Navigating Wealth Inequality: Understanding the Real Drivers
Why I hate the ‘Eat the rich’ mentality
This is going to be an unpopular opinion, I know that.
Is it fair that some have more than others? No, it is not.
Is it the rich’s responsibility to share their wealth with others less fortunate than themselves? No, it is not.
Wait! Before you go crazy at me.
I was on Twitter or X as it is now known. And someone was complaining how it’s not fair that Jeff Bezos has so much money and if it was them, they’d solve homelessness with their wealth.
And this got me thinking. Is this right? I mean, they are just a normal person, sure they have money and power, but is this their place?
Now at this moment in time, Bezo has a personal wealth of 195.9 billion USD. HOLY CRAP! Right? That much money like OMFG! He could do so much with that!
But wait! Why should he? That’s his money. It isn’t his responsibility to help other people. It isn’t his place to solve world hunger, homelessness in the US and so on. Although he is rich and can do a lot of good with that money, it isn’t his responsibility.
I am not talking about morals here. I am talking about responsibility and accountability!
So who is responsible and accountable for poverty, child hunger, lack of education and so on?
The Government! That is who! The US government has a net worth of 123.8 Trillion dollars. TRILLION! Not billion! Trillion!
The US government spends $850B+ on the military a year. Which is 85 times more than the government allocates for the homeless crisis! That’s right the government allocated just over $10b to the 653,000 homeless in the US.
This isn’t the worst of it! According to CNBC, the government wasted an estimated $247B just in improper payments in 2022. From the ridiculous, such as investing in jungle camouflage for the army that was intended to go to Afghanistan, to the needless waste of maintaining empty government buildings.
Added to this according to Community Solutions, non-profit organizations provide $6B a year to the homeless.
I want you to let that sink in. Contributions to charities from individuals like you, me, and the so called evil rich like Warren Buffet add up to more than half the spending on homelessness!
So the next time you see a millionaire US senator attacking a billionaire private citizen, think! What exactly is this representative of the people doing about the issue they are blaming on a businessperson?
Isn’t this their job? Why does a US senator get paid $174,000 plus expenses a year from the taxes that you pay? Just so that they can pass the buck and blame other people for their own ineptitude?
I am not saying it is fair that billionaires have more than other people. I think they should be giving as much as they can to charity and helping those that are in need. But this is a morality issue more than anything and I can’t push my own morals onto others.
But I do believe wholeheartedly we are blaming the wrong people for the ills of the world. The governments have the power, money and the more importantly the resources to make changes, but do they?
Thanks for reading.
Let me know what you feel about this subject.
Paul