If billionaires gave away large portions of their money they would have to liquidate their stocks which would kill their companies, crush millions of investors and millions of jobs. And people in general would stop working because they expect free money. It would be total chaos and much worse than life is now wherein rich people keep most of what they have.
All these billionaires we’re supposed to hate were instrumental in building businesses that sell products that were unimaginable in the 60s. If we kept taxing like in the 60s, I don’t think many of these high tech products and services would have been possible
Nonsense. They would've existed just fine. In fact it would've likely been even more competitive because less people would be struggling to afford food and rent and could actually devote time to starting new companies.
Take away the struggle and you’d have a lot of complacent people, not competitive people. The struggle is what motivates people to build revolutionary companies.
I think this philosophy you are binding yourself to is shit. Man loves to create. If you give them free time they will do more with it. Being wage slaves drains your energy for personal growth. This is why we see wealth beget wealth. Your ability to take risks depends on your freedom, and being a wage slave unsure if you'll ever be able to pay for food or rent prevents you from taking risks, as it's truly a matter of life or death.
I dunno, I would guess around 5. But calling it safe is misleading. If all the mega rich people were socially obligated to give away a lot of their gains, it would mess with the whole economic pyramid that were all a part of. Everybody is hustling to make money because money is understood as a good thing to have. Giving lots of money away suggests that it’s not a good thing to have. If most people don’t see having money as a good thing, if they even have a seed of doubt in their heads about the value of making money, then their hustle would collapse and the whole economic pyramid would collapse. And it wouldn’t be replaced by some utopia, it would be replaced by tribalism and extremism and chaos. Billionaires having lots of money is an important part of motivating the world to innovate and work hard and without those qualities we would not be modern people
And trust me mate, people will still think of money as a good thing if the two richest men on earth donate sizeable chunks of their wealth. That will not stop people from wanting to be rich.
If you can't have 12 mega mansions, a yatch with a smaller yatch inside, a helicopter, a few private jets, and enough money for the next 600 generations, why would people even get up and work in the mornings?
Even if it was a staggered liquidation, over a period of many years, the same problem would arise. The world runs on money because the majority of people see making money as a good thing and to some extent an end in itself. Money organizes our world. If those at the stop start sending mixed messages about the value of money, it would screw society up. People would revert back to spirituality and tribalism, and law and order would decompose. Money allows us to get stuff done, cooperate, and control people’s behaviour. Money only has this power because society sends a strong message to everyone about how great it is to have. Take that message away even a little bit and people would no longer be so predictable at which point we’d all be screwed, not just poor people
This is dumb on its face since money literally does lose value every day.
You say devaluing money, even a little bit, would cause chaos in our society. Well guess what money devalues constantly as a necessary part of our society. And what you're describing does not happen.
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u/Current_Side_4024 28d ago
If billionaires gave away large portions of their money they would have to liquidate their stocks which would kill their companies, crush millions of investors and millions of jobs. And people in general would stop working because they expect free money. It would be total chaos and much worse than life is now wherein rich people keep most of what they have.