[nmh]

“Reduced to one sentence: The ultra-rich like the idea of a planned economy, because they are arrogant enough to believe that they would be among those doing the planning.
Keep in mind, that in the old USSR, while the regular people stood on line for moldy potatoes, the elites lived like royalty. And among the advantages of being an elite in a desperately poor country, is that your servants and mistresses know what happens to them if they do an inadequate job of pleasing you. “

WELL PUT!

You need to be a journalist.

[PapaBear3625]

My wife has a friend who is very wealthy (at least by my standards). The friend keeps a several full-time servants on her payroll: housekeepers, a nanny/tutor, a cook. Most of her weekly expenditures are for services, not goods. I think her situation is representative of the lives of the very wealthy.

In a wealthy country, with a strong middle class and many job opportunities, you have to pay a lot to get good servants. In a poor country on the edge of starvation, you can get servants cheaply. The effective standard of living of the very rich is better when they are in a poor country.