

You Are Post-Scarcity. Now Be an Activist. - jonmrodriguez
http://www.quora.com/Jon-Rodriguez/Career-Advice/You-Are-Post-Scarcity-Now-Be-an-Activist

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david927
This is interesting but from the wrong angle.

Instead, we need to have a wealth cap. No one in the world needs to have more
than 10 million dollars in total wealth. Not just a 100% tax on income over
that amount; I mean a 100% tax on appraised wealth over that amount.

The additional tax revenue is divided by the country's population size as a
small, baseline income to every citizen. Everyone gets a small income.

The main reason for doing this isn't to punish the rich; no one can cry at
having 10 million, inflation-adjusted. It's to deflate power. In 2007, the top
1% had 43% of the financial wealth; the next 4%, 29%. The bottom 80%, 8%.

The very concept of the billionaire is hedonistic and greedy. No one needs or
deserves to have so much when others have so little. It's a bug in the system;
a flaw in the design.

If you have a race and someone is 300 meters ahead of you, you can say, "Wow,
great! That person must have trained hard and have a lot of talent." If
someone is 40 kilometers ahead, you can say, "Wait, who took a taxi?" Some
distance can be assigned to effort, skill and luck. But past that, it's
indicative of a flaw in the system or a crime. Let's change that. It's time.

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D_Alex
Not a bad article, however:

"Throw on the cost of a small apartment and a used car, and you've arguably
got all you could want: health, friends, and intellectual exploration."

"Arguably" is the key word here. I, for one, want a helicopter and a beer spa.

