Justin Sun's newest antics
So, I recently switched to Edge as my default browser and I haven't yet killed all the default news links it adds to the home page by default. Imagine my surprise when I see ol' Sunny-Boy's face pop up. I knew even before reading the title that he was up to something stupid, and of course was confirmed to be correct once I read the actual article.
Maybe it's just me being a cynical anti-capitalist, but I feel like some folks (Sun, to be sure) have too much freaking money. Dude's out here blowing 6.2 million on a dumbass stunt like this, while the vast majority of the world will never have even 1 million to their names. At a certain point, we've got to realize that the ultra-rich got there on us. There isn't anyone on the planet who earned a billion dollars, it's total bullshit that the rich and powerful feed us to keep us dumb and docile. A few million? Cool, yeah, that I can see being earned. Hell, even a few hundred million, I get... but a BILLION? Nah man, once you actually conceptualize how much a billion is... nobody should have that. Hit 900 Million and get a plaque saying "congratulations, you beat capitalism" and then the rest above that goes to taxes. Nobody can even spend that amount in a lifetime without doing absolutely mind-numbingly stupid shit.
I'm not against being wealthy, but I am against being ultra-wealthy. That's a disparity that is only made by screwing over everyone below you. And antics like buying some dumb banana "art" and eating it displays that the ultra-wealthy are completely out of touch with the common folk. What a dumb way to spend money.
This is why I am glad I left STEEM.
As to your argument about arbitrary caps on wealth, I disagree. His status is built on hype and will probably collapse. Let it. I want to see an end to subsidies, bailouts, and protectionist policies which rely on political plunder instead of market forces for wealth creation, because in the market, one gains wealth by building systems that provide value to others. Such wealth signals satisfaction of myriad wants for others. Government intervention doesn't really help there.
Appropriate taxes + an end to bailouts etc like you said would do effectively what I want so I'm for it. Whatever helps even the playing field is fine. I don't care what method we take to get there, it's the ends I'm interested in.
When it comes down to it, there are idiots in every sphere of life, and money can't buy class.
I have a problem with the ultra-rich, but it's more because wealth buys access to a different set of rules (just ask Hunter Biden....).
I appreciate it's only one facet of a nuanced and complex subject, but I think that a global effort to massively simplify tax systems would be a big help. Not more taxes, but less. If the tax system is simpler, there would be less loopholes for the super-rich who can afford non-dom status and the best accountants to exploit. Take Bill Gates. Almost all his money is given in donations to a charitable foundation, and thus become tax free. He then does speaking tours promoting his charity, which then gives back about 90% of it in the form of tax free gifts.
But I also wish we'd stop this notion that multinational corporations are somehow a good thing. Companies like Google and Facebook have revenues that put many countries to shame, their executives are among the super-wealthy with the influence that brings, and yet have zero accountability because of the fiction that a company is a person and thus shields the directors from personal risk.
I'm all in favour of self-improvement, and gaining from it. The problem is what the super rich do with not their money, but rather the influence it brings.