Re:MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, says she gave $4....
by SpaceRaccoon on Wednesday December 16, 2020 @12:32AM
(#25439434)
As you suggest, the exact calculus is difficult, but you also can't ignore the positive effect that many (not all) billionaires have in the process of generating their wealth. Amazon, for example, saves consumers' time, and makes it easier to compare goods and prices, saving consumers' money. Bezos became a billionaire because he provided billions of dollars in value to regular people.
That does not absolve Bezos or other billionaires of their sins. But likewise, you cannot exclude it from your calculus.
Re:MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, says she gave $4....
by Klinky on Wednesday December 16, 2020 @12:44AM
(#25439493)
Positive and negative would be considered in the calculation. Saving time may not be as big an issue if some didn't need to work two jobs or long hours. Saving money may not be as big of an issue if wealth inequality wasn't at record highs and health insurance was universal. The pandemic has highlighted that humans are a commodity and expendable workers are not valued very much, but at least we get those cost savings on ethically-questionable products from overseas, that supports ethically-questionable regimes and increases the net worth of an ethically-questionable billionaire. It's ethically questionable all the way down.
Also billionaires combined donate a pittance compared to public institutions likes NIH or NSF, National Endowments and other grant giving orgs funded by the public. Really we should just tax them more and funnel the money to public grants, and also properly enforce antitrust, labor laws and environmental regulations to limit societal damage wealth extraction causes, instead of hoping and praying billionaires will sprinkle a little moolah where it matters every blue moon.