jimbokun 1y ago
What does "abuse" mean in this context?
- jacquesm 1y ago
  Use their wealth to accumulate more wealth through political connections. Use their wealth to disenfranchise others. Use it to harm others. How many forms of abuse are there and what would it take to enumerate them all?
- frm88 1y ago
  Most of them actually make pretty good money with their philantropy: https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthropy/ https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthr... and a lot of it is paid for by taxes. " - $73.34 billion in tax revenue was lost to the public in 2022 due to personal and corporate charitable deductions. - If we include just the little data we have about charitable bequests and the investments of charities themselves, the revenue loss is pushed up to roughly $111 billion. - And if we also include the capital gains revenue lost from the donation of appreciated assets, the true revenue costs of charity likely add up to several hundreds of billions of dollars each year."

And even if that weren't the case, it's still not democratic to let people individually decide who gets what dollar. We build states so that we can direct their action through democratic means, using our votes. That's the best way

jimbokun 1y ago
Not sure the abolition of private property is going to turn out the way you think it will.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  How did you jump from that comment to 'abolition of private property'?
  - jimbokun 1y ago
    “it's still not democratic to let people individually decide who gets what dollar.” Only way to prevent people from deciding who gets their dollars is to abolish private property and let the state make all those decisions.
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      That's not a realistic position to take, no society works on that principle. The state always levies taxes (ok, Somalia may be excepted here) and the state always does the allocation of that money.
sc68cal 1y ago
Exactly

jimbokun 1y ago

What does "abuse" mean in this context?

jacquesm 1y ago
Use their wealth to accumulate more wealth through political connections. Use their wealth to disenfranchise others. Use it to harm others. How many forms of abuse are there and what would it take to enumerate them all?
frm88 1y ago
Most of them actually make pretty good money with their philantropy: https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthropy/ https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthr... and a lot of it is paid for by taxes. " - $73.34 billion in tax revenue was lost to the public in 2022 due to personal and corporate charitable deductions. - If we include just the little data we have about charitable bequests and the investments of charities themselves, the revenue loss is pushed up to roughly $111 billion. - And if we also include the capital gains revenue lost from the donation of appreciated assets, the true revenue costs of charity likely add up to several hundreds of billions of dollars each year."