General Discussion

forjusticethunders

(1,151 posts)

98. Main issue with wealth

Thu Mar 3, 2016, 04:11 PM

Mar 2016

It's not that wealth is inherently evil - it's that many, many people who possess wealth are selfish and possessive and are delusional about the nature of their wealth, or to paraphrase, "you didn't build that". Individual wealth is to a great extent, a product of socialized capital - the roads, the infrastructure, the schools, and other social goods create the conditions needed to generate wealth, yet many people with high income or great wealth feel they're entitled to keep 100% of it while not paying for those social goods through taxes.

Politically, this translates to a certain cultural myopia regarding those who are not rich; being blind to how the system does not provide equal opportunity to attain a comfortable life, rationalizing injustice as "people being lazy or stupid or otherwise unworthy" and all in all, having an attitude of "I got mine, fuck you".

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

170 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

What Level of Wealth Do You Consider Evil? [View all] vdogg Mar 2016 OP

Wealth is not what makes people evil Awknid Mar 2016 #1

That evil greed, and all the trappings associated with it are only for those..... Brother Buzz Mar 2016 #18

Actually, hoarding it kind of does. reformist2 Mar 2016 #148

Wealth isn't evil. Agnosticsherbet Mar 2016 #2

It's the LOVE OF MONEY --not money, itself--that is the "root of all evil." MADem Mar 2016 #65

Yes, it is what people do with their money, in pursuit of money, Agnosticsherbet Mar 2016 #76

Exactly. scscholar Mar 2016 #104

It's not the money, it's the lack of empathy that often accompanies it. eShirl Mar 2016 #3

Great Example vdogg Mar 2016 #14

@ 100 grand you are not even close to being a 1%er questionseverything Mar 2016 #42

Agree, 100%. Myrina Mar 2016 #70

Bingo! Awknid Mar 2016 #144

.+10 840high Mar 2016 #159

The issues are how you made/make your money and what you did/do with it. merrily Mar 2016 #4

What if I make $500,000 a year from hard work TeddyR Mar 2016 #19

What if you made $500,000 a year selling heroin to 13 year olds? merrily Mar 2016 #23

So you are concerned about how the money TeddyR Mar 2016 #107

Where did I say I was not concerned with how it is spent? Indeed, I said the opposite. merrily Mar 2016 #116

Well what do you consider to be 'hard work'? TM99 Mar 2016 #25

And that's the question vdogg Mar 2016 #36

CEO's and hedge fund managers that TM99 Mar 2016 #44

The hardness of the work isn't relevant. noamnety Mar 2016 #143

Nothing. mahina Mar 2016 #153

Hard work really doesn't say anything one way or another Bradical79 Mar 2016 #155

I agree with this. PowerToThePeople Mar 2016 #169

What makes a rich person evil is How they got the money. Dont call me Shirley Mar 2016 #5

$10 more than I have at the time. Nt hack89 Mar 2016 #6

Post removed Post removed Mar 2016 #17

^^^ Bullshit Hide ^^^ Glassunion Mar 2016 #86

I agree. Blue_In_AK Mar 2016 #113

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. And then some. Hoyt Mar 2016 #146

I completely agree Kalidurga Mar 2016 #152

Agree 1000%. Totally bogus. marble falls Mar 2016 #162

^^^BULLSHIT HIDE ^^^ bettyellen Mar 2016 #97

^^^^ Obscenely bullshit hide!!! lovemydog Mar 2016 #99

Yup. Agschmid Mar 2016 #120

^^^FANTASTIC HIDE^^^ Capt. Obvious Mar 2016 #109

Really? Please explain...and who else do you alert on? Digital Puppy Mar 2016 #125

What makes you think he alerted? bvf Mar 2016 #130

Was the sarcasm tag left off accidentally? mwooldri Mar 2016 #165

No Capt. Obvious Mar 2016 #167

What the heck? What was that hidden for? treestar Mar 2016 #119

Because it was him... Agschmid Mar 2016 #121

Agreed. Will someone please post the results of the jury? lovemydog Mar 2016 #122

You will not get your wish. Glassunion Mar 2016 #133

apart from the bit where he is implying all white men are racists PaulaFarrell Mar 2016 #147

He didn't Bradical79 Mar 2016 #160

yes PaulaFarrell Mar 2016 #161

Obviously 1SBM had a dime in his pocket. Glassunion Mar 2016 #132

Best summation yet. Damn, that was brutal. And perfect Number23 Mar 2016 #142

Yep. And the alert and the hide proved his point. Tanuki Mar 2016 #168

Above 20 million. Half-Century Man Mar 2016 #7

Is it on the site? vdogg Mar 2016 #15

A creative writing class Half-Century Man Mar 2016 #39

What is the argument for capping wealth? TeddyR Mar 2016 #21

Quick list. Half-Century Man Mar 2016 #40

it's not the level of wealth. It's how it's earned. If you collude with politicians think Mar 2016 #8

Wealth isn't the problem, greed is the problem. FLPanhandle Mar 2016 #9

Don't misunderstand vdogg Mar 2016 #20

What is greed though? hfojvt Mar 2016 #87

"Evil"? Nye Bevan Mar 2016 #10

Wealth, like technology, is neither inherently good nor evil. KamaAina Mar 2016 #11

Any level that requires you to exploit someone else Kelvin Mace Mar 2016 #12

Evil is making quarter million dollar speeches while begrudging hard working people 15 hr. Cobalt Violet Mar 2016 #13

we don't hate you because you are rich Skittles Mar 2016 #16

Huh, Eko Mar 2016 #22

Again, I do not believe wealth=evil vdogg Mar 2016 #28

Honestly I dont know. Eko Mar 2016 #33

"we are one of the richest countries on earth" noamnety Mar 2016 #139

$12 million. Some are evil way before that. cheapdate Mar 2016 #24

Lol, this is oddly specific. vdogg Mar 2016 #29

I'm an engineer. cheapdate Mar 2016 #31

At some point...., A HERETIC I AM Mar 2016 #149

As consulting engineers working on firm, fixed, contracts cheapdate Mar 2016 #150

12 million income per year, or 12 million period, for life? snooper2 Mar 2016 #51

Accumulated, in-hand, personal wealth. cheapdate Mar 2016 #92

I think you're way off Yupster Mar 2016 #123

Let us first distinguish wealth and ownership. Wealth is wonderful if we all share in it. L. Coyote Mar 2016 #26

By that measure, then we're all a little evil vdogg Mar 2016 #32

We must consider our cumulative effect as a society. L. Coyote Mar 2016 #47

I consider that my wealth is mine hfojvt Mar 2016 #95

Not sure what you are advocating for here... Adrahil Mar 2016 #137

The kind that hasn't been gotten paying less than decent, livable wages, polly7 Mar 2016 #27

You are not a billionaire from what you have said. Money is fine it is the cheating that comes bkkyosemite Mar 2016 #30

$ is Not a factor alc Mar 2016 #34

Good and evil are kind of reductionist, imo. Starry Messenger Mar 2016 #35

Wealth is not evil 2pooped2pop Mar 2016 #37

Wealth has nothing to do with evil.... beachbum bob Mar 2016 #38

I added this to the OP but to clear up the question vdogg Mar 2016 #41

one dollar and nine cents. nt ohnoyoudidnt Mar 2016 #43

It's not what you have, it's how you got it and what you do with it. Mister Ed Mar 2016 #45

the people that inherit a fortune then think they made it on their own. JanMichael Mar 2016 #46

I don't consider wealth in general to be evil bigwillq Mar 2016 #48

Money was a stupid invention. hunter Mar 2016 #49

I believe my friend was misconstrued here. DemocratSinceBirth Mar 2016 #50

surprised that was hidden... demosocialist Mar 2016 #56

A ridiculous hide. n/t ronnie624 Mar 2016 #58

One of the worst jury decisions I've ever seen SCantiGOP Mar 2016 #79

The joke describes the perspective ronnie624 Mar 2016 #91

What is evil (e.g.)? Kip Humphrey Mar 2016 #52

The level is not what makes it evil, what you do with it is what makes it evil. bemildred Mar 2016 #53

It all depends on what you do with it. I've personally known one multi-millionaire in my life. Tommy_Carcetti Mar 2016 #54

You have brought up a good point here. I suspect that many jwirr Mar 2016 #90

An economic system ronnie624 Mar 2016 #55

1 PENNY!!! WE MUST CHECK OUT OF THIS CORRUPT MONEY SYSTEM!!~``!!@2`~~! Meldread Mar 2016 #57

You know what's evil? That 1SBM's post in this thread got hidden for telling a truth. MADem Mar 2016 #59

I didn't understand that either vdogg Mar 2016 #66

It's frigging disgraceful. I don't understand why the admins are not addressing this issue. MADem Mar 2016 #74

I'm a Bernie supporter, Blue_In_AK Mar 2016 #114

Bad Hide. I would never have voted that way. (I am a sanders supporter) JonLeibowitz Mar 2016 #117

The level where people choose to protect their own wealth over correcting serious issues My Good Babushka Mar 2016 #60

There should be no billionaires. Basic LA Mar 2016 #61

There are billionaires in North Korea. Good luck with that level of authoritarianism. MADem Mar 2016 #64

So what about people like Elon Musk? vdogg Mar 2016 #69

I believe there are far more Koch brothers ... GeorgeGist Mar 2016 #134

It's not wealth that's evil; it's the fact that they do not pay fair taxes on that wealth. alarimer Mar 2016 #62

What? Iggo Mar 2016 #63

There are 67 people in this thread who understood the question.... vdogg Mar 2016 #72

I understood the question. Iggo Mar 2016 #75

Two things: how they got the money and how they spend it Lydia Leftcoast Mar 2016 #67

FDR Came from Money One_Life_To_Give Mar 2016 #68

One where you could afford all the straw you could possibly want or use? (nt) muriel_volestrangler Mar 2016 #71

No strawman here vdogg Mar 2016 #73

It's not wealth but the level of poverty we accept that is evil. hollowdweller Mar 2016 #77

$1,875,922.03... More or less than that and you're okay. n/t lumberjack_jeff Mar 2016 #78

Killer Mike? brooklynite Mar 2016 #118

Income versus assets? Nobody talks about that. Manifestor_of_Light Mar 2016 #80

Or even low income, high assets SheilaT Mar 2016 #111

Yes, I mentioned high assets, low income. Manifestor_of_Light Mar 2016 #126

It's not about the size of your wealth; it's about how you use it. nt Svafa Mar 2016 #81

This message was self-deleted by its author jwirr Mar 2016 #82

That is a hard question to answer because I seldom look at jwirr Mar 2016 #82

Wealth, in and of itself, does not make people evil. Vinca Mar 2016 #84

It's not a LEVEL. It's the PERSON. Octafish Mar 2016 #85

wealth is not the problem-- inequality is the problem.... mike_c Mar 2016 #88

agreed hollograham Mar 2016 #127

Wealth in and of itself is not evil. 47of74 Mar 2016 #89

Having wealth isn't evil. ileus Mar 2016 #93

I tend to look at the gathering of financial wealth for its own sake is obscene. Motivation is key. haele Mar 2016 #94

None. I'm not joking when I say I like rich people. closeupready Mar 2016 #96

Main issue with wealth forjusticethunders Mar 2016 #98

Your Post Sounds Like... WiffenPoof Mar 2016 #100

That's quite a simplistic view of it. vdogg Mar 2016 #115

when you have more then you could ever spend and others have nothing Marrah_G Mar 2016 #101

It's not how rich someone is. It's that they remove the safety nets for the 99% so they valerief Mar 2016 #102

It's not about wealth Trajan Mar 2016 #103

Any amount that makes your thinking about it hazardous to others HereSince1628 Mar 2016 #105

Has nothing to with level, only if you exploit people who work for a living. That can take many MillennialDem Mar 2016 #106

Slightly less than I was born with. Chan790 Mar 2016 #108

One billion in assets. lovemydog Mar 2016 #110

I don't consider wealth necessarily evil, Blue_In_AK Mar 2016 #112

The obvious answer is "a lot more than I have" goldent Mar 2016 #124

Wealth per se isn't evil AgerolanAmerican Mar 2016 #128

It's not the level. It's how it's made. Picasso was an artist. McCamy Taylor Mar 2016 #129

I make a distinction between rich and wealthy Rebkeh Mar 2016 #131

Is it wrong ("evil") to use violence to get your way with people? PETRUS Mar 2016 #135

I'm not sure I do understand vdogg Mar 2016 #138

Thanks for the reply. PETRUS Mar 2016 #140

$ 15,000. bdwker Mar 2016 #136

None... TipTok Mar 2016 #141

The exact amount you receive when you sell your soul for money. nt Zorra Mar 2016 #145

When you try to buy elections. Qutzupalotl Mar 2016 #151

Any level can be evil and any person at any level can be good. Kalidurga Mar 2016 #154

Wealth doesn't make a person evil. It's how it's used. sakabatou Mar 2016 #156

I don't consider any level is evil, per-se Algernon Moncrieff Mar 2016 #157

Once you are getting into 1%er territory Bradical79 Mar 2016 #158

Wealth is not evil jeepers Mar 2016 #163

I know some very wealthy people titaniumsalute Mar 2016 #164

Any amount of wealth at all could be considered "evil" GliderGuider Mar 2016 #166

DUrec! PowerToThePeople Mar 2016 #170