I know at least 500 people who care. They are the workers and their families of the company that employs me. Our owner just turned 90 and works roughly 70 hours a week. The company is worth on the order of $50 million. When he dies, someone will have to cough up over $20 million in taxes. The combined wealth of his family is far less than $20 million. So, who's going to pay it? The most likely scenario is the sale of the company.
Our company is high tech. We manufacture all of our products right here in the good ol' USA. Over half of our sales are exports, mostly to China. (That's right, we manufacture our products in the USA, and export them to China.) The countries (and our competitors in the USA, as well) would love to make the items themselves. Our solution to this is to pour a very high percentage of profits into new product development. By the time someone figures out how to copy our products, they are obsolete. The naïve call this "planned obsolesce". We call it staying ahead of the competition.
The company may have to be sold to pay inheritance taxes. The buyers would be larger companies who are in the business of buying companies such as us. (The owner gets at least a couple of calls per week from people wanting to buy the company.) Their strategy is simple: cut costs, and milk profits out of what's left. To do this, they cut all development of new products, lay off all people doing it, cut benefits, and make the profitable stuff until no one buys them any more. Ultimately 100 jobs are lost, and 500 family members are out on the street.
That's who cares.
I understand...if it’s communicated like that, then it can be a big deal. I just don’t see enough of it.