A similar story: I was at dinner with an old, old friend who had always been a thinker and a long time county commissioner for one of the wealthier ski resort counties in Colorado.
We were talking about fishing when all of a sudden he bursts out with, " You know something, it isn't possible to have a democracy that endures when laws allow inherited wealth.".
And he went on to say that in his opinion, inherited wealth always ends upcreating a "haves" vs "have nots" society which is so devisive that it either falls apart or is destroyed."
I've thought a lot about what he said. He may have a point. Our system is still evolving in the USA. Before you say it couldn't happen, the US was actually on that path back in Eisenhower's presidency when income over a million was taxed at 90%.
He went on to say that one solution would be to allow people to give away anything they wanted when alive, but after they pass their wealth goes into a common pot. Doing that could also eliminate taxes.
Like I said, Dwight was a thinker. Wish he were here now...
rScotty
He’s sort on to something, but I don’t agree with his solution. There is a danger to democracy when wealth accumulates in a few people’s hands. There also a danger to democracy when the poor are uneducated and/or p*ssed off.
He’s also sort of stumbled upon a truth about corporations (I.e. corporate charters). Corporate charters are not an inalienable right.
Corporations were originally allowed to form and have special “super human” powers and limited liability when they were needed to build large scale projects (roads, bridges, railroads, or other institutions that bettered man) that likely couldn’t be financed by one human. The originators knew these things could turn into monsters. As such, they were often only allowed to exist in specific instances and with limited lifespans.
Over time, and a few lawsuits later, the inherent dangers of corporations were forgotten as they became more normalized. Eventually they were recognized as having the same political rights as people. This monster has rights to shape our government and determined how we, humans, mortals are governed.
They’re recognized as people …but they’re people who don’t die, their wealth is limited by 40-50 years of earning potential. They’re people who can lie, steal, bribe and murder but can’t go to prison. They’re immortals who don’t have to worry about family, their ONLY objective, and chartered responsibility, is profit. …and now they can contribute to politicians just like a human, but to cancel out human interests and enact priorities of their own.
..but us humans, being so adaptable, have gotten use to this and just see it as normal. Many will even defend these Frankensteins.
