Billionaires should not exist.
@godpod , should the state have billions of dollars?
@JonKramer @godpod the state has billions of dollars in order to spend it on services. A billionaire has no such responsibility. One can debate the extent to which a particular state spends its money wisely, how corrupt it is, and how much money it should have in the first place, but I don't see how billionaires and states are in any way equivalent.
@joat @godpod they aren't. States generate their funds by force. Billionaires generate their funds by selling products someone wants to buy. I would agree that billionaires that sell to states shouldn't exist... outlaw selling weapons and building prisons, for example... but a someone who gets rich selling things people want? I LOVE those guys. And to get rid of them, just stop buying from them.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod no, people don't always have a choice-- monopolism happens a lot these days, especially in industries where billionaires are created. Nobody "earns" a billion dollars.
Also, taxes are the cost of having a society. Libertarians are often asked whether they use government services such as roads and fire departments and many other things, but they never seem to have a good answer.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod here is the "good answer": yes, libertarians use roads and other services they pay for, without guilt. Because, they PAID for those services. This should also be blatantly obvious.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod yes, roads etc. are paid for BY TAXES. So stop complaining about the existence of taxes while you benefit from all those things.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod so don't complain about billionaires if you shop in thier businesses???
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod I defy you to build a supermarket chain, or a publishing house, or any other business with a massive investment. Often billions of dollars in investment, depending on how high tech the business is.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod putting aside the question of whether there's any benefit to having supermarket chains etc. vs. small businesses:
Yes, investment. So who can invest? Only those with a huge amount of disposable wealth. So how did they get that disposable wealth? You're making a circular argument.
It just shows, once again, how there are only opportunities to get rich if you are ALREADY rich. Note that almost all billionaires came from wealthy families.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod I can invest. I can toss $20 to businesses that I approve of. I can buy public shares in businesses. I can have my employer match funds in a 401K retirement fund.
You can do this too.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod but now you've shifted your argument. You were saying billionaires are needed to invest in large businesses.
As far as getting wealthy from stocks, sure, many people (not most) can buy stocks and make thousands of dollars if their gambles pay off. Meanwhile, billionaires are making billions of dollars, often from opportunities that are only open to them.
Mastodon itself is a perfect example of volunteers creating a product superior to what billionaires gave us.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod actually my goal was to point out that major capital investments are needed, and it is irrelevant if that comes from one person, a few, or millions. But, the more personally invested someone is, the less chance they will run the business fraudulently. And the more accountable the management is.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod so the original question stands-- what's the benefit of having billionaires? I see them as nothing more than wealth hoarders, in a world and nation where many are dying of poverty.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod systems of management are far more efficient with lower numbers of investors. The decision making trees are far more compact.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod boards make the big decisions, not investors. Investors might be on a board, but either way it's still a small group. It's not like the complete group of retail investors has to come to consensus.
Also, if this is the only upside to having billionaires, the (nonexistent) benefit would be far outweighed by the downsides. Like, people starving.
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod study supply chains. It is an amazingly complex dance of retailers coming to a consensus. You can earn a doctorate in the subject.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod what does that have to do with billionaires existing? Or with board deci9, for that matter?
@jamesmarshall @joat @godpod nothing. The subject evolved.
@JonKramer @joat @godpod I actually try not to, but that's a different matter.
Taxes enable roads etc., but billionaires don't enable anything that wouldn't exist just fine (and usually better) without them.