Honestly, I don't care how rich the rich are. The thing is, that for most part the poor become richer alongside the rich. Yeah, the gap widens, but what does it matter, if you also become more rich?
At this scale, it's not about material wealth. It's about power.
The issue is not that Jeff Bezos can buy an yacht and you can only buy an used RV for your weekend trips. The issue is that Jeff Bezos can buy a whole newspaper to shape public opinion and decide what laws get passed, and you can do nothing more than write a blog post about it.
Many reasons, but one reason is because having obscene wealth also means having obscene power. Power to influence politics and power to exploit workers.
> It’s worth noting that these vastly unequal growth rates are on top of the already vast inequality that existed in 1979. Back then, the top 1% earned average wages ($281,932) more than nine times as much as the bottom 90% ($29,953). In 2023, the top 1% earned average wages ($794,129) more than 18 times as much as the bottom 90% ($43,035).
Correct. It is not about the gap, it is about the lower end. It needs to be raised. It can only be done with the optimal social programs, not by "eating the rich".
What you are saying is you're happy with a trillionaire class, if it means you can be a millionaire. But then what does being a millionaire mean, if you can't buy a house for a million dollars?
Yes. The bigger the gap becomes, the more the economy will be geared towards serving the needs of the wealthy instead of regular people. If a trillionaire wants a mansion on Pluto or an AI to serve him, a large workforce and a lot of resources will be put towards that goal, making those resources and work more expensive to use for other goals. Your healthcare and shelter has to compete for resources and their prices will rise as the demand for overlapping resources goes up due to the huge purchasing power of the wealthy.
What we produce in this economic system is decided by money. If 90% of all money is in the hands of the wealthy, then 90% of all we make with out limited workforce and resources will be decided by them.
The issue is not that Jeff Bezos can buy an yacht and you can only buy an used RV for your weekend trips. The issue is that Jeff Bezos can buy a whole newspaper to shape public opinion and decide what laws get passed, and you can do nothing more than write a blog post about it.