With wealth inequality and billionaire control over American society growing ever more obscene, it’s well past time to implement a maximum wage limit.

  • ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml
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    3 days ago

    We desperately need to get rid of billionaires and follow that up with millionaires

    • I’d agree with you on tossing billionaires and two - three figure millionaires, but on the low end millionaires is a very wide net that could also include folks with property, retirees and small business owners. I’m not trying to sound out of touch or shill for the owning class here, because there definitely is a point where personal wealth gets excessive, but “common people” with over a million in assets isn’t all that unheard of.

    • Fondots@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I think “millionaires” is probably a bit too broad depending on exactly how you define it. A million dollars doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to.

      Most insanely wealthy people don’t necessarily have millions or billions of dollars sitting around in cash or in their bank accounts, that worth includes things like investments and real estate.

      So going by that most people who own a house are probably around halfway to being a millionaire just due to that, add in a retirement account and some savings and odds are theres probably a lot more “millionaires” walking around than you’d think.

      I have a relative who retired a few years ago, he worked as a bricklayer his entire life, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a solid job, and he was very good at it, so he made good money, but he wasn’t his own boss, or anyone else’s for that matter, wasn’t actively playing the stock market or anything, just a guy who worked his whole life, lived within his means, saved money, put it into safe retirement accounts and such, etc.

      He retired with about 1.5 million. I’m not totally clear if that includes the value of his house or not, if it does that would still put him at around 1 million in savings and investrents, and if it doesn’t you can bump him up to around 2 if we measure him like we do the really wealthy people.

      And there’s a good chance that medical bills and such will eat up a good amount of that from him in the coming years…

    • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      We desperately need to teach leftists academic economics. Yall have your heart in the right place but none of you have the slightest clue what the fallout of your policy suggestions are.

      “Getting rid” of millionaires is ludicrous. There are people who are millionaires because a stock does well for a bit. There are people who had a million for a few days because they held Dogecoin when Elon manipulated that price. Millionaire is a much lower bar than you think.

        • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          Exactly, I graduated college at the right time for many of my friends to he worth 10+ million on paper entirely in the form of stock in their employer. One of my buddies had $16 million in AskJeeves that he couldn’t sell as an employee. By the time he could sell that was $64k. Not everyone who is a millionaire is actually a millionaire.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 days ago

        There are people who are millionaires because a stock does well for a bit.

        These largely aren’t working class people.

      • howrar@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        I made about 60k when I started working as a dev. At the rate I saved back then, I’d be well in millionaire territory within about 10 years had I not left it for grad school.

      • ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml
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        3 days ago

        You are framing this in a capitalist world. Getting rid of billionaires would also get rid of the stock market, they hold about 93% of stocks. The stock market is them buying a portion of working class wages and calling them dividends. If everyone’s material needs are met the accumulation of wealth isnt a driving force for ‘success’

        • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          Getting rid of stocks and billionaires would have a massive fallout hence why we need to teach leftists actual academic economics as this shift would be colossal and havea ton of externalities.