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Re: Jeff Bezos' superyacht is so big it needs its own yacht

By: Cactus Flower in ALEA | Recommend this post (0)
Tue, 11 May 21 5:57 AM | 31 view(s)
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Msg. 42049 of 54434
(This msg. is a reply to 42048 by clo2)

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Not for me. Nope.

This is just the way the American system [and to an extent similar western democracies] rewards individual success. Which is to say, very unequally.

Bezos came up with his own ideas, took the risk of putting money into them, made them work as a business - things many people celebrate, including me.

But good fortune is always a part of things. And others' will have added their own ideas to his success. And he will have benefitted from things he inherited from society as whole, such as a functioning legal system, running water, roads, security, education and healthcare. The privilege of belonging to a wealthy, democratic, albeit imperfect country [but which country isn't].

In the way we work things, he takes a vast share of the wealth and the income his idea and his good fortune have generated; while we tend to overlook the things he (and everyone else in a democracy like the US) has received.

He also avoids paying taxes (if only via Amazon) and therefore he fails to contribute what many, including me, think of as a proper share to the common weal.

If he was a brown or black man, in a non-race-based way, I would think the same thing. There are plenty of wealthy black people in America. That isn't black privilege either. It's the privilege of being American.

To his credit, Bill Gates found a useful way to redress the balance between making a fortune for himself and sharing its benefits. But is it better to have a system in which individuals select the things upon which to focus their largesse? Or should a society make those decisions via a fully tax-funded government? I think the latter is healthier, at least for the bulk of the income these sorts of people generate [while also leaving them with enough to feel it was all worth it]. But at least Gates is giving a lot of it away.

Big ships to me suggest private lives without much personal meaning. If I was him, I'd pay my taxes and be building lots of hospitals, public libraries and schools. But I don't see much to do with so-called white privilege in it. Just a system that generates, harnesses and rewards self-centred behaviour, and seems blind to the investment of society as a whole in any individual person's success.


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The above is a reply to the following message:
Jeff Bezos' superyacht is so big it needs its own yacht
By: clo2
in ALEA
Tue, 11 May 21 2:35 AM
Msg. 42048 of 54434

White privilege............

Jeff Bezos' superyacht is so big it needs its own yacht

New York (CNN Business)Today in ultra-billionaire news, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has purchased a modest 100-foot schooner as he looks forward to a quieter life and hours of reflection on the open seas ... LOL, just kidding.

The world's richest man is reportedly buying a boat, though that word feels inappropriately sensible for the monstrosity going to Captain Bezos: a 417-foot superyacht that's so massive it has its own "support yacht" with a helipad, according to Bloomberg. The estimated cost, not including the boat's support boat, is $500 million.

The luxury yacht's Dutch manufacturer, Oceanco, hasn't released many details about the vessel, called Project 721. The company didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Half a billion bucks is an inconceivable amount of money for most people, but it's a small fraction of the $75 billion that Bezos gained in 2020 alone. His total net worth stands just shy of $200 billion, according to Bloomberg.

more:

http://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/business/jeff-bezos-yacht/index.html


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