[ExI] John's idea

spike spike66 at att.net
Thu Feb 2 00:57:51 UTC 2017


 

 

From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2017 3:00 PM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] John's idea

 

On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 12:42 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net <mailto:spike66 at att.net> > wrote:

  

​> >…Not at all.  I have some.  Bill Gates has some, the citizen of Niger has some.  But none of that is “the wealth”

 

​>…"The wealth" is the sum total of everybody's wealth.​.. John K Clark

 

 

 

Ja, so perhaps this really does explain why there is a fundamental disconnect at some level, a branching point between me and a recently-retired POTUS.  He commented:

 

I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.  Barack Obama

 

I cannot spread the wealth around, for I do not own it.  I can only spread mine around.  He cannot spread the wealth around, for he does not own it.  He can only spread his around.

 

That comment, made to Joe the Plumber on 16 October 2008 was clearly the wrong thing to say, for in many minds it sounded like he thought a POTUS has any say over the Canadian’s wealth, the Frenchman’s wealth, the Englishman’s wealth or the American’s wealth, Bill Gates’ wealth or anyone’s.  

 

POTUS may hold that opinion and plenty do.  But when someone running for POTUS utters that, it sounds a little like he is proposing a Communist revolution.  In Communist nations, there definitely is a “the wealth” and the government controls it.  In Capitalism, the government does not.  There is no “we” involved in spreading the wealth.  That is up to the people who own it.

 

That being said, Bill Gates has become perhaps the greatest philanthropist of all time.  I do commend him on what he is doing, forgive him for the bugs in PowerPoint for all those years.  He’s good guy doing good things now.

 

spike

 

 

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