Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Memes aren't EZ

Today a friend posted a meme to Facebook that basically said to stop "giving" money to rich people because they horde it and don't stimulate the economy whereas a poor person would spend it with the result also enriching others.  This is my response:

Rich people "horde" their money? So rich people have a big vault, like Scrooge McDuck? Here, all my life, I believed that rich people put their money into real estate, rolling stock, stocks, bonds, banks, and credit unions. What do Wall Street and the banks do with that money? Why, they invest it so that others may buy homes, cars, and operate businesses.When Mr. Bloomberg buys a new yacht the shipbuilder pays hundereds of suppliers and workers, who generally like to be paid. I wasn't given my home, I had to borrow money to buy it. Thank God for the rich people who invest their money in mortgage banks so that I can avail my family of that service. The only "static" money of significance is the $20 bill we keep tucked in our wallets in case of emergency and those silver bars you have hidden under your bed (and once upon a time, you paid for those, too). Of course, money invested returns more money, because that's how smart people invest. I'd like to find these people who are "giving" money to rich people. Having said that, our society cannot afford to give unfair advantage to the wealthy and powerful at the expense of anyone else.But neither should we "eat the rich." That's been tried, and has never, ever, ever worked out well. A progressive and equitable tax system is an indespensible feature of a free economy.

While we're at it, let's include no-cost-to-student lunches in the operation of all public elementary and high schools.  Have an EZ day!

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