This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Agile Buzz
by James Robertson.
Original Post: Defining Obscenity
Feed Title: Richard Demers Blog
Feed URL: http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/rssBlog/rademers-rss.xml
Feed Description: Richard Demers on Smalltalk
A couple of radio "shock jocks" got knocked down by their companies today because of obscenity - for on-air talk about sex, I suppose. Now let's talk about the real obscenity that exists today. This AP article discusses the 2004 members of the World Billionaires club -- 537 of them, worth a grand total of $1.9 trillion. That's an average of ~$3.25 Billion each.
If this concentration of wealth doesn't phase you, let's look at it a different way. $1.9 Trillion would also be the total wealth of 1.9 MILLION millionaires.
Now let's look at it from the point of view of middle class working families who live paycheck to paycheck. $1.9 trillion is the same as a $100,000 retirement fund for nineteen million families. And what do you think $1.9 trillion would mean to the security and stability of Social Security?
Now don't think this is a rant against good-old capitalism by some pinko-commie type. I'm a firm believer in personal savings and investments for the future, and I believe there should be plenty of incentives for people to work hard and prosper. But shouldn't justice factor into the social/economic equation too?
What I fail to understand is why anyone who isn't already a member of the uber-wealthy would side with the 537 billionaires on tax cuts designed primarily for the benefit of the already obscenely well-to-do.
Previous Topic
