(12-03-2021, 04:46 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(12-03-2021, 02:01 PM)The Real Marty Wrote: Do Bezos or Musk have anywhere near the power of William Randolph Hearst?   I'll answer that no.  Not even in the same ball park.  

Did Hearst have anywhere near the money of Bezos or Musk?  I'll answer that one also no.  Not even in the same ball park. 

We've always had rich, powerful people.  It has nothing to do with some mathematical construct involving percentiles, shares of wealth, or shares of income.

It's true that not all billionaires try to influence politics.
But it's also true that creating a media empire is not the only way to influence politics. What I'm saying is, bezos and musk don't own newspapers or TV networks, but that doesn't mean that they aren't behind the scenes manipulating our political process.

I'm questioning the idea that inequality is a bad thing.  Getting rich is part of our system of incentives.  It's a reward for hard work and ingenuity.  Everything we have around us- cars, houses, cell phones, are a product of that system of incentives.  

And if anyone says, the bad thing about inequality is that rich people have the power to manipulate our political process, I don't think there is any acceptable way to do anything about that.

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