I wish we lived in a world where everyone was financially stable and able to live a good quality life #UnelashValues Unfortunately many of the economical, social, and political structures are dominated by the 1%. When you're that wealthy, the amount of power you have over other people's lives- whether direct or indirect) is unhinged and places you into a mythologized, god-like figure. I don't think any singular person should have that kind of control over an individual or the masses, and honestly don't think billionaires should exist.
While I don't think you should cap someone's earnings, setting up systems that encourage financial equity from the beginning are what we need- aka systems that don't allow people to get so unfathomably rich. We could implement a taxing scale with an exponentially harsher gradient to increase the taxes for the those who make more money while still keeping taxes low for those who make less. This means we're all contributing, just in a caliber that is properly customized to our earnings so nobody becomes extremely wealthy. At a certain profit margin (i.e. when you're making more money than necessary), and you're taxed more than for just regular tax things (like paying for roads, garbage collection, etc.), the remainder could be donate to an organization or charity or something. However, where those 'donations' go would not be decided by the person being taxed so there aren't any sneaky tax break happening and the 'donations' are being used as intended.
Hi Helen, I think you got it spot on that the 1% has way too much power and influence over the rest of society. My question for you is, how would you deal with the problem of the billionaires already in existence today? Surely it would be unethical to take away their wealth and influence without their consent, so what measures/policy would you put in place that can limit the influence they have on society to a sustainable level?
Have you been reading Naomi Klein, Helen? Sounds like you have an affinity for her ideas, if you haven't already read her books! 😊 I'd hazard a guess that you two are already good friends!
Hi Helen, great post! I love what you said about how the rich should be taxed even more than the regular tax at a certain profit margin and to use that money to donate to an organization or charity or something. I also like how you included that these donations should not be decided by the person being taxed so that they don't use any "sneaky tax break".
Hi Helen, love your post! It reflects some of the same visions I've seen written by other classmates this week as well. I think it's crazy that taxing billionaires based on their income is something that is entirely possible within our current systems but that we haven't done it yet. It's so frustrating and I think if we all keep putting pressure to make this happen, it just might!
the fact that a a single person with a lot of money is capable of running a country or buying out an entire social media platform is frankly pretty frightening to me :(( it perpetuates this idea that you're not really capable of making any kind of change unless you have the bank account to support it
Hello Helen! I really liked your post and although I agree with your values and would love to see more equity between individuals, similar to what Yaxi said, I also believe it will be difficult as it’s unfortunately human nature to be quite selfish. As a result, this idea could cause lots of dispute and dissatisfaction between individuals. I love the idea of increasing tax for the more wealthy and hope to see a version of it that will be fair for everyone.
Hi Helen, I like your posts but think this question is tricky. Billionaires are always selfish toward people who are not wealthy. There is even the possibility of discrimination by Billionaires.
I think you are speaking a big truth. It is true that the rich in today's society, though a small number, are the majority in the use of resources (not all but most of them are extravagant). Although their economic gains are hard won, I hope they will not waste resources in extravagant ways.
Hey Helen!
I think this is a great perspective that really cuts into the heart of the problem. It will be difficult but I think your suggestions are onto something.
Hi Helen,
Before reading this I thought it would be good for those who a taxed heavily to get to chose what their money goes to but I didn't consider how easy that would make it for them to use the money to benefit their agenda. Thanks for bringing it up!
Hi Helen I totally agree with you! I do believe that capping the earnings isn't fair, but the exponentially harsher taxing scale sounds great, and I do hope those 'donations' can be monitored to ensure transparency.
I agree, capping salaries isn't the solution...it wouldn't really create equity, only outrage and creative ways to get around the cap. The system you described sounds great! people should be prevented from being able to attain so much wealth.
Hey Helen, I 100% agree with you. I believe the most ethical and reliable way of dealing with the ultra rich wage gap is by taxing heavily and monitoring large sum donations. Do you think if these implementations were made would be see future implications to the world economy, etc?
Hi Helen, I totally agree with you. The power that billionaires have in our world is wild and gives them far too much impact. I would also love to see a future where the ultra rich are taxed honestly and where their "donations" are monitored.
Hi Helen,
Great post! I agree that our current systems allow some individuals to get unimaginably rich and that society becomes a scary place when billionaires have control over economic and political aspects of society. I like your idea of the taxing scale and hope we see an intervention like that in the near future!
Interesting post! Wealthy people do have alot of power
Great post Helen! Creating a system where people cannot accumulate such insane amounts of wealth is definitely necessary because as we've seen in this week's material, the ultra-rich cannot be trusted to make meaningful donations. When people get extremely rich, it means they did so by taking away from other people. For example, a CEO of a fast fashion brand can get rich by paying workers next to nothing and polluting the environment in the process. It would be great if a "tax the rich" system could be implemented where some of this extra money collected by governments could go towards cleaning up the environment in nations where billionaires have negatively impacted through their business operations.
Hi Helen, I agree with your title! The idea of so many billionaires existing and hoarding so much of the world's wealth through sometimes nefarious means is preposterous to me! Some have worked hard for their wealth, but there is no reason why they should be getting shortcuts and loopholes in taxes when they need it the least, not to mention questionable philanthropy! I find your scaling tax proposition interesting. I wonder how this would change the dichotomy of the economy and who would determine these thresholds that you've described (and how). Interested to hear your thoughts! Perhaps tax can be applied based on income.