Except that the money flowing to the top 1% are the result of politics. The tax cuts which funnel money out of the public coffers and into billionaires’ pockets also require cuts to services, like education. Polarization is what’s required to motivate voters to continue to vote against their own interests. They’re very much connected.
Being in 1% by income makes one barely a millionaire. Most likely not even that if they live in an expensive city and have a family.
The question then is why the 1% have such influence. Why is lobbying even legal when politicians are supposed to represent the people. Why are politicians allowed to trade stocks with inside information on policy. Why do we allow money to corrupt democracy.
Other countries have the problems of first past the post (and I’m it’s biggest critic) but I don’t think politics is as polarising like a team sport as in the USA, and monetary incentives like lobbying are illegal in most countries
I agree. In general, lobbying is a much bigger issue than the “billionaires”. Lobbying exists at all levels. You can have a dinner with a local politician for a very affordable fee ($3-5K), and meet the former or the future president (maybe even the current) for $200-300K. Lobbying is everywhere, it’s not limited to billionaires.
Everything is connected if you look deep enough. People who drive rolling coal cars and hate “the libs” are responsible for their action. Choosing an ideology, watching propaganda, immersing oneself in hate are all actions. Sure, billionaires are having an outsized impact on the world. That’s power. In general - power does corrupt. We, the people, have to take responsibility for our actions, not expect billionaires to stop growing and exercising their influence. It’s easy to blame “the billionaires” for making someone a shitty person.
Except the billionaires are the ones lobbying for cuts to education, buying up all the housing, lobbying against increasing minimum wage keeping people desperate, buying up all the media and turning it into propaganda, are responsible for dumping chemicals that impact growth and development in our water system, etc. Etc. Every failing in our society has billionaires behind it. Yes people are responsible for their actions, but just like you would blame Kim Jong Un for the beliefs of one of his brainwashed citizens rather than blame them, you should also be blaming billionaires and oil execs for people ‘rolling coal to piss off the libs’. They’ve been just as thoroughly brainwashed and propagandised, and just as intentionally.
No, I wouldn’t solely blame Kim Jong Un if a soldier from NK kills a member of my family. The ultimate goal of a totalitarian regime is to convince people that they are powerless, that they need a leader to guide them. This takes away all agency and responsibility (where it matters).
Don’t fall into the same trap. Everyone is an individual, everyone can and should learn. Everyone is ultimately responsible for their life (excluding situations where people are physically constrained by an abuser).
Blaming the “billionaires” is a fruitless endeavor. Do you think if we get rid of billionaires we will automatically live in a just society? There will always be people with more power, billionaires or not.
Worldwide, I am in the 1%. You are most likely too. For a lower class family in Pakistan you are a billionaire.
