The sins of the father cannot be blamed on the son and vice versa. How much less can the sins of one billionaire be blamed on another?
The foundation of my belief system and way of life is one word: BALANCE.
Sometimes it takes one person to stop another person, sometimes a nation to stop another nation, sometimes a billionaire to fix the problems created by another billionaire.
And these problems...
The whole of society participates; not just one man. Society gives that man his money. We gave billions of dollars to oil companies because we needed to drive cars. Even if you decided not to personally own a car it is likely you would still have to pay a driver. And by being carried around that car is burning gas for your benefit. And it's usually never just 1 person that reaps from all this commercial activity. It's simply "the investors". Whoever owns the company gets to dictate what that company will do.
This is where WE failed.
Let me explain.
It would be easy to point fingers and blame all the world's problems on other people. But like I said... we all participate. That's why when a company crosses the line the response is often to boycott that company.
Employees are not slaves but they often take jobs they don't want and that don't pay enough because they have to, motivated by the bills they have to pay. So we choose. We choose to work at those places, doing those jobs. Just like we choose to work for someone else instead of starting our own business. These are choices that equate to participation in these systems. But again, when a company crosses the line, employees respond by going on strike.
For these protests to be effective, other people can't be willing to simply step into their place. The company has to experience pain and loss to see that their community will not accept their bad behavior.
So participation often = 'tacit approval'
But people say... "well what can we do? We have no choice."
In most instances, we are making a trade. We're trading something either for our own wants... or for our own needs (including basic survival). Companies would not exist were it not to solve some problem or need or provide things people want. And those companies have to pay people. And most companies have to pay for medical, paid leave, retirement funds, and other hidden fees associated with having employees.
How much you get from a company can depend on how much you merit getting from a company. Is the job in higher demand? Does the job require advanced education, skills, training, or logic? If so, what was the cost the employee had to pay in order to obtain these things? And if they had to pay $$$ to obtain the ability to do a job that other people cannot do, why should they get paid the same? Is that fair?
This creates a natural hierarchy in society. There are people who break this hierarchy of merit by being born into wealth; making it easier to get those specialized advantages and thus the higher-paying jobs. But this is all the heart of the reason why Marcus Garvey preached education.
And so did my father. He first preached it to his brothers and sisters. Those who listened got the knowledge and/or training they needed to be successful. And now they are. Those who didn't... to some degree have to be taken care of by those who did. And my sister and I, got more education than I did so she is more successful in her career path. But, I'm doing better than most (all races included) and so I understand the value of education and innovation and having the sheer audacity to start a company.
And if you build that company with your own two hands you should reap the rewards and get to decide what to do with it. At the same time, you should be paying more in taxes. The wealthy do use secrets and tricks to avoid paying taxes, such as manipulating the tax codes to give themselves a very small income, but ultimately they are still paying a lot more and contributing more than everyone else; even if you only count job creation and benefits.
Is the system good or perfect? Not really. But there's a reason why there is a flood of people waiting and sometimes dying to get into what is the most capitalist system on the planet. Why? Because it's better than what they have and provides better opportunities so that they can have a better life. Recall what I said about protests. It only works if someone else doesn't want to take your place.
The system is in high demand.
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