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SagXD@lemm.ee to Lemmy Shitpost@lemmy.world – 1062 points –
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what makes you think it's impossible? it seems unlikely but I wouldn't say impossible

There's no moral reason to have that much money. If you earned $2500 a day (about a million dollars a year) it would take you just under 1200 years to earn a billion dollars. I personally believe you should earn more if you work harder than others but there's simply no way anyone could work hard enough to deserve more than anyone should make in 15 lifetimes. If you are lucky enough to get that amount of money there's no moral reason to keep it all.

Now think about how Bezos is worth 192.4 billion dollars. Hopefully that helps folks understand the problem. And by problem, I mean the largest threat we are facing to human existence. Every other issue we're having stems from the fact that billionaires exist.

Say you work on a team with, say 50 people. Everyone works hard to generate money, but you're the star of the show, so naturally you get to keep a little more of that money than everyone else. The question is, how much? Is it morally questionable to make double what everyone else does? What about 10x? What if you keep half for yourself, meaning those 49 other people combined make the same as you? Not enough? What about 100x as much as everyone else? 1000x?

Taylor Swift's salary is about 1,700x the average in the music industry. People on her team are likely struggling to make ends meet or pay for hospital bills or support a family. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is hoarding money like a fucking dragon.

It's not really a problem that can be solved though. Should Taylor Swift's team earn 2x more than Kanye's? They possibly already earn above average what one usually would by supporting someone else.

She is obviously not going to refuse what people are willing to pay for her. Earnings for world famous musicians and actors always has and will be ridiculous.

The problem can be solved through progressive tax reform. Check it out:

The tax rate on the ultra-wealthy has decreased tremendously since the 70s. By making billionaires pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes, we can make huge improvements to wealth inequality and fund social programs that help people who need it most.

A good person would never make it to a net worth of a billion dollars though. A good person would give away 999,999,000 to charity, for example.

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