Problems with relying on billionaires to save us

If the US confiscated all of the wealth of the billionaires in the US (which would absolutely wreck the economy as well as that wealth, since much of that their wealth is tied up in stocks)...it would fund less than a year of government spending and not even be able to pay for the $3.5T package that is currently being debated (maybe close...the most recent estimate wealth for US billionares is between $3T and $3.5T).<p>...and then we couldn&#x27;t blame billionares for being the problem.

Billionaires at least introduce a diversity of perspectives &amp; approaches.<p>Such diversity is usually missing from the mandarin class of ivy-leaguers &amp; federal-government-lifers for which Vox&#x27;s &#x27;explanatory journalism&#x27; manufactures consent.

I&#x27;d say the main issue is that not a single one of them cares about our problems and never will, even if they have a charity that makes them look like saviors.

Save us? I&#x27;ll be thankful if they just don&#x27;t kill us off.

Who should save us then? Young activists with nothing to offer but righteous ignorance? Cynical politicians, who believe nothing but their focus groups? Our well appointed chattering class whose hatred towards billionaires is obviously rooted in envy?<p>I would say we are better off sticking with the billionaires. They have competence on their side at least.

What is it with this &quot;billionaire hate&quot; narrative? What have billionaires done besides create enormous wealth for their country and themselves? How is that a bad thing?

&quot;<i>To Giridharadas, the real “stepping up” would come from billionaires renouncing the use of loopholes to evade taxes that weaken government’s revenue and ability to respond</i>&quot;<p>I&#x27;m not sure... would the US covid situation be better if Amazon spent less on building out their infrastructure and instead sent more money to the Trump administration?

Yea, go ahead and start your decent into hating successful people. I have 0 doubt if you got rid of billionaires, problems would remain and then you would go after millionaires...<p>The biggest irony is that you&#x27;ll chase the most productive and brilliant people away. Think of how many great scientists and intellectuals came from the Eastern bloc... or Germany during the rise of Hitler. They literally expelled some of their most brilliant and successful people, making the US (or whatever country they fled to) stronger.