Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in April. The United States was confronting one of its worst employment crises in history. As the economy continued to collapse and the coronavirus killed hundreds of thousands of citizens, American billionaires’ wealth grew at a staggering pace.
In one second, Jeff Bezos makes approximately twice that of a median U.S. worker’s weekly salary. He has a net worth greater than the gross domestic product of three countries — Iceland, Luxembourg and Sri Lanka — combined. And in July, he earned $13 billion in one day, a new record.
Bezos alone has added upwards of $85 billion to his net worth since only the beginning of this year. To place that figure into perspective, the estimated cost of effectively eliminating homelessness in the U.S. is $20 billion annually, Mark Johnston of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a New York Times interview.
The mass accumulation of wealth for few, while the majority suffer, is a well-known reality in this country. Vast economic inequality has been rising for decades. This increase in inequality is the cause of disappointing living standards, as exemplified by more than half of Americans deferring or not receiving health care because they are unable to afford it.
The American people must call for change. In a climate where the same wealth inequalities that plagued their grandparents are being exacerbated, citizens must ask themselves if billionaires should even exist.
Are billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos immoral individuals? One cannot say. However, the fashion by which a majority of billionaires acquire, then withhold, their wealth is often immoral.
Among the many procedures billionaires notoriously enact to preserve their colossal wealth and high status is avoiding any form of taxes — both legally and illegally.
Legally, billionaires like Warren Buffet pay a lower tax rate than most Americans. This is possible because investment income, a common form of wealth acquisition for billionaires, is taxed at a lower rate than payroll, the average Americans’ main source of income.
The super rich also illegally hide trillions of dollars in secret offshore accounts. This unreported money is not taxed. A 2012 report by the British advocacy group Tax Justice Network estimated the world’s super rich were hiding at least $21 trillion in offshore illegal accounts.
Billionaires live lavish lives, owning homes worth millions of dollars. All the while, they are aware of unequal wealth distribution that plagues the U.S. Yet, a majority of billionaires still choose to pay as little in taxes as possible.
While billionaires’ tax evasion tactics are undeniable, their supporters then defend the idea that billionaires are philanthropic individuals who donate massive amounts of their wealth to charities and honorable causes.
This is a common misconception and a statistically inaccurate claim. The 20 richest Americans donated less than 1 percent of their cumulative net worth to charities in 2018, according to data compiled by University of California Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman.
Choosing to give so little while taking so much is not only greedy, but immoral.
In reality, society should not expect billionaires to act honorably. Adam Smith, commonly considered the “father of modern economics,” was correct to foresee that most individuals will act in their self-interest. Billionaires will continue to evade taxes, buy off politicians and lobby for policies that irreversibly hurt the climate for selfish business interests.
Though one would hope that billionaires would recognize their moral obligation to better society with their vast economic resources, these wealth-hoarders are no exception to Smith’s ever-present economic rule.
The existence of billionaires is a policy failure. A fair and just capitalistic system would prohibit and prevent such high concentrations of wealth and power in so few individuals. Billionaires need the working class to exist. But the working class does not need billionaires.
Taxing the super-rich at a higher rate is an equitable solution to America’s current economic injustices. Not only is it fair, but it is a popular idea. The Pew Research Center reported this year that 84 percent of those who believe there is too much income inequality in America say the government should raise taxes on the wealthy.
Moreover, there are actions the U.S. government can take to make it more difficult for billionaires to avoid their taxes. This has already been done before.
Former President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Revenue Act of 1937” prohibited tax evasion and closed loopholes by tightening and revamping the government’s tax laws, codes and regulations. Why does the government not close tax loopholes today?
It’s time for the uber-rich to pay their fair share — let’s tax them.
I’m not going to lie as soon as I read the title I disagreed with the premise of this article; I guess I have a predisposition to support rigid capitalism (internalized colonialism perhaps). But, from reading this article by Mr.Becker in its entirety I think my contentions on the morality of aggressive wealth accumulation shifted. I think Mr.Beckers contextualization of the shocking interstices in monetary collection served to parameterize the nuance of this issue in a way more palpably corporeal then other pieces of journalism.
The author crafts a well thought-out article that brings into the question the validity of billionaires in contemporary American society. With one of the most consequential presidential elections coming up, where income inequality is on the minds of millions of Americans, this article provides a well detailed framework for why the Uber-rich must pay their fair share. Well done to the author and great writing!
lol
This article provides an irrefutable refutation to the perverse notion that minimally regulated capitalism is in the best interest of our society; it’s time we create a system that works for everyone, not just those born in the right zip code. People’s inability to recognize that it is immoral to make $85 billion in the same time frame that millions of people are unsure where their next meal will come from is truly perplexing. Too many people kowtow to the entropic world afforded by the system we live in; no one should be unsure where their next meal will come from, or if they are going to make rent, or if they will be financially destroyed by an indiscriminate cancer diagnosis. I strongly commend journalists like Luca Becker that are willing to tackle the real issues that plague our time; and the proliferation of belief in capitalism despite its axiomatic shortfalls is clearly one of them. It is said that “journalism is the cornerstone of democracy”, this is true, but only when journalists are willing to contend with the real issues no matter how hard it is, Luca is willing to contend and for that, I thank him.
*Imagine that you are in class*
*The professor asks a question*
*two people raise their hands, you and someone else*
*the professor calls on the other kid*
*and that kid spits straight facts that revolutionizes how you look at the issue in a matter of seconds*
*then the professor thanks the student for his remarks and turns to you to ask if you would like to add anything*
*and you’re just like “no, thats what I was going to say” even though it’s not what you were going to say, it’s much better*
Luca Becker is that other kid
Do you want a scholarship?