Values: I personally respect billionaires because in order to get to that position, they have provided substantial amounts of value to substantial amounts of people, investors who took on that risk, and improved the quality of life or efficiency for many people (imagine a world without cars, iPhones, social media, computers, other technology or luxuries). In addition, their companies provide millions of jobs to people who also are able to attain a decent standard of living without any of the risks of entrepreneurship. However, I do acknowledge that in doing so inequality has arisen substantially, negative externalities have resulted and many problems emerged. I hope things improve through policy changes.
Vision: I do envision a future that is more equal where people are taught about finances in school and are taught valuable skills starting in high school. I also hope that the Environmental externalities are addressed and included in the prices of goods and services and that environmental laws become stronger. I also envision a world where tax loopholes like having offshore corporations in tax havens are closed so corporations contribute fairly toward society.
Action: I will be more conscious of the things I buy and where I buy them from. I will also support politicians who want to bring about positive change by improving education, closing tax loopholes and increasing equality and increasing environmental standards for corporations.
Hi Bhavin, great points! I do see your perspective on billionaires as they are often painted in a bad light but they really do take the idea of "high risk, high reward" personally but end up also including "high inequality" :( Keeping them in check with laws that prevent tax loopholes could definitely lead to a more equitable distribution of wealth
Hello Bhavin! I really enjoyed the clarity of your post and agree that we mustn't undermine the efforts of many wealthy individuals that took the time and risks in order to get to where they are now as not all billionaires are necessarily bad people. I also liked your vision as it not only focused on what we can try to do in the present, but also focuses on educating the next generations for a more equitable future.
Hi,
Great post! Another possible intervention could be educational/awareness campaigns or programs to educate others for positive change.
Hey Bhavin, your post really resonated with me. I thought your values are super empathetic and I am glad you highlighted that most billionaires put a lot of time, effort and knowledge to make that amount of money and sometimes people fail to realize this. Furthermore, your vision and action of implementing a system to close tax loopholes is a wonderful approach. I'm curious to know if you think it is appropriate to implement things such as mandates for all billionaires to promote NGO's?
Thank for sharing Bhavin! Personally, I do not respect billionaires but I do understand their massive influence and value to a certain extent and why that is important. I appreciate your mention of closing tax loopholes. I think that's really key here because if we enforce flawed laws or policies, it feels just as bad as doing nothing. I also envision a world where companies don't get breaks like that.