Do you want to be too rich?
The Forbes list of Billionaires has always been a thing I hated. It always frightens me to think about that huge wealth amassed by that few 100, when more than a billion people struggle to survive on the purchasing-power equivalent of less than $1 a day.
This year three Indians, for the first time in history was spotted in the top 20. This statistics, is it to be worrisomely written off , or does this need more argument or indeed is it a sign of good things to come? So, where are we folks 'advancing' to?
The $53 billion that Gates, richest man on the planet, keeps for himself is money he could not possibly spend even by buying entire islands; it exceeds the gross domestic product of Costa Rica.
Awesome isn't it? Their money then has no utility as a means of acquisition of more material wealth. So, what gives them happiness? Possibly, giving away money..like the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation does in supporting the cause of healthcare in developing world!. Well, that might not be true, they give away less than 1% of their fortune. In real value it means lots of millions. But aren't we better when we give away 3% annually in charity? So is it really happiness of giving? No it isn't. There is no point thinking either earning money or giving money, as a means of happiness.
Another argument is that this polarization is creating a great economic divide. The inequality is widening, at a rate faster than before. The precise answer to this argument, I found in what Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University mentions. " It's all part of a continuum that says we don't really value all human beings equally at all. The billionaires are just the tip of a very nasty iceberg that we prefer not to look at or think about." He writes " What's a luxurious, frivolous or unnecessary item? Start with bottled water — as long as your tap water is safe to drink — and move up from there."
So, what does the Forbes list of Billionaires mean to us folks. Here it is...it simply indicates that seek any opportunity in your life. And be in control of that in your life.
Russell Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University writes "The measured level of inequality is, in fact, the result of the choices that millions of us make individually, decisions to go to school or drop out, decisions to marry or divorce, decisions to emigrate to America or stay in one's home country. We should worry less about inequality and more about opportunity."
This year three Indians, for the first time in history was spotted in the top 20. This statistics, is it to be worrisomely written off , or does this need more argument or indeed is it a sign of good things to come? So, where are we folks 'advancing' to?
The $53 billion that Gates, richest man on the planet, keeps for himself is money he could not possibly spend even by buying entire islands; it exceeds the gross domestic product of Costa Rica.
Awesome isn't it? Their money then has no utility as a means of acquisition of more material wealth. So, what gives them happiness? Possibly, giving away money..like the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation does in supporting the cause of healthcare in developing world!. Well, that might not be true, they give away less than 1% of their fortune. In real value it means lots of millions. But aren't we better when we give away 3% annually in charity? So is it really happiness of giving? No it isn't. There is no point thinking either earning money or giving money, as a means of happiness.
Another argument is that this polarization is creating a great economic divide. The inequality is widening, at a rate faster than before. The precise answer to this argument, I found in what Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University mentions. " It's all part of a continuum that says we don't really value all human beings equally at all. The billionaires are just the tip of a very nasty iceberg that we prefer not to look at or think about." He writes " What's a luxurious, frivolous or unnecessary item? Start with bottled water — as long as your tap water is safe to drink — and move up from there."
So, what does the Forbes list of Billionaires mean to us folks. Here it is...it simply indicates that seek any opportunity in your life. And be in control of that in your life.
Russell Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University writes "The measured level of inequality is, in fact, the result of the choices that millions of us make individually, decisions to go to school or drop out, decisions to marry or divorce, decisions to emigrate to America or stay in one's home country. We should worry less about inequality and more about opportunity."
