Many Americans dream of becoming a billionaire and forgetting all of their problems. But others see billionaires as the villains of society.
Someone asked a popular internet forum for people’s thoughts, asking, “Do you believe billionaires are inherently bad? Why or why not?” These are the highest-rated responses.
1. Hoarding Resources While People Starve Is Immoral
Thousands agreed on the forum that billionaires are guilty of hoarding resources while the poor struggle to feed themselves and find safe housing for their families. Most agree that this is inherently immoral.
2. The American Dream Is a Lie
“I am constantly floored by how many average people defend billionaires,” one commenter wrote.
They criticized the concept of the American Dream, a myth that says everyone who works hard can succeed in society. Many users believe the American Dream is used to keep ordinary people in line, hoping that one day they too could make billions.
3. Why Is There No Wealth Limit?
“We have a minimum wage. Why don’t we have a maximum wage?” questioned one person on the forum.
Other commenters agreed that it makes no sense that people aren’t subject to wealth limits because no one needs such a large amount of money while others are impoverished.
4. No One Is a Self-Made Billionaire
Can anyone truly become a billionaire simply by working hard on their own? Many commenters didn’t think so.
“Your success or failure is not just something about you, but a reflection of society,” wrote one user.
5. No One Needs a Billion Dollars
Many users wondered what billionaires are doing with all of that money. How could any single person spend a billion dollars? It’s unrealistic.
6. Billionaires Don’t Have Billions in Cash
Other users argued that billionaires don’t have tons of cash lying around but instead have working capital.
“A lot of this money is being used in the market and is paying people’s salaries,” one commenter claimed.
7. Why Hoard Money When You Can Help Others?
Americans need to understand just how much money a billion dollars is. One user put it into perspective:
If they had a billion dollars, they said they would first make sure their close family has enough money to live comfortably and never work another day.
“2% is all I would need for a family of 3 to live VERY well without working for the rest of our lives,” they wrote. “And we would still have 950 million fu**ing dollars to make people’s lives better.”
8. Billionaires Aren’t Hoarding Wealth
But are billionaires really hoarding wealth as many people claim? Some users said billionaires aren’t technically hoarding wealth because their money and resources are typically owned by the company that got them rich.
“If the resources owned are in the form of an investment that’s providing a return, then they’re not “hoarding” anything,” they argued.
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9. It’s More Complex Than We Think
Some users claim that the problems in society today aren’t simply caused by billionaires hoarding money. It’s much more complex than that.
Politics, war, and other factors impact societal ills too. “Problems have a variety of causes,” wrote one commenter.
10. Earning Billions Means Harming Others
That being said, earning billions of dollars is inherently immoral to many commenters.
“You can’t get to a billion without stepping on people,” one user said, referring to the underpaid and poorly treated factory workers, the environmental impact billion-dollar companies make, and the widespread exploitation of workers and resources that it takes to become a billionaire.
This thread inspired this post.
This post was originally on The Cents of Money.