Sam Harris: How Rich Is Too Rich? (Barf Alert)

Samharris.org ^ | 8/17/2011 | Sam Harris

[Beave Meister]

I’ve written before about the crisis of inequality in the United States and about the quasi-religious abhorrence of “wealth redistribution” that causes many Americans to oppose tax increases, even on the ultra rich. The conviction that taxation is intrinsically evil has achieved a sadomasochistic fervor in conservative circles—producing the Tea Party, their Republican zombies, and increasingly terrifying failures of governance.

Happily, not all billionaires are content to hoard their money in silence. Earlier this week, Warren Buffett published an op-ed in the New York Times in which he criticized our current approach to raising revenue. As he has lamented many times before, he is taxed at a lower rate than his secretary is. Many conservatives pretend not to find this embarrassing.

Conservatives view taxation as a species of theft—and to raise taxes, on anyone for any reason, is simply to steal more. Conservatives also believe that people become rich by creating value for others. Once rich, they cannot help but create more value by investing their wealth and spawning new jobs in the process. We should not punish our best and brightest for their success, and stealing their money is a form of punishment.

[MirrorField]

I want these idiots to tell me what is that dollar amount.

There is no absolute amount, only degrees. However, here are few things to ponder: After first few million dollars there are very few things that can improve your personal lifestyle. The Curve of diminishing returns starts to bite sharply. After that, money becomes just a marker in a game.

Money is power. A Wealthy person wields political power that is not democratic and not subject to public approval. Although simpler and more blatant examples of this sort of abuse are somewhat rarer these days ("Let me put this simply, mayor: That charge of drunk driving goes away, or your opponent in next election receives $BIGNUM anonymous donation and that factory this town is dependent on starts laying off people."), the power has not.

Think carefully what it means when Soros was called "man who broke the bank of england". A Single, unelected man with no official position was able to destabilize the financial system of a democratic country. If that is not wielding power, I don't know what it is. In our previous example we weren't even talking billionaires, just millionaires. An Unelected billionaire can do that sort of things to countries, make a mint at the side and international financial system means that he can do it from other side of the planet, safe from retribution.

That, my friends, is the problem. Not the fact that some people are financially successful.

[Viennacon]

Sam Harris is a weasel, a pathetic troll.