The ethics of being rich

No, rich need to grow some balls and stop trying to help people.

I mean, they just stole their fortune from those people, and now they're trying to "help" them? what the fuck, yo.

 

i'm guessing that most people think so much about acquisition that they have little time for ethics

which is why i favor ruthless taxation of the upper classes . . .

 

And moral standards were always better conceived through raising taxes for the right incentive at need and justice.


Not to mention: looking for loopholes as regards a vice was unjustified for the impersonal god it created.

 

all hail the certified public accountant

 

Wealth is ablunt growing the economy and growing the pool of available wealth/resources.

People used to think that the available wealth was static.

There has always been huge disparities between rich and poor. Look at those burial tombs from the Neolithic age. Pyramids.

 

There's no room for ethics in terms of the monetary system, let alone the whole of our society. So an ethical responsibility? No. Would it be nice if they did? Yes.

Still, if they ac ted on those ethics, that would not prevent the problem, only cure the symptoms. The root cause of the problem must be tackled but the whole of our society no longer seems to tackle root causes, just generate cures for symptoms. Look and you see it everywhere. This is why we are doomed.

 

it is very difficult to educate and re-educate everyone

which seems to be the only way to tackle the root causes

different societies have tried and been criticized for making the effort

i'm all for it, but good luck with the rest . . .

 

I don't think so, everyone already goes to school and work related training etc so the framework is already there, just the picture needs changing.

And our biggest source of information these days is of course the television, or TV and movies on the internet by extension. To educate people all you need to do is show them movies. Change all the hollywood crap into educational videos suited to your cause and voila!

 

which requires state ownership of the media

which i'm in favor of generally, but again, you're swimming upstream

disney will not go peaceably, where is the amerikan ekaterinburg?

or night of the long lenses?

 

I wonder where the line is for rich? It doesn't take much money to be in the top 10% for income. The top 5% gets alittle harder but it's still not a huge income.
There are a lot of educated people here but aren't very rich.

I do agree the super rich are getting richer with a lot of poor getting poorer

 

Yes, you are right. With the current political and economic scene, nobody is willing to share power, so my idea is indeed swimming upstream. Technically it would be very easy for everyone to just stop what they're doing entirely until control comes their way. It's getting everyone to do that which is the hard part. I guess we'll just have to wait for the dam to burst.

 

What fun is existing when you've had all the fun there is to be had?

Hypothetically if I won $45 million in the lottery AFTER taxes, I would give 44 of it away. Use half for my friends/ family and then use the remaining 500,000 to jump start a musical project. If it ends up in the drain, I still die happy.

 

You'd still die happy provided the government would repossess all of it for the taxation which you owe to the poor for the debt they in turn created for your "good fortune". But you're rich in the first place for receiving that corporation board salary.


Now this is real ethics.

 

I honestly don't see anything good about being rich with big luxuries. I feel bad enough walking down the street with shoes when a homeless person around my neighborhood (there are a lot where I live) is sitting there without shoes, or without enough clothes, etc.

 

What Id like to know is how are the rich getting richer? Its not on interest rates. Its not from real estate. They're the lowest they've ever been. Stock market? Outsorcing, global trade?

 

Money is unethical. In a better system people would work and trade their goods.

Since we do not have that system, we`re left with this question. A very flimsy and relative question.
If a person has worked for what they have and they have obtained their wealth legitimately, there is nothing wrong with it. Whether it be an artist/musician who`s hit the big time (anyone who buys music new does not have the right to complain about a musician being rich) or a guy who worked for years doing physical labour and saving his money, it`s ethical.
(Good)Politicians, actors, sports players, etc... are often over payed, but can they really be blamed for taking what is offered to them?
Thieves, people who supply falsely advertise or sell inadequate items (i.e., McDonalds), (Bad) Politicians, etc...have not made their money in an ethical way.

Then the question of how it`s spent.
If a person has earned their money, they should have the right to keep it without obligation to the contrary. It`s their reward for the work they`ve done. Their contributions are needed and much appreciated. These people should be looked at as favourable if they do decide to contribute. Though in the case of a rich musician, artist, inventor, manufacturer, etc..., since the money was given to them for their product by people who are often less fortunate than themselves and they would not have the fame/fortune if it weren`t for those people, I do feel they are somewhat obligated to contribute to the needy. At the same time, they earned the money, they have the right to keep it.
If a person has acquired their money by being in a occupation that over-pays, I believe that person some responsibility to help those in need. I still do believe they have the right to keep their money. They just took what was offered to them.
As for illegitimately acquired money, not many in that business are going to make a contribution out of the goodness of their hearts. If they do, it`s to make themselves look good. The money isn`t really theirs either. If they were to be caught, any money that can be confiscated should be returned to the rightful owners, and what can`t be returned should be contributed. Not turned into government-controlled money.

 

The society is like a gas chamber trying to reach equilibrium. Money and persons flow in such a way as to reach that homeostasis. It would be wise to help that process along so that the structures which undergird the society are not so damaged that they collapse.

 

tear the rich fucks down.