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by skookumchuck 2647 days ago
> if they sell the gold nugget and purchase wasteful goods and services

That wasn't the premise. The premise was that Carol hurts Betty simply by having something Betty doesn't have.

2 comments

When those "things" are increasingly lobbying power, "freedom" to destroy the environment more (travel by private jet, large homes (multiple?) with always-on climate-control, large cars, etc.), Carol does hurt Betty by having these things Betty doesn't.

Nobody is particularly upset by people owning lots of money in a bank account (few speak poorly of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet). It's when people put that capital to use that they get blowback. Koch brothers, Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman, and our benevolent President and much of his cabinet are wonderful examples of the absurdities the wealthy do get away with.

I apologize for inferring more than you said, but I do think that the average case of Betty finding a gold nugget or more commonly winning a lottery ticket leads to wasteful consumption. And so it spurred me to give the answer I gave.
> wasteful consumption

People stupidly wasting their money means they run out of it. So what if they dissipate it on hookers and blow. Nothing for you to be concerned about.