Feel free to disagree, but I thought it was interesting, very well put and definitely worth sharing!
A moral argument for the insanely wealthy
People making more than $250,000 should not have their taxes increased as Obama and the far left desire. For too many people I believe it is natural to feel that wealthy people are undeserving of their high net worth, and I think that is unfortunate.
Take for example a person that “has” 100 million dollars. When we say “ has”, we really mean their net worth is 100 million dollars, not that this individual has a gigantic treasure chest full of cash. This wealthy individual will only keep that amount of money in their checking account that they need to cover life’s expenses. For many multi-millionaires this may mean that only a few thousand dollars are in their checking account at any given time. So what about the rest of their net worth? Is it sitting away in a secret cave for them somewhere, kept out of the hands of the very poor due to our nation’s unjust capitalist disposition? Absolutely not! The rest of their net worth is invested with banks, in the stock market, with various funds. These investments are to the betterment of our society as these funds make their way to people who need loans to buy a car, buy a house, start a business, or any number of things! This wealth isn’t just sitting around rotting. Every person reading this has, without a doubt, benefited from such wealth, perhaps without realizing it.
Individual high net worth does not hurt anyone. Many people are emotionally turned off or disgusted by wealthy people, but let’s clarify that this is EMOTION, not logic. The truth is that there is no zero sum game here. If this person with a net worth of $100 million dollars has such wealth, it absolutely does not mean that it was taken from the less fortunate. Wealth is NOT transferred (unless Obama gets his way), it is either created or destroyed. Think logically here. Pretend there is a brand new capitalist nation and no businesses ever existed prior to this fictional nation’s founding. New markets and companies will emerge thanks to entrepreneurs which will yield fruits, vegetables, and probably iPhones. As a result, the nation’s inhabitants will have new jobs. As all of these new companies do business with each other wealth is created and more and more people will have jobs. As these new companies grow it is likely that their founders will be the wealthiest, but why shouldn't they be? They took the financial risk to start their company and worked hard to grow their business. If they amass wealth, who could they have possibly taken it from? As this fictional scenario began there was no one for these terrible, greedy entrepreneurs to take money from as wealth did not even exist in the beginning. Yet companies grew, people had jobs, and wealth was CREATED, not transferred or stolen from anyone. This is what happens in America! Companies are created, they grow, they employ more and more people, and the nation as a whole is better off.
The terrible politicians in Washington are the one’s that have power over you. However, Bill Gates, with his billions of dollars, has absolutely no control over you. He can not harm you, and the fact that he is very wealthy does not hurt you or your neighbor at all. His extreme wealth is helping people, even as his investments increase his own wealth.
I see things a bit differently than many people do. I look at millionaires and billionaires and I don’t feel disgust, I don’t feel jealousy, and I certainly don’t want their tax rates increased as this will stifle economic growth. Instead I see their success and I am motivated and inspired. I am not a rich man, but I want to become successful and make a lot of money over the course of my career. Thankfully I live in the most innovative and free country ever to exist. I am not guaranteed success or happiness, but thanks to America's founding documents I am provided the right to pursue happiness which I do every day. While it is possible I could fail and be poor my entire life, it is also possible that I could be successful and wealthy. It comes down to my innate skills and my motivation, and for that reason I reject Obama, socialism and the premise that everything should be equal among all people. If I become wealthy one day it will mean that I contributed to society, not that I took from those less fortunate. That is the case for all people who have high wealth, even a movie star that you “feel” is over paid.
I would not detest Tom Cruise being paid $20 million for his next starring role in a film. Because of him hundreds of thousands if not millions of people would be employed and working at any given time.Thing about the jobs this would create: He has his publicist, manager, film crew, a marketing agency, an advertising agency, and everyone working at movie theaters across the county. Then there are the companies that manufacture DVDs, the companies that supply the raw materials that make DVDs, and everyone that works at Red Box, NetFlix and Blockbuster just to name a few. He wouldn’t have stolen the $20 million. Should Mr. Cruise choose to not accept the starring role in a future film opportunity, all that means is that wealth will have been prevented from ever existing, not that it was stolen and placed in his pocket. Go ahead, single out any NBA athlete, rock star, movie star, or CEO of any major corporation. There are many people that pull in millions of dollars each year, and if you think they don’t deserve it you’re wrong. A person is worth whatever someone else is willing to pay them.
Even inherited wealth is not evil as we have established that another person having wealth absolutely can not hurt you. Inherited wealth is going to be invested which is good for the economy which means it is good for you. Many times inherited wealth is invested in a new business which will create new jobs and new wealth, or invested in an existing family business to grow that company which will also create new jobs and new wealth.
The rich are getting richer, but the poor are getting richer too and that is an indisputable fact. The truth is that everyone’s standard for living including the poor, middle class, and wealthy has increased steadily throughout our nation’s history, even while considering income gaps which do not harm anyone anyway. We live in a nation where the “poor” have a roof over their head, air conditioning, cable TV, internet connectivity, a cell phone with sweet apps and two DVD players. This meets the definition of poverty, quite illogically. And somehow the wealthiest people in our nation are to blame despite the fact that they are the job creators. Increase taxes on the job creators and it has been proven there will be less jobs which means there will be more poor people.
-Matt Willer, president and owner of a small business
About the author:
Matt is 20-something president and owner of a newer small business. His company, Sinclair Imaging, is a nationwide supplier of premium refilled and remanufactured printer cartridges operating out of the St. Louis area. Considering his company hasn't been in business for a full year yet, they seem to be doing quite well!
I disagree with one major point, and want to clarify one other thing mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI am jealous of the wealth of others. I want money like that. Do I hate them for it? Only jokingly. They did it so good on them! Do I hate them for other reasons? It's possible. Money tends to turn people into douche bags. It happens. it is usually for that reason I end up hating some of these people.
Also, clarification on a point. "I would not detest Tom Cruise being paid $20 million ...". No, but I would detest Tom Cruise for being a sorta crappy, mediocre at absolute best actor who is kind of insane.
I do have to agree with this article though. The argument of "the rich have more money so they should pay more" is an argument by the lazy to keep the Free Money Boat afloat a bit longer so they don't have to get off their dead asses and actually work for a living. Screw those people. They are nothing but leaches.