On May 19, 12:15*pm, dave wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:
dave wrote:
[...]

Amassing wealth beyond your needs is immoral

As a poor person financially who totally opposes what the billionaire
media and corporations are doing to our world and who has sacrificed a
great deal for taking that stand, I certainly can't be accused of being
a shill for them.

But doesn't your moral statement above require a commissar or committee
to decide what my -- and my family's -- "needs" are?

I do not wish to live under such rulers, who would be no better than the
current oligarchs.

And, in fact, it is quite natural for superior men and women to create
and amass more than they can currently use. This is the basis for
leisure time, and without leisure time, and the freedom it brings from
Man's constant scrambling for the necessities, there would be no
philosophy -- or art -- or science.

and Unamerican.
[...]

What a bizarre claim. Washington and Madison and Jefferson wouldn't, I
think, have concurred.

However, we may have some points of agreement.

People can make all the money they want, as long as they pay their fair
share of taxes. *The wealthy pay way less, as a percentage of their
income, as any other demographic. *Going after the Swiss banks is a good
start.

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- Show quoted text -

With you, Dave.

A person's basic commodity needs are good quality food, clothing of
appropriate warmth and somewhat better than decent shelter.
Everything else is a luxury to some extent. Nothing against luxury -
I love it...but it is pretty tough to argue that a person making over
100,000k per annum in 2010 is not living *substantially* beyond his
needs, unless he's supportng a family of 20. Should it all be taken
away? Of course not - if he earned it. But, when a person has
amassed, say, $10,000,000 and continues to suck up the wealth, it's
pretty hard to find an excuse for that when it could be helping
desperate but hard-working people have the basic needs of life. Not
luxury - just basic needs.

Bruce