minus 1/1000 wealth, and still the richest

[mellowtigger]

I occasionally recommend that people read "The Nature Of Economies" by Jane Jacobs.  The velocity of money is a more important concept now than usual.  Her easy-to-read book offers a very "natural" understanding of it.  Worth buying if you need something to do during your lockdown.

One of my favorite YouTube channels for computer gaming news is Jim Sterling. He's an intelligent goofball who also happens to work as an amateur wrestling personality named "Sterdust" (parody of more famous wrestler "Stardust"). He took a detour from his usual coverage of the gaming industry to discuss this new intersection of healthcare, computer gaming, public personality, and politics.  I agree with his every point in this 10-minute foul-mouthed rant.

Watch on YouTube

He's right about institutionalized USA neglect of poor people, both generally and now.

In related news, one reporter examined the philanthropic contributions of billionaires who opined against a wealth tax because (quoting Michael Dell) "I feel much more comfortable with our ability as a private donation to allocate those funds than I do giving them to the government." But during a global emergency, where the USA is now the #1 global hotspot for new cases, what happens? Basically nothing.

"So far, however, they haven’t stepped up. A systematic review of America’s 50 richest people reveals that vanishingly few billionaires have made even token efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis. Dell’s company has donated software and facemasks to China, but he hasn’t contributed any of his $32.3 billion personal fortune to addressing the crisis at home. Neither Dimon nor Schultz have announced any donations to help the health system respond to the pandemic. While Gates has been funding COVID-19 efforts since January, his contributions so far amount to less than one-1,000th of his total net worth and roughly one-20th of his yearly liability under a 2% wealth tax."
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-wealth-tax-billionaires_n_5e7cc0cfc5b6256a7a260ebb

We should've taxed them! One-1000th of my own wealth amounts to about 4 dollars. $4. That's all. It's a lot more today than usual, but it's still only $4.  If we taxed the rich, do you know what would happen to them? NOTHING, they would STILL be the wealthiest people in the country!  But the USA would finally have some of the social standards that civilized nations around the world already have.

In my mind, this is the same ol' plutocratic, wealth-hoarding, wealth-idolizing story.



You already know how I feel about it.



I committed my time and effort 8 years ago to speak out against this stuff.  My opinion remains the same today.