Redistributing Wealth

I often wonder why this is such a hotly debated topic. I mean, all we do is redistribute wealth, it's just a matter of how we go about it. Under capitalism we live in a trickle up economy, or actually it's more like an upside down waterfall economy.

_{Image by NOBama NoMas - source: Flickr}

We redistribute something when there's something gone wrong with the initial distribution; I believe we can all agree with that very simple concept. I hope we can also all agree on the following: our way of creating wealth under capitalism results in the distribution of wealth in just one direction, which is up, which can't be helped, as it is a direct consequence of capitalism's profit imperative. This trickle up mechanism always results, if not immediately then certainly over many generations when wealth is inheritable, in an ever widening gap between the very rich and the poor. Historically, such inequality has provoked revolution and revolt, and it will do so again when left unchecked. To illustrate how this really is a one-way street, consider this 2018 Oxfam International report: Richest 1 percent bagged 82 percent of wealth created last year - poorest half of humanity got nothing.

These are undeniable facts for everyone, save the ones who believe capitalism never got a fair shot at proving itself because there never has been a truly free market. To those people I would say that there's a reason why markets have never been free of regulation: economy is how we decide to produce and distribute wealth, wealth equals power and those with power will wield it to benefit themselves. Government is, and always has been, a function of the economy; there is no economy without politics and government, and there never will be. Not as long as there's a thing called "property" because that property equals power, power of the oligarchs when it's in private hands, power of the state when it's in the government's hands. That's why anarcho capitalism can't ever work, not even on paper (as far as I'm concerned, anarcho capitalism is a contradiction in terms), and why communism (which also abolishes government) can work on paper, but never in practice as long as property exists.

The creation of wealth under capitalism concentrates wealth in the hands of the owners, but that's just the first stage in the trickle up process. We also have trickle up taxes, trickle up money creation, trickle up lending... Let me summarize a couple of those; you can read the 2018 The Guardian article Wealth inequality is soaring – here are the 10 reasons why it’s happening for a more comprehensive list of trickle up mechanics and techniques.

First there's the immense complexity of tax laws; the British tax code contains 12.5 times the number of words in the Bible. Only the rich have the resources to hire experts and lawyers to find the loopholes, of which there are many, especially for the wealthy few, in that immense body of legal gobbledygook; the middle class and poor end up paying taxes on a real proportional basis, the rich don't. Then there's this "quantitative easing" which amounts to printing large amounts of money out of nothing that go straight into the financial sector, pushing up the prices of financial assets which is great for those who own said assets, or work in related sectors, but not for most people. We also know about our debt-based money; almost all existing money has been created through lending. When money is created, prices rise, but they do so unevenly: the first borrowers (multinationals and financial institutions) don't have to deal with the higher prices, because inflation only goes into effect AFTER the money is spent into the economy. When this new money has finally "trickled down" to Joe Schmoe, all prices have risen, but his wages have not. Then there's the taxation on labor. There's nothing wrong with that in principle, but the rich don't earn their money through labor, but from the appreciation in price of their companies, their real estate, their bonds and so on, which largely go untaxed, unless they sell (so most don’t). This is why a wealth tax, as proposed by Sanders and Warren could do so much toward leveling the playing field.

_{Mark Cuban: Taxing Billionaires Is Like Scapegoating Immigrants}

Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, in our economy is geared to make the rich richer and this shouldn't be surprising at all. It's no coincidence that they who are successful at playing this game are the same who write the rules for this game. They also know that they occasionally have to give a little something back, be it through (completely self-serving) charities or giving support to make believe solutions like a Universal Basic Income. Taxation in itself is far from ideal, as it is a necessary evil born from the shadow cast by capitalism. Keep that in mind: socialism exists only because capitalism exists, wealth redistribution (in any direction) only exists because wealth concentration exists. The opinion that taxation equals theft is spread by the rich, and that's no coincidence; they need us to believe that government is evil, they need us to believe that they are our benefactors, that they "create jobs" as opposed to buy labor as little and as cheaply as possible.

Taxation is not a simple matter of "taking from the rich and giving to the poor", but something we ALL contribute to make a society worth living in, worth participating in by providing education and health care for everyone, roads and public transport for everyone, and so on. As things stand now, wealth inequality is back to the levels of the Gilded Age and last year, For The First Time In History, U.S. Billionaires Paid A Lower Tax Rate Than The Working Class; it's time to reverse this catastrophic trend. And we'll have to fight for this to happen. That's why I believe Bernie Sanders represents a once in our lifetime chance to start this fight, as he understands that the necessary changes can only come about through a large popular uprising; he has said that he will be the "organizer in chief" instead of just the commander in chief, which tells me he understands the magnitude of what needs to happen and that he can't do it alone. In closing, please listen to this short video by dr. Richard D. Wolff to learn what the Bible has to say about lending money and how new lending-schemes accelerate us even faster into the next big financial crisis...

_{Todays EU Personal Loans}

---

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, keep steeming!

Recent articles you might be interested in:

Latest article >>>>>>>>>>>	The Futurists
The Twenty-second Amendment	Socialism Versus Capitalism
The Labor Apocalypse And Wasted Profits	Price Of Principles
The Able Slave	Joker

Thanks for stopping by and reading. If you really liked this content, if you disagree (or if you do agree), please leave a comment. Of course, upvotes, follows, resteems are all greatly appreciated, but nothing brings me and you more growth than sharing our ideas. It's what Steemit is made for!

I am a proud helpinaut! @Helpie is looking for new members! Helpie has been growing nicely and we are always on the lookout for new valuable members. We are very supportive and community oriented. If you would like to be scouted for @helpie , please drop a comment on THIS POST or contact @paintingangels on discord at paintingangels(serena)#3668.

Just for Full Disclosure, I'm invested in these crypto-currencies:

Bitcoin | Litecoin | EOS | OmiseGo | FunFair | KIN | Pillar | DENT | Polymath | XDCE | 0x | Decred | Ethereum | Carmel | XYO



@helpie is a WITNESS now! So please help @helpie help you by voting for us here!