And the Rich Get Lazier

"The rich get rich and the poor get poorer." Many have probably heard this catchphrase, which Wikipedia attributes versions to President Andrew Jackson and President William Henry Harrison. In both cases, they were stating how government power should not be used to insure that government doesn't use its power to insure that those with wealth are made wealthier. Many people believe that this phrase was somehow popularized by communist movements, but you can see that even in the 19th century, U.S. Presidents were talking about it. The ultimate source for the phrase is from the New Testament verse Matthew 13:12 in the King James translation, so it certainly is not a new sentiment.

What I find to be apparent is that the rich get rich, then they get lazy. I'm not just talking about lazy as in physically inactive. I'm talking about mentally and fiscally lazy. It appears to me that many wealthy people are not hard working, engaged, involved, innovators, but people that want to sit on a pile of money while the rules are rigged to insure that the pile grows and the government keeps their hands off of it.

I can't count the number of times I hear business owners (or people that work for them and buy into their propaganda) bemoaning "regulations". It's as if they believe that the only purpose to regulating anything is to insure that capitalism and wealth creation is checked. The same goes for taxes. You'd think taxes were some kind of evil plot to drag down the wealthy. Regulations prevent people from focusing so much on their own greed and schemes that they can trash the environment or take advantage of others in the pursuit of their goals. I don't want to see clean water and clean air regulations rolled back so some obscenely wealthy oil executive can make 10% more than the already incomprehensible stratospheric salary that he made last year. The amount of money these people spend on baubles and trinkets is more than many people make in a year, and we're supposed to feel sorry for them because they have some kind of restriction placed on what they can do? When did the privileged become such victims? I can buy into the fact that everyone should pay the same percentage of their income into taxes. I can't believe that the average mega rich person doesn't have on their payroll or on retainer, a professional that can show him how to avoid paying the amount in taxes that the system says he should pay. I'd be surprised if the wealthiest men in America paid a higher percentage of their income in taxes than I did last year. That's purely a rant of mine, I have no proof or studies to back it up, so if someone actually did a study on it, I'd gladly eat my words.

More to the point, let's get off bitching and griping about taxes. There seems to be no reluctance by the conservatives in this country in paying taxes if the point if stomping on Iraq (check that - we're not even trying to pay for this war as it goes, we're charging it on the National Visa card). My point is that taxes provide necessary benefits. Whether it's an aircraft carrier or a smooth road to drive on, a school to educate someone or a safety net to catch those in need, these programs are part of our life and help make our standard of living so high. You can argue all you want about how the Europeans overtax their people, but the money has to come from somewhere, and whether it's funnelled through taxes or usage fees, whether it is government enforced or voluntary for individuals, we end up with the same standard of living, the same generally peaceful and prosperous society. You don't want to abandon those in the lowest strata of society, from a moral or practical standpoint, it's not sustainable.

I wrote in my last post about the manufacturer's representative business. In this business, people that have been owners of rep firms for years are some of the least motivated people in the sales force. Since hey already have enough money and they have rigged the rules to make the majority of the money in their businesses no matter who sells the most, they don't need to work that hard. That doesn't stop them from expecting high compensation for little effort. Ultimately, they allow their businesses to drift, then expect to sell it at a high and go into retirement (as if that's much different than what they did in the last several years).

I think this is a symptom of your highest class of capitalists in this country as a whole. When was the last time you saw an oil company executive offer to build a new refinery in this country? This would even out shortages caused annually by refinery operational shutdowns and maintenance outages. The oil executives have no desire to do this because it would also lead to less volatile prices and less profits. When was the last time you heard about someone in the entrenched energy industry talk about capitalizing on any new form of energy? It's stupid and short sighted. These companies have all the pipelines, the distribution network, and capital to launch new products across all markets. If they had some foresight and got in front of the energy needs of the country instead of entrenching themselves, we would be in a much better position as a nation. I'm making two arguments here: first that the people with the most market motivation aren't making a very good bet based on where we know energy industry needs and capabilities will go, and second that free market profit motives are not adequate for steering society in the right direction.

My real fear is listening to people that talk about our future as if it doesn't matter to them. I've actually heard people say, "So what if the planet melts down? I'll be long gone by then." I wonder why the uber-rich feel the way they feel about money for the same reason. At some point, don't you just have to say, "I've got enough money to last the rest of my life no matter what I do. It's time to stop pushing for more."