this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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Showerthoughts
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Where's the line? Is it one billion? Aren't we all trying to make more money and lose less money? Who decides what number equals 'enough'? Does it depend on where you live? Size of your family? How/where you spend, save, donate? They say Dolly Parton could have been a billionaire but she's donated so much that she only has $650 million. Should that be the goal - earn a billion and donate half? Is that better or worse than earning 100 million and donating half?
A billion dollars is so incomprehensibly more than anybody needs, no matter the size of their family, that there really is no reason to take these things into account. As for who decides what is enough, it's the people allowed to vote.
As for the donation example, yes, that is worse, since for every billionaire that miraculously donates some of their wealth, there are loads who don't. So better tax them all than hope that maybe a couple of them decide to be nice for once.
And a key point with donations: they go wherever the rich people want, not where society needs.
Where do taxes go? Do you trust the government to decide what society needs? I donate locally and i try to spend my money locally, but fucking Amazon comes along with a $2 wrench that delivers before 8am and i get sucked in.