When a person is a billionaire, where actually is their money? I mean because it's obviously not just piles of gold in a vault, but moving around a system. I think it would be more accurate to speak of a "system of wealth" than point to any one billionaire, right? A system of billionaires are working alongside millionaires, high earners right down to minimum wagers. It's just that the billionaire has more leverage in the system.
So the metaphor isn't exactly hoarding so much controlling. It's not about keeping money out of the system by hoarding it, but controlling the system in your own interests by excessive leverage.
Taxing the wealthy is a way of hacking that system.
Unfortunately, the value of being a billionaire is that you have so much power (collectively with others like you) that you might be stronger than the government, and that's why it's harder to tax the wealthy.
Asking a person to give up a level of control they are used to is somewhat of a losing strategy. Forcing them is better, though it does then become a sort of war (in this case, class war) in which the powerful help each other find ways to hide their money or shift the system back.
That's why it's hard to make progress in economic justice.
I've always thought the only tool the working classes have is resistance and non-participation.
Workers: strike. Consumers: boycott.
What powerful people know, deep down, and what makes them insecure (and thus, addicted to power) is that ultimately, they rely on the people they have power over. I know that strikes and boycotts are not always possible, but whenever they can be used, they should be. People who seek "power over" others are always vulnerable, but people who discover the energy of "power with" can be successful in ways that are both psychologically and economically stable.
There are just so many, many ways you can choose to not participate in a power-seeker's control drama. This applies in your personal and political life. Especially if you have privilege.
So the metaphor isn't exactly hoarding so much controlling. It's not about keeping money out of the system by hoarding it, but controlling the system in your own interests by excessive leverage.
Taxing the wealthy is a way of hacking that system.
Unfortunately, the value of being a billionaire is that you have so much power (collectively with others like you) that you might be stronger than the government, and that's why it's harder to tax the wealthy.
Asking a person to give up a level of control they are used to is somewhat of a losing strategy. Forcing them is better, though it does then become a sort of war (in this case, class war) in which the powerful help each other find ways to hide their money or shift the system back.
That's why it's hard to make progress in economic justice.
I've always thought the only tool the working classes have is resistance and non-participation.
Workers: strike. Consumers: boycott.
What powerful people know, deep down, and what makes them insecure (and thus, addicted to power) is that ultimately, they rely on the people they have power over. I know that strikes and boycotts are not always possible, but whenever they can be used, they should be. People who seek "power over" others are always vulnerable, but people who discover the energy of "power with" can be successful in ways that are both psychologically and economically stable.
There are just so many, many ways you can choose to not participate in a power-seeker's control drama. This applies in your personal and political life. Especially if you have privilege.
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