I recently read an article on The Nation where the author talks about putting a wealth cap of ten million dollars on the rich. No one could accumulate personal wealth beyond that limit. Any excess wealth would be taxed to fund infrastructure and social programs. I take issue with the idea of social programs because that sounds like we would keep many people in poverty. Social programs are not necessary if everyone has a basic living wage and income. So, I am all for setting a limit on wealth accumulation, but I wonder and worry about what governments would do with the new windfalls of money.
There is legislation in California which proposes to take
control of the utility companies and have them assess the level of income for
every household in the state and base everyone’s electric charges on how much
money they have. Supposedly, the poor will pay less for their electricity and
the wealthier people will have added charges on their bills to address wealth
inequality. I take great exception to this idea. A basic need of the people
should not be turned into a tiered system where some pay more than others.
Programs like these invariably lead to a better quality of service for some and
shoddy service for others. While it may sound (on the surface) like a great way
to get the rich to pay their fair share in the world this is not the way to
accomplish that.
The United Kingdom has been experiencing a dire poverty
situation within a large proportion of the populace. Scholars there are
comparing it with how bad things were in Victorian England. Many people are now
suffering from diseases that were pretty common back then such as scurvy and
rickets. These diseases are all curable if people have a balanced diet but far
too many people now cannot afford to eat properly. They call it “food
insecurity” but that is just a prettier way to say that they are starving. How
much money would go to eliminating the insecurity of living so many people are
experiencing if the ten million dollar wealth cap were to become law in every
country? That we have gotten to this point in human evolution where starvation
even occurs makes me think that there are so few people on the planet who even
give a damn about it that those in power aren’t likely to fix a problem that
they don’t even believe exists. It took a lot of ignorance and inattention to
get us to this place. When they have billions more dollars in their coffers
will they take any notice of the misery and poverty that needs to be addressed
or will they decide that what the planet really needs is more of what we have
already done to make us look like the envy of the world? The White House has
been around for a very long time. How about building a bigger, better, and more
palatial one? What good does wealth do us if we can’t show off to everyone?
Without a change in the mentality of the people who control the resources in
the world you will not see any of our problems eliminated. They will not
address anything that is not already a part of their thought processes or part
of their experience. What would make them suddenly want to bother with it now?
Unlike the other two situations that I have written about here I did not see that there has been a solution to starvation proffered by the UK government or concerned citizen groups. It is not a problem that is unique to the UK but this is the first time that I have heard anyone liken the problem to a dreadful and deadly time in history. I am sure that hunger and starvation exists in every country on the planet in one form or another but it is an issue that isn’t likely to go away easily because elitism exists in every other country as well. The royal palaces and residences will continue to have lavish meals several times a day as will the houses of government, the well to do, and restaurants without giving a second thought to how much their privilege costs the rest of the world. No matter where you look you will find that societies unchecked operate like this because they believe that they deserve more than others do. We can only change this by not believing and supporting their perceived right to it.
What would be done with all of the new money that
governments suddenly had at their disposal if the above proposed solutions to
inequality were implemented? Would it be turned into a national healthcare
system in America? Would it be used to provide a basic income for everyone in
an amount equal to a living wage in the US or the UK or any other country that
is seeing a surge in poverty levels? What is a living wage in America?
Depending on where you live here it has jumped up to more than one hundred thousand dollars
per year. Bear in mind that no one would actually have that much in actual pay
after deductions. Would it provide free college or free childcare or affordable
housing? Some countries already do but that hasn’t solved the wealth inequality
issues that have skyrocketed. Would anyone think to put a cap on how much
people will be charged for basic necessities such as food, clothing,
transportation, etc.? If they don’t, expect that people would fall right back
into poverty in a short period of time even with more equitable wages and
income. Without a cap on the ability to raise prices for everything through the
roof there is no way that any of these new situations would be sustainable. So,
how should the new economic system be set up to prevent a new corruption of
society? If you don’t like the new system, can you fight it within the judicial
system? If you can, the courts could be bombarded to high heaven for years and
maybe even decades. Does the President have the power and authority to say,
“This is how it is, people. This is what we are doing so everyone has a fair
share and governments can no longer be bought.” Do we have a President who will
say enough is enough as far as inequality goes? Have we ever had one like that?
Does such a person exist in the world? Is this what is supposed to happen when
the second coming of Christ arrives? Is there really going to be one? If it
doesn’t happen pretty quickly a great many people will not live to see it.
There are people saying that Jesus was too “woke” and Christians need a new
leader. If he comes back tomorrow will anybody even pay attention to him if he
doesn’t show up with some serious miracles and destroy everything that has
corrupted the world? I think not. A great majority of the people would deny
that he was Jesus even as he performed a few thousand miracles right in front
of them.
So, until the Universe sends us a supreme deity to strike
down inequality here, we are totally dependent upon a supreme human someone or someone’s
to get the job done. I keep looking and listening for them. While there are
many people with good ideas and helpful knowledge in the here and now which
could make a tremendous difference in the way things are done it is troubling
to know that they are scattered among the masses and not in solidarity in
numbers large enough to fix a broken world. The author of the article in The
Nation regarding the wealth cap cited two millionaires who believe that they
should be taxed more to address wealth inequality, but I suspect that the
majority of millionaires and billionaires out there never give a second thought
as to how their actions put the entire world in peril and at risk. Actor Jim
Carrey once said in an interview that many people give him flack for making and
having so much money. His own family fell upon severe hard times when he was a
teenager and had to live in a tent on a relative’s property. He obviously has
never forgotten where he came from but one has to wonder if he has ever
questioned the system that put his family in that situation? In the interview,
he wondered aloud what people think that he should do when people in the film
industry offer him millions of dollars to be in their films. ‘Should I tell
them that I don’t want it?’ he said. Yes, Jim, that would be a good start. Or
at least tell them you don’t need it. Because no one needs more than ten million
dollars to live well. But it sure does take more than the majority of the
people have. They are definitely not living well. And far too many are not
going to live to see things get better. If this bothers you, speak out about it
and we will pray that your words catch fire with the ones who can change that.
Many people know that change must come but we really do need to speak louder
and in unison and have some serious, definitive answers on how to make things
better. Actions speak a lot louder than faith and trust in existing systems. We
had faith that we would never see times like these again but there was no one
that we could trust to make sure that it didn’t happen.
And without pixie dust, it ain't gonna fly.
