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LetsPlayCanasta t1_iubn4ur wrote

Reply to comment by Ok_Wealth_7711 in The face of opposition to Question 1 admits proposed tax wouldn’t hurt him much: ‘I’m not struggling’ - The Boston Globe by petepont

Sure: I don't sit here and covet the wealth of other men. I don't believe we should punish success by taxing people at a higher rate just because they're successful. I think it's obscene to demand that people pay more just because they have more.

I'm sure that Bill Gates doesn't think twice about me. But Bill Gates created an industry that has employed tens of thousands of people in mostly high-paying jobs, and has created a business that increases productivity across the globe. We should be thanking him but instead the opinion is "he has a lot of money and he should give it to us."

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Ok_Wealth_7711 t1_iubp7fu wrote

>I don't sit here and covet the wealth of other men.

Weirdly sexist, and red herring

>I don't believe we should punish success by taxing people at a higher rate just because they're successful.

Red herring

>I think it's obscene to demand that people pay more just because they have more.

That is literally what any flat tax does.

>I'm sure that Bill Gates doesn't think twice about me.

Yup

>But Bill Gates created an industry that has employed tens of thousands of people in mostly high-paying jobs

Unrelated to the issue

>and has created a business that increases productivity across the globe.

Is your argument that people would only be motivated to improve society because they could eventually be worth $100B+ and only making a billion wouldn't motivate them? Weird take but ok.

>We should be thanking him but instead the opinion is "he has a lot of money and he should give it to us."

Well, good ole Bill would disagree with you. That's why he started the foundation. Even he thinks he shouldn't have as much as he does.

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LetsPlayCanasta t1_iubpvzw wrote

FFS - OK, now answer my question.

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Ok_Wealth_7711 t1_iubqpbs wrote

Sure. The answer is quite a few. Most of these millionaires started as small business owners who weren't making much money but they needed to hire people to grow their business. Every single farmer these ads claim to care about was likely not very well off when they hired their initial staff. If you think I'm wrong, feel free to provide examples.

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LetsPlayCanasta t1_iubrl61 wrote

>Most of these millionaires started as small business owners who weren't making much money but they needed to hire people to grow their business.

Yes, they took a risk, sacrificed, and created businesses that gave livelihoods to employees who subsequently provided for their families.

They must be punished.

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Cerberus73 t1_iubpxfo wrote

He is, like you are, free to give away as much of your own money as you (and he) would like.

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