Itâs both those things and neither. The real issue is inequality - the funnelling of money to the already Uber rich.
When you are Uber Rich what to do with all that money becomes a problem. You canât stick it in the bank. The only thing you can do is to invest it in assets. Property, shares etc. And you get richer and richer, the money keeps rolling in like a fucking tidal wave, and eventually you run out of things to buy.
So it becomes worth your while to start investing in politics and media to shape society to your advantage. To make more things available to buy - nice safe investments. Things the government canât let fail. Youâve already had the utilities and the building societies, letâs see if we can get our hands on the health service, the schools, emergency services etc.
Thatâs why you end up in situations where there is no money flowing to government to pay for stuff, but politicians who are there at the whim of the super rich and a media that is also controlled by them. So you get austerity. More privatisation. Less spending.
It must be awful being a billionaire. Imagine the stress of having that much money. The moral compromises. The ethical contortions. I remember seeing a talk from some professor in ethics describing the existential horror of being billionaire. The fact that without the constraining effect of a budget, every choice in life becomes impossible. The loss of true intimacy and connections. The idea that everyone who you spend time with is actually spending time with your money. The terror of losing it. Spending all your waking hours trying to protect it. And that constant nagging sense that, I could make this more tolerable if I had just a bit more money. There is no wonder people with that much money go insane.
Weâve all done the thought experiment of what weâd do if we had a billion pounds. Honestly, fucking get rid of it. As quickly as possible.
Itâs purely and simply class war where thereâs just one side.
Most of the lower classes are completely unaware and donât care. They just want to see some else being punished.
The problem is after each group is eliminated from the equation their turn gets closer.
Iâd use the major bulk of it to set up up a foundation, in order to help people in need, or to help society to build up something useful. It honestly does my head in that people who have already everything, canât think of something useful to help society, instead of splashing their money on even more luxury cars, luxury watches, luxury yachts, luxury houses, luxury freaking islands. They must be bonkers.
Granted, billionaires gift money to foundations, and at times, are at the start of one, but they use them more as a tool to pay less taxes than anything else if weâre being honest.
Iâve tried but failed miserably as itâs a sum that I cant comprehend. Yes it could buy me certain things (and my thinking is probably more modest than many) straight off which would be nice but Iâd still be left with an enormous sum with nothing to do with it. I think Iâd be just as happy clearing the mortgage and getting the car (van actually) I want outright.
Itâs interesting that the billionaires who do throw all their wealth into philanthopy are usually the subject of the most outrageous conspiracy theories (not the tax dodge, which is essentially true).
Interestingly, in Germany it is quite common for large fortunes to be left to charitable trusts. For example Bosch is owned by Robert Bosch Stiftung which gives grants for things like healthcare, and Lidl is owned by Dieter Schwarz Stiftung which is involved with funding of higher education.
I suppose the Wellcome Trust is a similar idea in the UK, but they no longer own the businesses that founded them.
Saw an analogy recently which really fucked my head up.
If you earned ÂŁ100k a year, tax free, and saved every penny, it would take you 10 years to become a millionaire.
It would take ten thousand years to become a billionaire.
Anyone with even one billion in the bank, who doesnât just chill & give a proportion to family and good causes, instead of investing etc to make even more money, is a massive cunt