Well done, Bill! As I noted to Cathy Murphree this morning, “One thing the wealthy fail to realize is that it’s a strong middle class that makes their wealth possible. Another thing is that it’s often more cost-effective to help the less fortunate than to deal with the consequences of their misfortune.”
I’m not as progressive as you, but I am a strong believer in equal opportunity. How’s this for a slogan: “Opportunity Over Opportunism!”?
I don’t begrudge anyone’s success, as long as they come by it fairly and not at the expense of others. It doesn’t bother me that they spend lavishly, as long as they spend. What they spend is income to somebody else, and that’s a good thing. Hoarding and keeping wealth is another matter altogether.
I figure the wealthy don't find it more cost effective to prevent problems for the poor than to deal with those problems because so much of their own consequence merely involves neck strain from looking the other way.
I don't begrudge success either, but despite the snowballing aspect of wealth, I suspect most of the extreme wealth we are seeing has not been accumulated fairly and tends to insulate the wealthy from the workers so they are more insensitive to and even unaware to some extent of the unfairness of the pay and working conditions they provide, and the impact their level of resource burning has on the earth. Jeff Bezos' superyacht may employ 36 (and no doubt intermittent jobs now and then to maintenance workers, suppliers etc.), but I'm willing to bet that at $25 million a year to operate, the damage it does to the oceans far outstrips the worth it provides to the economy.
Great points, and reasons we're in the mess we're in. My implied point in mentioning the cost-effectiveness is to try to change the conversation, and have folks consider the opportunity cost of their neck strain (I chuckled at that one). You're right about the potential damage, but therein lies another opportunity for the superwealthy - to show they aren't taking advantage of the environment either.
Great post, Bill. I still think we need to get rid of the management in DNC, DCCC, and DSCC and replace with people who think it is more important to win elections, than to pad their pockets with billions of dollars and placating the ultra wealthy. WE make up 90% of the population, they make up 1% Who is of greater importance to the Democratic Party?
The focus is sharp, as usual. As the recent No Kings protests showed, we, the people have the power to keep those famous Ten Years After lyrics resonating on the political stage: “Tax the rich; feed the poor, until there are no rich no more!”
Well done, Bill! As I noted to Cathy Murphree this morning, “One thing the wealthy fail to realize is that it’s a strong middle class that makes their wealth possible. Another thing is that it’s often more cost-effective to help the less fortunate than to deal with the consequences of their misfortune.”
I’m not as progressive as you, but I am a strong believer in equal opportunity. How’s this for a slogan: “Opportunity Over Opportunism!”?
I don’t begrudge anyone’s success, as long as they come by it fairly and not at the expense of others. It doesn’t bother me that they spend lavishly, as long as they spend. What they spend is income to somebody else, and that’s a good thing. Hoarding and keeping wealth is another matter altogether.
I figure the wealthy don't find it more cost effective to prevent problems for the poor than to deal with those problems because so much of their own consequence merely involves neck strain from looking the other way.
I don't begrudge success either, but despite the snowballing aspect of wealth, I suspect most of the extreme wealth we are seeing has not been accumulated fairly and tends to insulate the wealthy from the workers so they are more insensitive to and even unaware to some extent of the unfairness of the pay and working conditions they provide, and the impact their level of resource burning has on the earth. Jeff Bezos' superyacht may employ 36 (and no doubt intermittent jobs now and then to maintenance workers, suppliers etc.), but I'm willing to bet that at $25 million a year to operate, the damage it does to the oceans far outstrips the worth it provides to the economy.
Great points, and reasons we're in the mess we're in. My implied point in mentioning the cost-effectiveness is to try to change the conversation, and have folks consider the opportunity cost of their neck strain (I chuckled at that one). You're right about the potential damage, but therein lies another opportunity for the superwealthy - to show they aren't taking advantage of the environment either.
Great post, Bill. I still think we need to get rid of the management in DNC, DCCC, and DSCC and replace with people who think it is more important to win elections, than to pad their pockets with billions of dollars and placating the ultra wealthy. WE make up 90% of the population, they make up 1% Who is of greater importance to the Democratic Party?
Bill, this hits all of the topics people need to think about today. Methinks you and Heather CR would make a good Maine team! Kudos👍💙🇺🇸💙⭐️
The focus is sharp, as usual. As the recent No Kings protests showed, we, the people have the power to keep those famous Ten Years After lyrics resonating on the political stage: “Tax the rich; feed the poor, until there are no rich no more!”
The Gilded Age evolves…
Geneva Open Introduces Ice Courts — https://theonion.com/geneva-open-introduces-ice-courts/
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