I don't think being very wealthy itsself is immoral. If I own a company worth 10 billion, I'm also a billionaire, but I usually employ thousands of people. If someone makes billions on the backs of workers who get paid a disgusting loan, it is immoral. Just look at Walmart. But this can happen anywhere, small family owned businesses included.
The actual problem is that while we have a very wealthy elite, we have way too many poor people (for a couple of reasons). Working 40 hours a week and not getting enough pay to make ends meat is disgusting, while CEOs at the same making millions of dollars. Of course, being a CEO is a tough job with a lot of responsibilities, but some of the salaries and bonuses being paid are abhorrant. Especially when these CEOs ruin a company or bank like in the 2008 crash (and even don't face criminal indictment).
Another problem are trusts and cartels. We have a bunch of companies that are much, much too powerful and have way too influence over political decisions.
Oh I definitely agree with you there that the bonuses all the executives got after the 2008 wall street crash was abhorrent and instead many of them should have been jailed or at the very least fired in disgrace.
I also agree trusts are a big problem especially the ones that are too big to fail and they should be broken up.
This pretty much nails it. It's a bigger issue that we have too many people struggling rather than a bunch of billionaires.
Another major factor is that work often gets more taxed than incomes through investments/hedge funds. This needs to be reversed to make sure low and middle incomes (and small businesses) are strenghtend. In addition, tax loopholes must be closed. I'm strongly supportive of a progressive tax system and think personal incomes over 500,000 dollars should have a top tax rate of 50% while lower income folks should pay far less.
What AOC is talking about is some sort of phony populism and vodoo economics, because it implies every billionaire has just tons of money on his or her bank account. But this is not how net worth works. Mike Bloomberg for example is a billionaire through his business, which employs a lot of people and is a businesspartner for other businsses. The guy himself doesn't have 36 billion on his bank account that is just "avaiable for confiscation".
