If you redistributed all their wealth, in about a decade they would have it all back.
Because they create that much value.
People GIVE them money because they want to.
“If you redistributed all their wealth, in about a decade they would have it all back.”
I have these discussions with my buds all the time. The conclusion? If everyone started at zero, within 20 years the same people will be exactly where they were before.
>>If you redistributed all their wealth, in about a decade they would have it all back.
Unless the rules of the game changed. People are conditioned to believe that they should work for another person to make a good living. They know they won’t get rich, but they will have security.
Over the last couple of decades, that security has been taken away. People do not trust the “job-creators” as much as they used to when a factory job was a career. But, most people lack the resources and initiative to step out of their role as employee to become an entrepreneur.
But, imagine the impact on that 1% if everyone suddenly woke up one day and decided that their work had value and, thanks to some magic redistribution, they found themselves with a chunk of money to really pursue a dream.
Note that I am NOT saying that redistribution is a good idea. It is a ridiculous idea! In fact, any redistribution would just transfer the wealth from the job-creators to the political hacks in the real-world.
Also, most people would spend that chunk of redistributed wealth on bling and hold out their hands for more the next day.
But I think that the worst nightmare for the wealthy is a world where everyone is an entrepreneur and values their own labor more than they value their job security.
And that is why most of the 1% are Progressives. They need people to stay locked in the job security paradigm, and when those people lose their job, they want them to become dependent on the government instead of waking up to the reality that they need to find their own value now that they aren’t working for a paycheck anymore.