[MSFT_Edging]

This is sorta the reasoning behind statements like "billionaires shouldn't exist".

It's not a statement that people shouldn't see fruits of their labor, but that past a certain point, its no longer about the fruits or even the tree, but the power that comes with it. In a democracy, those who get lucky in business are not owed power.

So yeah, billionaires and trillionaires shouldn't exist, because their existence is a side-channel attack on society. Pay enough money and rules don't apply. Past a certain point, that wealth should be heavily scrutinized and audited as if it's nuclear fissile material. Similar to the nuclear material, it can be productive for society, or absolute destruction.

[4d4m]

Why don't we just cap every dev at 75k like Europe? Not sure how this argument helps society have the drive to be an outlier and create value.

[throw2ih020]

An absurd argument - 75k over a 20 year career as a dev is only $1.5 million (before living expenses and tax), which is a fraction of the $5 million lower bound in my original comment.

[UncleMeat]

I find it very hard to believe that there will be no motivation to create value if you can't possess more than $999,999,999.99