Earlier today I saw this meme on Facebook:
Very quickly the comments under the posts devolved into hatred toward the ultra rich.
Person #1: Shit, we might end up also being Depression grandparents once we get over the covid hurdle.
Person #2: I don’t think it’s “might.” I think the only way we’re going to recover from this financially and as a society is launching massive, permanent social programs and an acceptance that massive income inequality is going to have to change.I’ve come to believe that billionaires are by their very existence profoundly immoral. They’re representative of a societal worship for systemic, massive greed. Even those who launch their own charities have to answer for the way they gained that massive wealth.
Person #1: I agree wholeheartedly, I’m just hopeful that given the information and resources we have we can avoid a depression. As for the billonaires, the only reason they have those charities is for PR and tax breaks. Michael Bloomberg showed the absurd power they have at their disposal by just flippantly flushing 450 M down the drain. He could have fixed the Flint water crisis with a fraction of that or actually done something politically useful by finding Senate races. I’m of the opinion that billionaires shouldn’t exist.
This entire exchange did not sit well with me. The concept of saying certain people should not exist is a step away from genocide. Ok, so these people don’t want to kill billionaires, they just want to take all of their money…well, that doesn’t sit well with me either. I don’t like the concept of killing or stealing, though I do agree with the overall concept that extreme wealth is detrimental to our economy.
I want to first point out the reasons that wealth hurts our economy, then I will show ways to fix the problem. First people have to understand that our economy is the flow of currency in our society. The main form of currency in the US is USD. The ultra wealthy contribute very little, often nothing at all to the flow of currency. Most of their wealth is in stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments which are not US currency. Much of their wealth, often times, is not in the US at all. It is kept in over seas accounts which cannot contribute to the flow of currency here in the US. What is the most detrimental of all, is the fact that the value of our dollar is calculated based on the total amount of money in the US. That means, if there are billions of dollars contributing to the total dollar amount, but those dollars are not in circulation, all of that money is lowering the value of the USD.
There are several things our government can do to raise the value of our dollar, create more jobs here in the US, and put more money into circulation. First and foremost, reestablish the graduated income tax that was present in the 1950s. So many conservatives keep telling me that they want things to go back to that kind of economy–well, the only way to achieve that is to bring back the tax code that let people survive on a one income household. Secondly, improve Trump’s tariff program. We need to target countries that utilize child and slave labor. The ultimate goal is to discourage companies from moving their factories outside of the US to take advantage of slave wages and child labor. If the tariffs we impose would make the end product just as expensive, there would be no reason to set up shop elsewhere. Third, we really need to clean up our tax code and close the loopholes that these billionaires and corporations have been jumping through for generations. Lastly, we need to remain vigilant. It’s not easy to remain a thriving and robust society. It requires work. It requires us to watch out for people who are taking advantage of us. It requires us to VOTE, and get rid of those people who are creating the loopholes and letting them slide for generations. And it requires us to care about ourselves, our society, and our future.
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