

Do the rich owe a “debt to society?”  - cwan
http://jeffreyellis.org/blog/?p=6499

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krschultz
Whenever you try to win an argument by dismissing the other side, you aren't
really debating.

"The belief that the rich owe some payment to society implies that society
paid a cost or made some kind of sacrifice for which it must be fairly
compensated.

This is, of course, pure bullshit."

His argument is that since it all has been paid for already, so it doesn't
actually cost society anything to raise that person.

I.e. the marginal cost of one rich person to society is no different than one
poor person.

However he acknowledges in the post without realizing it that the marginal
cost of a person to society is not the issue.

"It’s all been paid for already and in the case of taxpayer-funded
infrastructure, it’s been paid for disproportionately by the rich."

Exactly. The society which enabled the rich the oppurtunity to become rich was
supported by previous generations of rich people. Congradulations, as one of
the winners you now have the obligation to do what previous generations of
winners have done for hundreds of years: support society so that a new crop of
winners will have the oppurtunity you had.

Society needs continual investment to maintain the status quo.

