Nov 21, 2018

ill trade you a chicken for some firewood

 

Nov 21, 2018

This thread has less to do with athletes and more to do with team owners. Only the NBA has contracts stipulating half of the revenue goes to the players. The vast majority of athletes are also having their labor exploited, they're just in a richer industry than somebody who works at a retail store.

 

Nov 21, 2018

Hoarding the greatest concentrations of wealth in human history in the face of poverty and destitution definitely qualifies as greed.

It's completely their fault they possess this wealth. They are the very people with the resources to make sure it goes to the people in need. Not to say philanthropists are exempt from criticism, but I digress.

We decide what people do with the money they earn all the time. Otherwise we wouldn't have public education and roads and libraries and a fire department etc.

 

Nov 21, 2018

How do we know the most billionaires are not giving back?

If they don't publicize it or do a anonymous donation.
Of course they are greedy but you can't punish someone for having greed lol

 

Nov 21, 2018

This is a pretty deep question honestly..

Although, it doesn't seem morally right that someone needs that much money, it doesn't make much sense to force them to give it away either. The fact that there is no limit, creates motivation for those type of individuals in those situations. I think it would eliminate the motivation to want to be the most competitive businessman out there. Another thing to think about is how many jobs those billionaires are creating at the end of the day...They are essentially handing their wealth away to millions of people that work for them. There has to be motivation to want to improve yourself. Bill Gates actually uses his wealth appropriately, so does Warren Buffett. I guess the problem lies in the billionaires who are ungrateful with their wealth.

 

Nov 21, 2018

Probably not. If there are billionaires that do exist, there should be very few of them. I think there’s something like 400+ billionaires in the U.S. or something & that’s a ridiculous amount. I don’t know what exactly would be an appropriate amount though. Maybe less than 50?

 

Nov 28, 2018

Billionaire paying more taxes isn't communism lol, it's helping the people who didn't have that chance in life.

 

Nov 25, 2018

It’s not just billionaires paying for it, it’s everyone’s taxes paying for it. Billionaires should be paying more because they can afford it. They aren’t going to starve or struggle to pay their bills if they pay more in taxes.

 

Nov 23, 2018

Not a communist here and I don't agree with OP but logically speaking being downgraded from mega rich to super rich is more fair than being poor. If you're gonna be a capitalist pig at least own up to it and admit it's not fair come on bro

 

Nov 22, 2018

As someone who makes upwards of 250,000 a year I can’t logically see a need for someone to have billions of dollars.

I also can’t in my mind see a logical scenario where it’s acceptable to take their money away.

 

Nov 22, 2018

Communism doesn’t work. Socialism doesn’t work. Democratic Socilaism doesn’t work. History has showed this time and time again.

The ideas of free markets and the adoption of Capitalism in the United States has advanced worldwide society in so many ways.

Y’all wouldn’t even have an internet to spread your incompetence if it wasn’t for Capitalism.

 

Nov 22, 2018

This thread is scary af... absolutely there should be billionaires.

 

Nov 21, 2018

United for a Fair Economy breaks down the Forbes list using a baseball analogy. It says 35 percent of the list was born in the “batter’s box,” with a lower-middle class or middle-class background.

That includes people like Larry Ellison of Oracle , who was born in a lower-middle class part of Chicago. It also includes Harold Hamm, a one-time gas-station attendant who built an oil and gas empire.

The report says 22 percent of the list were born on first base: they came from a comfortable but not rich background and might have received some start-up capital from a family member. This group includes Mark Zuckerberg and hedge funder Louis Bacon, who started Moore Capital Management with help from a small inheritence.

Only 11.5 percent were born on second base, the report says. Second base is defined as people who inherited a medium sized company or more than $1 million or got “substantial” start-up capital from a business or family member. (Read more: Millionaire Parents Say Kids Are Not Fit to Inherit)

This group includes Donald Trump, who built on his father’s real-estate business, and Donald Schneider who inherited the Schneider International trucking company.

The report says 7 percent were born on third base, inheriting more than $50 million in wealth or a big company. The report includes Charles Koch and Charles Butt on third base.

The report says 21 percent were born on home plate, inheriting enough money to make the list. The home-basers include Forrest Mars Jr. and Bill Marriott. The report listed 3.25 percent as “undetermined,” meaning there was insufficient information on their financial background.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/49167533

So roughly 1/3rd of billionaires actually "earned" their wealth, and that's only if you buy into how one earns in capitalism as being legitimate. I, for instance, don't consider rent seeking or labor exploitation as legitimate.

 

Nov 21, 2018

"what do you want to do with the time you have on earth?"
"i want to earn millions of dollars!"
"wow that's ambitious"

 

Nov 21, 2018

s--- I’m all for billionaires being forced to give me money but once I hit a billion y’all can starve to death not my job to feed you

 

Nov 21, 2018

Concept: we can combat climate change & fund space programs. Obviously the prior should be prioritized but I don’t know why Charlie is making it seem like it has to be one or the other.