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If you bring up UBI, or other reforms, you'll inevitably get someone who brings up: "voting yourself someone else's money".
You could convince me, except that things have gotten to an absurd state.
I look at some graphs of wealth inequality and it is unimaginably shocking. I never dreamed it could be this bad. More than 50% of the US wealth is owned by 5% of the people. [1] 35% is owned by only 1% of the population.
This image from this article also tells the story.
I'm not going to argue how accurate those numbers are. Rather, I will extrapolate the trend.
Let's continue the current trend to its logical absurd conclusion. The entire planet is owned by one single person. You (and everyone else) are one of the wage slaves in the bottom 99.99999999 % of the population (at least 8 decimal places). [7.5 billion people, minus that one person who owns everything, then divided by 7.5 billion people.]
Naturally, we should respect property ownership. Somehow this one person deserves and "earned" the wealth of the entire planet through his hard and diligent efforts and deserves to own everything and everyone. It is absurd on its face.
At this logical endpoint, it clearly seems that the rest of the planet should seize the wealth of the one person.
Wealth transfer has already happened. And is still happening. Republicans are just fine with this as long as it is all trickling upward.
Yes, "voting yourself someone else's money" involves taking away some of the absurd amounts of wealth hoarded up by a few. Amounts of individual wealth that one person couldn't spend in a lifetime; then leaves to others, who themselves can't spend it in their lifetime.
Not as a proposal, but just to make a point, hypothetically, if all of these people who exceed this threshold had their net worth capped at $100 Million, they would still be just fine. Yes, really! They would still live in fabulous homes, drive fabulous cars, and eat whatever they wanted, travel wherever and whenever they wanted -- for the rest of their natural lives.
In case my "one man owns the world" didn't get the idea across, I'll be more blunt. Any time too few people have owned way, way too much, and too many had nothing, there is always an uprising. I'm not proposing an uprising. I'm merely warning it is inevitable. Hopefully not in my lifetime. Maybe it would be better to solve this peacefully where the wealthiest, while heavily taxed, still end up, after taxes, fabulously wealthy beyond the dreams of most everyone else. I'm not proposing reducing all the rich people's wealth to some cap. Just that they should pay their fair share. Why are they the ones who get the tax cuts?
(Score: 5, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:19PM (17 children)
A reading from the Book of Mammon:
"And so it came to pass that Supply-Side Jesus did come across two beggars, a man blind from birth and a man lame from the womb, and they did entreat him, saying "Help us, for thou art the Son of God and no man else giveth us aid, nor crust nor water." And Supply-Side Jesus rebuked the men, saying "how is it, that thou worketh not, and yet would eat? Dost thou know not this is thievery? Verily I say unto ye, who will not work, the same shall not eat. Even I, and certainly not Saul of Tarsus, sayeth so. Yea verily, not Saul." And the men cursed him and wept, but Supply-Side Jesus was unmoved, saying only "thou shouldst have chosen thy parents better. Thy suffering is thine own fault, and when thou diest, thou shalt suffer evermore, as all who would spoil the wealth of the rich. For so hath My Father in Heaven ordained it, that the rich are rich because they hath His favor, and the poor are poor because they hath it not. Indeed, thou wert born only to perish, and then to perish everlastingly in Gehenna-fire for the glory of the Father.""
This is the Prosperity Gospel in a nutshell, and it's religion to millions of Americans.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:32PM (10 children)
Heresy. Burn her at the stake. No need to weigh her, or the duck, since we're not accusing her of witchcraft.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:41PM (9 children)
Oh I'm sorry, did I hit a little too close to home there? I can't imagine why else you'd comment on a top-level post, especially when your reply was so completely content-free.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:50PM (7 children)
Do I need to define "heresy" for you? And, is it absolutely necessary that I name Monty Python for the humor bit to come across?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:52PM (6 children)
You are unworthy to quote either the Python skits or Yeshua of probably-not-Nazareth. If there were justice in this world, the words would burn your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 27 2020, @11:58PM (5 children)
*yawn* The hatred never ends with you.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2020, @12:15AM
You have the power to stop it little runaway, but you're too stubborn and stupid to improve anything.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 28 2020, @12:26AM (2 children)
If i hated you, you'd be getting hundreds of dollars of mail-order incontinence supplies delivered to your doorstep every month :) You're not even worth the effort to prank.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 28 2020, @12:41AM (1 child)
Didn't you use that line already?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 28 2020, @02:49AM
Yup, and it works just as well here as there. Though maybe incontinence supplies is too kind. Maybe a bunch of dildos would be more fitting. You'd be right at home in common company, if nothing else.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2020, @12:36AM
_I_ hate you, Runaway! I hate your cuck race theory. I hate your face, I hate your pace, I hate your dog-whistling all over the place? I hate you with my bile, I have hated you quite a while! I hate that you are a racist bastard, I hate that you supported Denny Hastert! I hate you in a box, I hate you with a fox, I do not like him, Sam-I-am, I do not like Runaway.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 28 2020, @03:27PM
Your very funny and amusing post obviously triggered someone.
IMO the prosperity gospel is heresy. But others disagree and think the gospel is about money.
It is amusing that I don't hear prosperity gospel people talking about the poor. Other than that they simply don't have enough faith to stop being poor.
I would remind them of Jesus own words about Lazarus and the Rich Man. Or what does it profit a men to gain the whole world but lose his soul.
When Lucifer was cast out of heaven down to Earth, theologians debate whether he landed in Florida or Texas.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday October 28 2020, @02:53AM (3 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 28 2020, @03:23PM
Maybe we could try to prevent the extinction of other species.
Especially tacos.
When Lucifer was cast out of heaven down to Earth, theologians debate whether he landed in Florida or Texas.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2020, @05:10PM (1 child)
You know, the rich could avoid that by dispersing a large fraction of their wealth to the poor so that those same poor folks don't always look at them as cattle to eventually be eaten. After all, the rich have more than enough to live comfortable lives. Why not share some of that largesse? Just saying.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday October 28 2020, @11:07PM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2020, @03:06AM (1 child)
Is this humor, or are you channeling khallow?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 28 2020, @05:05AM