Isn’t charity wonderful?

People take their resources and give them to organizations that help others.

Sure, that is what the taxation system combined with welfare was supposedly about, but as we all now know, welfare is a finite resource in a world of Billionaires, so charity is needed.

Given the choice between someone being homeless and someone not being able to buy the latest several hundred-thousand-dollar Lamborghini, well, all know what choice our system takes in that situation. 

There was a dream of wealth redistribution, of the rich and powerful, giving a larger portion to help those who suffer from poverty and the results of a system that has not been able to give them a financially stable role in this world. Some say they should make do with what they have, or can get without help from welfare or charity, but we all know those voices are from those who have never spent a day in the shoes of someone desperate, feeling despair at what their life has come to.

We could be better as a society, we could make sure everyone is fed, is housed, is cared for, we could do all that.

Or we could still buy into that old “Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps” adage.

You know, the one trotted out every time someone worth twenty or thirty billion dollars has been suggested to pay more tax.

How much is enough money?

A single billion, a hundred million?

I personally wouldn’t have a problem having to live off a hundred million dollars for the rest of my life, which makes me wonder why anyone would need more than that.

Sure, there are yachts worth over a hundred million, but then how much or a hospital or school would that buy?

Tarik Rachid - Speech at Inequality Forum