[PaulDavisThe1st]

Given that I worked with Jeff Bezos at the beginning of amzn, and made roughly $1M before I was 33 as a result, I'm hardly in the "obsessed about keeping up with the Joneses" group: I was the Joneses.

That doesn't stop me from saying that the distribution of wealth within the US economy is immoral, and detrimental to our politics, our health, our environment and more. And it doesn't stop other people from saying so either:

https://www.responsiblewealth.org/

Those folks are hardly obsessed with keeping up with anyone.

I'm glad that your life has "improved a lot". But that's not a reason to give up on fairness, decency and even just plain old self-interest. It's a better society for everyone if there's less inequality, even those at the top.

[renewiltord]

Keeping up with the Joneses isn't about the sum of money, which by that age is trivial in the Bay Area. It's about the constant attitude of one's unhappiness stemming deeply from a sense that others are doing better than oneself. Fairness is a concept with diverse meanings: for some it means equality and for others it means proportionality. The fact that you have not equalized your wealth to the global median by transferring fractions to those lower than you proves that you do not believe in equality and retain some concept of proportionality.

It's unsurprising that one conveniently draws the line at one's own wealth as decent and fair but it should also be unsurprising when others do the same with their own larger amounts.

The average Indian (the modal nationality in the world), as an example, must work 200 years to gain the wealth you did at the age of 33. Show us your commitment to fairness and decency. I am curious to see you achieve parity with him.

[PaulDavisThe1st]

> Show us your commitment to fairness and decency.

25+ years writing open source software. Will that do?

[renewiltord]

Of course, I like that you did that. But it's not near fair enough considering people are starving. Bezos has given billions to charity. Will that do? Clearly not. So what you have done cannot suffice either.

[PaulDavisThe1st]

I'm a believer in progressive taxation, and I think the principle applies here too. That principle is that the "burden" of taxation should be about the same for everyone, and in turn relies on the concept of the marginal value of money: for someone who earns 10k/yr, an extra 1k is a gigantic gain (or loss), but for someone who earns 10M/yr, an extra 1k is basically noise.

I'll leave you to fill in the rest of the story.