What I'm about to share will undoubtedly infuriate a lot of people, however I think it needs to be said and accept it or not, it's a reality we live with every day. So, here goes ...
Forbes recently released it's list of the world's richest people and no surprise, Bill Gates is once again in the number one spot. The numbers are staggering. There are 1,826 billionaires, worldwide, on this list, as tabulated by Forbes. This elite group controls a whopping $7.1 trillion in net assets. That's larger than the GDP of most nations - heck, our Nation's GDP is mere $18 trillion. Just think, 1826 billionaires are on their way to OWNING the United States of America. However, humor notwithstanding, the situation is indeed anything but humorous. Let's take a look at the stats, as provided by Forbes; the latter has been tabulating this information for the last 33 years so one would imagine they've gotten fairly good at it.
In 2014 one had to be worth $1.3 billion to gain a place on this list; in 2015 the point of entry was hiked to $1.55 billion. Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune more than double from $15 billion in 2014 to $34 billion, one year later. The 400 richest Americans are worth an estimated $2.3 trillion or an amount equal to the GDP of Brazil - the latter having a population of over 200 million people. And finally, in 2014, the total net worth of the top 400 was a mere $270 billion. Now that is a staggering growth rate, an increase of over 8 times in just 12 months - hard to accept? maybe, however, this is what Forbes has reported. These statistics are difficult to digest - how can so few own so much, even as so many have so little - as spoken by Bernie Sanders in one of his stump speeches; but it does give one cause to ponder. So let's ponder.
In 2014 one had to be worth $1.3 billion to gain a place on this list; in 2015 the point of entry was hiked to $1.55 billion. Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune more than double from $15 billion in 2014 to $34 billion, one year later. The 400 richest Americans are worth an estimated $2.3 trillion or an amount equal to the GDP of Brazil - the latter having a population of over 200 million people. And finally, in 2014, the total net worth of the top 400 was a mere $270 billion. Now that is a staggering growth rate, an increase of over 8 times in just 12 months - hard to accept? maybe, however, this is what Forbes has reported. These statistics are difficult to digest - how can so few own so much, even as so many have so little - as spoken by Bernie Sanders in one of his stump speeches; but it does give one cause to ponder. So let's ponder.
The GOP would have us all believe that Free Market Capitalism is the panacea for which we should all crave; their standing mantra is, to provide opportunities so that EVERY American can live/have the American Dream. However, the reality is that the Rich rule and everyone else simply follows. Clearly, the latter is on a graded scale; the further down the scale you are, the less leverage you have for managing your life, independently.
Unbridled, Free Market Capitalism (FMC) is a recipe that allows those who are ABLE to take advantage of those less able. FMC is a great economic concept - one of the best ever, but without oversight, guidance and structure, it fails for most. With very few exceptions, billionaires made their money off the backs of the general population - the masses; with pricing strategies and advertising promotions, they strive to "corner" a particular market, then work it until the product peaks. During that product life cycle, the company and its entrepreneurs make billions in revenues and profits. In addition, the value of the company aka "the stock price" soars, harvesting even greater wealth for those fortunate enough to be on the inside. Today - 10/23/15 the stock price of Microsoft Corp increased 8% delivering for Mr. Gates a modest $5 billion in equity increases.
If it is understood that only a select few are able to amass these gigantic fortunes; and if it is further understood that these fortunes are not always garnered using holistic practices - nothing illegal but praying on a person's weaknesses to get them to buy your product is not entirely honorable, albeit not illegal. The food and beverage industry has examples too numerous to mention but here are three that should really get your attention, as follows:
Unbridled, Free Market Capitalism (FMC) is a recipe that allows those who are ABLE to take advantage of those less able. FMC is a great economic concept - one of the best ever, but without oversight, guidance and structure, it fails for most. With very few exceptions, billionaires made their money off the backs of the general population - the masses; with pricing strategies and advertising promotions, they strive to "corner" a particular market, then work it until the product peaks. During that product life cycle, the company and its entrepreneurs make billions in revenues and profits. In addition, the value of the company aka "the stock price" soars, harvesting even greater wealth for those fortunate enough to be on the inside. Today - 10/23/15 the stock price of Microsoft Corp increased 8% delivering for Mr. Gates a modest $5 billion in equity increases.
If it is understood that only a select few are able to amass these gigantic fortunes; and if it is further understood that these fortunes are not always garnered using holistic practices - nothing illegal but praying on a person's weaknesses to get them to buy your product is not entirely honorable, albeit not illegal. The food and beverage industry has examples too numerous to mention but here are three that should really get your attention, as follows:
- Banks and financial institutions have developed a fee structure for every aspect of banking activity, heretofore considered to be a part of the bank's infrastructure costs, thereby generating huge profits for the bank.
- Companies engaged in giving refunds and promotional rewards have shifted to debit cards instead of using a check; with the knowledge that 3 out of 5 of these debit cards will end up with a balance too small to hold the attention of the card holder. Hence, a promotional discount of $25 is issued on a debit card; $23.50 is used; the card is eventually discarded with $1.50 still on it. Multiply that by 25 million cards, issued annually? not bad, eh?
- An insurance company gathers profile and personal information on it's policy holders, with the purpose of documenting buying habits, # of times the family goes out to dinner, where they go on vacation, etc. All for the purpose of determining whether or not this family is able to absorb a rate increase without a hitch. The algorithm provides an answer - yes or no and those (yes) policy holders receive a rate increase, not for any reason other than - they can afford it.
During the 2012 Presidential campaign, Mitt Romney was chastised for being too wealthy - not in touch with the "common people", was the chant. Mitt and his family do, indeed, live a life of wealth and opulence, wanting for absolutely nothing - could buy anything, go anywhere without any thought of how it would be paid for. Nice! However, reality and by his own admission, Mitt was worth a mere $250 million. He wasn't even close to being on the list of wealthy Americans - Amazing! and he lived like a king, prince, sheikh - whatever. There's a question here. How much does a person/family need, to be able to live a life of privilege, comfort and even extravagance. Individually , you can conjure up your own number, however, by my estimates an individual/family with a net worth of $500 million can claim that status. With a conservative income stream of $20 million annually, that person's "good to go" Heck, Romney generated a $20 million annual income stream back in 2012 and he was worth only $250M. However, the latter applies only to the retired; many wealthy individuals are young and still actively engaged in the enterprise that got them rich, so generating a revenue is NOT dependent on the stream from their Net Worth - that's just petty cash.
So let's be generous, double the amount to $1 billion. At that level one has surpassed his/her ability to spend fast enough to deplete their equity position. Using Mr. Gates again, based on HIS numbers, is earning rate calculates to $114/second. It would take him more than a second to bend over to retrieve a $100 bill; which means it's not worth his time to retrieve a $100 lying on the floor. Wealth of this magnitude, takes on a life of its own. It grows while they are sleeping. And it will never be spent/used.
So let's be generous, double the amount to $1 billion. At that level one has surpassed his/her ability to spend fast enough to deplete their equity position. Using Mr. Gates again, based on HIS numbers, is earning rate calculates to $114/second. It would take him more than a second to bend over to retrieve a $100 bill; which means it's not worth his time to retrieve a $100 lying on the floor. Wealth of this magnitude, takes on a life of its own. It grows while they are sleeping. And it will never be spent/used.
If we can agree that having a billion dollars, makes a family immensely wealthy - the layout above is theirs for the taking, without even a thought. What then does that say for those multi billionaires? Is a picture beginning to form? Four hundred Americans are worth $2.3 trillion. If, as we've concluded, they can really only engage $1 billion each, that's $400 billion, which leaves $1.9 trillion sitting somewhere, doing nothing but generating more wealth - wealth that will never be productively engaged. Wow!
Now, at this point, I need to be clear; FMC allows entrepreneurs and creative, enterprising individuals to leverage their skills and amass obscene amounts of wealth - that's the system. Further, if we attempt to restrict these individuals at source, that stifles creativity and breeds stagnation. For those of us old enough to remember "Ma Bell" for years the nation was stuck with an antiquated, stodgy and severely restricted telecommunications system. Within 10 years after Ma Bell was broken up, we experienced an explosion of creativity and innovation in telecommunications which has gotten us to where we are today. Further, we will never be able to control or prevent FMC from manipulating the masses - coming up with schemes and gimmicks that entice them to spend emotionally. That old saying - and I mean no disrespect to anyone "... a fool and his money are soon parted..." This is the system we have chosen; and it is a good system.
Now, at this point, I need to be clear; FMC allows entrepreneurs and creative, enterprising individuals to leverage their skills and amass obscene amounts of wealth - that's the system. Further, if we attempt to restrict these individuals at source, that stifles creativity and breeds stagnation. For those of us old enough to remember "Ma Bell" for years the nation was stuck with an antiquated, stodgy and severely restricted telecommunications system. Within 10 years after Ma Bell was broken up, we experienced an explosion of creativity and innovation in telecommunications which has gotten us to where we are today. Further, we will never be able to control or prevent FMC from manipulating the masses - coming up with schemes and gimmicks that entice them to spend emotionally. That old saying - and I mean no disrespect to anyone "... a fool and his money are soon parted..." This is the system we have chosen; and it is a good system.
However, we need to manage that system and its outcomes for the good of the nation, not just a select few. The GOP argues that the wealthy are entitled to hold on to every dime they've earned, with no responsibility whatsoever to those less fortunate. This is simply not true, it's not honorable and it is not right. Our nation is laced with poverty and decay; in New Mexico, Navajo tribes live in communities that have never seen running water from a faucet. Water must be trucked into these Pueblos on a weekly basis and used sparingly. The cost to develop and implement a well and irrigation system - less than $10 million. The tales of poverty in the US are legion; no need for me to replay them here, but there is a solution, at least in part, as follows:
We have established that there is, at a minimum $1.9 trillion lying around, serving no useful purpose except to generate more wealth for individuals that simply do not need any more. If we created a Tax - oooh, that terrible word; makes the GOP shiver. A tax on equity for all amounts over $1 billion; and let's say that the tax rate ranges from 5% - 10%. The result would be a tax revenue stream, ranging from a low of $95 billion to a high of $190 billion, annually. I'm not attempting to write the code, just lay the framework, however, at even the low end, that would be a significant cash infusion, that could be directly focused on poverty and infrastructure restoration. In 2014, the Federal Government collected $3.2 trillion in Federal Income Taxes. A tax on equity, as described above, would generate an additional 6% in tax revenues, at the $190 billion level - and best of all, the payers of that tax would not even be aware, let alone feel the impact of that (tax) payment.
We have established that there is, at a minimum $1.9 trillion lying around, serving no useful purpose except to generate more wealth for individuals that simply do not need any more. If we created a Tax - oooh, that terrible word; makes the GOP shiver. A tax on equity for all amounts over $1 billion; and let's say that the tax rate ranges from 5% - 10%. The result would be a tax revenue stream, ranging from a low of $95 billion to a high of $190 billion, annually. I'm not attempting to write the code, just lay the framework, however, at even the low end, that would be a significant cash infusion, that could be directly focused on poverty and infrastructure restoration. In 2014, the Federal Government collected $3.2 trillion in Federal Income Taxes. A tax on equity, as described above, would generate an additional 6% in tax revenues, at the $190 billion level - and best of all, the payers of that tax would not even be aware, let alone feel the impact of that (tax) payment.
This recommendation is straightforward and relatively simple to implement and manage, however, to succeed, it absolutely needs the collaborative efforts of Congress. Currently, the country is divided into 3 distinct parts, as follows: Approximately 45% of the (voting) population will vote Republican regardless; approximately 45% will vote Democratic, regardless and there's an estimated 10% that actually does some thinking, moving between Republican and Democratic platforms, depending on the candidate, and how he/she addresses the issues - the term "Battle Ground States", is well placed.
The country is divided - make no mistake, and is likely to remain that way; and our government, no less so. Positive bi-partisan exchanges are now as rare as four leaf clovers and almost all discourse is in the form of derision, overt criticism and negative spin. Republicans are masters at these techniques, the Democrats, not so much. For this recommendation to take root, Republicans and Democrats - not only in the government but across the country would have to recognize the value and the benefit of this initiative and SUPPORT it's implementation. That level of coalescence is almost impossible, However, if we use the network marketing approach, it just might work. Become convinced that this is at least a partial solution to the staggering economic inequity we live with today, then launch and initiative to convince at least 2 people/week - get them on board with your new perspective, and so on and so on - sounds like that shampoo commercial. Think about it and let's give it a try - many accomplishments were initially thought to be impossible. It just might work; and the nation would be eternally grateful.
The country is divided - make no mistake, and is likely to remain that way; and our government, no less so. Positive bi-partisan exchanges are now as rare as four leaf clovers and almost all discourse is in the form of derision, overt criticism and negative spin. Republicans are masters at these techniques, the Democrats, not so much. For this recommendation to take root, Republicans and Democrats - not only in the government but across the country would have to recognize the value and the benefit of this initiative and SUPPORT it's implementation. That level of coalescence is almost impossible, However, if we use the network marketing approach, it just might work. Become convinced that this is at least a partial solution to the staggering economic inequity we live with today, then launch and initiative to convince at least 2 people/week - get them on board with your new perspective, and so on and so on - sounds like that shampoo commercial. Think about it and let's give it a try - many accomplishments were initially thought to be impossible. It just might work; and the nation would be eternally grateful.
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