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Abolish Billionaires

nytimes.com

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Re: Abolish Billionaires

#31

Post by edoo »

krupan wrote: post #22
edoo wrote: post #8

In a just society the only way you can get rich is through voluntary interaction by adding value to world. In our society you can get rich through legislation, which has created the wealthy parasitic class that earns a living by preventing competition. To target all the rich is to loot and destroy your society. To target the wealthy parasitic class would be a revolution frankly.

Since most governments are also billionaires, maybe we could abolish them too.

I think the original success of the US was due to the paradoxical government we created. The entire purpose of the government was to protect people from the government.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#32

Post by manigandham »

Putting aside moral issues, taxes don't redistribute wealth. They just give it to the government.

How is the government going to be suddenly better at managing money? What leadership controls this new spending? What makes them so much better? This is the day 2 stuff that never gets any thought, and yet is the critical piece of this theory.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#33

Post by edoo »

MrTonyD wrote: post #26
edoo wrote: post #8

In a just society the only way you can get rich is through voluntary interaction by adding value to world. In our society you can get rich through legislation, which has created the wealthy parasitic class that earns a living by preventing competition. To target all the rich is to loot and destroy your society. To target the wealthy parasitic class would be a revolution frankly.

You know, there are a lot of problems with your logic. I'm a product of a Jesuit University where I was forced to write paper after paper on topics around morality, good, evil, justice, and similar themes. Justice has a lot of different potential definitions - many (most) of which wouldn't define "adding value" as a "just" way to get rich. A different definition of "just" might more likely define a massive distributi…

I define a 'just' society as one in which initiating violence is forbidden and you must only use reason to persuade people to action.

It is in line with the commandments "Thou shalt not murder/steal", which would be in effect even (especially?) if you think you are making the world a better place through wealth distribution.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#34

Post by Gustomaximus »

krupan wrote: post #22
edoo wrote: post #8

In a just society the only way you can get rich is through voluntary interaction by adding value to world. In our society you can get rich through legislation, which has created the wealthy parasitic class that earns a living by preventing competition. To target all the rich is to loot and destroy your society. To target the wealthy parasitic class would be a revolution frankly.

Since most governments are also billionaires, maybe we could abolish them too.

Ummm, country ≠ person...

Also are billionaires going to allow people to vote who owns their wealth and allocates their spending every 4 years?

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#35

Post by wonder_er »

analog31 wrote: post #28
aantix wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, at least you understand that you’re robbing someone.

Not at all. Taxation isn't robbery at all. The tax system one of the institutions that makes it possible to create great enterprises in the first place.

There's a _very_ strong case for taxation being robbery. More like extortion, I suppose.

If I don't pay my taxes, I get put in jail. If I resist arrest, I get shot.

If we "abolish billionaires", they'll just all move out of US jurisdiction. But what if one doesn't, and doesn't want to give up his money? Should we agree to murder him for it?

People get murdered for a lot less, all the time. I guess it's not a surprising thing, suggesting that society murders billionaires.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#36

Post by hylianwarrior »

cwperkins wrote: post #3

Real question: If I start a business and people love my product so much so that I become a billionaire. Am I a bad person?

No, but you shouldn't even be able to become a billionaire in the first place. That capital should be reinvested into society, not held by an individual.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#38

Post by Gustomaximus »

pnw_hazor wrote: post #7
cwperkins wrote: post #3

Real question: If I start a business and people love my product so much so that I become a billionaire. Am I a bad person?

Under current Democratic party norms: yes.

Do you really believe this?

The democrats are on the whole not against billionaires, there is simply an increase in popularity to make billionaire pay more tax. Something closer to historical levels no less.

Then people make comments like this and try and things into a storm in a teacup....I wonder if this is how they truly see the policy or its just cheap internet comments.

Re: Abolish Billionaires

#39

Post by wonder_er »

macinjosh wrote: post #27

In 2019 the US federal budget is $4.407 trillion. [1] The combined wealth of America's top 400 billionaires in 2017 was 2.7 trillion. If the social democrats got their dream and took all of their money we could fund the government for only about seven months. When will D.C. and the American people realize that tax rates aren't the problem?! It's the spending stupid! Edit: Yep, keep downvoting facts people. That will…

Pointing out how high the base-line level of incompetence of the government seems ineffective.

I think the line of reasoning is something like this:

> "The rich" are bad, we need the government to save us from them. The government is underfunded, so when it takes money from the rich, it'll be funded enough to become competent.

The federal debt is $20 trillion. The 400 billionaires and their 2.7 trillion is about 15% of the debt we're in.

Why does the government always get a free pass in... everything?

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