a day ago
- Wealth is not money but goods and services created by people, and its generation varies based on individual skill and desire.
- Variation in income is similar to variation in any skill, and market demand determines pay, as seen with CEOs and athletes.
- Three reasons why making money is viewed differently: the childhood 'Daddy Model', historical corruption, and fear of societal harm.
- The 'Daddy Model' incorrectly assumes wealth is fixed and distributed by authorities, ignoring that it must be created.
- Historically, fortunes were often accumulated through theft or corruption, but the middle class changed this by creating wealth.
- Technology increases productivity gaps but reduces material and social gaps between rich and poor.
- Increasing income variation in modern societies can be a sign of health, not injustice, if tied to wealth creation.
- Suppressing income variation, through taxation or theft, leads to overall societal poverty.
- Absolute poverty is more important to avoid than relative poverty; valuing wealth creation benefits everyone.