I think the point that you are missing is that some people -- especially rich people -- just will not spend money they don't have to. Why would they sell off some of that stock every year to pay taxes if they don't have to? Certainly if there are loopholes that allow them to legally avoid paying, but I guess some people also believe (and so far are correct) that they can get away with outright tax evasion. And I expect many of these people are also of the opinion that the government overspends and wastes what they'd give them.
I'm not saying it's right, or altruistic, or anything, just that it's unsurprising and not that hard to understand.
> I'm not sure how old you are, but there was a time before Amazon. It worked pretty well.
Not the person you're replying to, but I'm old also enough to remember having to physically go to stores to buy things, and all those other things you mention. It was annoying. Today I can tap around for 5 minutes on my phone, and then two days later a delivery service drops a box at my door. Why would I want to spend an hour or more driving to a store, wander around, hopefully find what I want, wait in line for a cashier, lug my stuff to the car, and drive home?
Sure, the old way worked fine, more or less, but the new way is such a much better experience in nearly every way. The main two ways it isn't is if it's something I really need same-day, or if it's something I really want to be able to see/try before I buy. Which you'd think would be more often than it actually is; in practice it's pretty rare.
I'm not saying it's right, or altruistic, or anything, just that it's unsurprising and not that hard to understand.
> I'm not sure how old you are, but there was a time before Amazon. It worked pretty well.
Not the person you're replying to, but I'm old also enough to remember having to physically go to stores to buy things, and all those other things you mention. It was annoying. Today I can tap around for 5 minutes on my phone, and then two days later a delivery service drops a box at my door. Why would I want to spend an hour or more driving to a store, wander around, hopefully find what I want, wait in line for a cashier, lug my stuff to the car, and drive home?
Sure, the old way worked fine, more or less, but the new way is such a much better experience in nearly every way. The main two ways it isn't is if it's something I really need same-day, or if it's something I really want to be able to see/try before I buy. Which you'd think would be more often than it actually is; in practice it's pretty rare.