Do working class and middle class Americans really think they too (or their kids) can become Jeff Bezos or Sam Walton? Is that why they tolerate the "sick" gap between corporate owners and employees
I do not think working class and middle class Americans really believe that. Society teaches us every day that we have to work hard to make money and also that life can be really unfair sometimes. I do not think all these corporate owners need or should have that much money and power, but are we supposed to do about it? According to Google, Jeff Bezos is worth 175.3 billion USD, which basically means he makes $3,715 dollars every second and $321 million per day!! While others live off $1 a day, he makes more in one day than others in their lifetime. These numbers leave me speechless and angry at the same time. Who really needs that much money? What do you spend it on? You can say that he earned because he had a great idea and he made amazon what it is, but when is it enough? When are you going to stop? I am definitely not saying that they should give up all their money but maybe consider what good can be done with it and maybe help people that will not have the same chances as them.
I think in today’s world it can be very hard but also very easy to be successful and maybe not make the same amount of money but at least to be considered well-off or rich. Social Media and Society are unpredictable, something can be a great and useful idea today and tomorrow it is already outdated. Who really knows? All of us individuals together decide as a society what we think is good, what we need and what should get attention. So I do not think there is such think as toleration for these abstract numbers, but more of a resignation and realization that we cannot do anything about it.
Total Points: 40
A friend showed me this twitter account that makes one simple post everyday. The account checking and tweeting out if Jeff Bezos ended world hunger. Largely the joke that they are getting at is that he has well over enough money to do so and continues not to. Reading your post makes me think that the question should be are you raising your child to become a good possible billionaire or are you filling him up with greed as a child that will make monetary decisions similar to Jeff Bezos.
ReplyDeleteI apologize I meant to say that the account checks and tweets out if Jeff Bezos has ended world hunger.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really cool thing, I haven't heard of that account!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, my post kind of aims at that. I guess it is inevitable that there is a gap between rich and poor but what we really do with the money is what really county. Kinda goes with what Kathryn said about the Welfare System as well and how rich people exploit that.
I find it interesting how in this country we use money as a marker for what people deserve. Does Jeff Bezos deserve to hoard enough wealth to solve world hunger? Obviously not. Does the single mother working two jobs deserve to have to skip meals to afford her water bill? Also no. The idea that the amount of money someone can manage to earn is what represents what human needs they have "earned" is absurd. Having a system where someone has to earn the right to eat and live and not die of diabetes is a broken system.
ReplyDeleteI also agree/hope that Americans don't have these expectations of becoming the next Bezos. I don't even think he earned this money. At a certain point it isn't that you earned it but that you found a golden ticket. I would honestly be scared if people were striving to be at the level of "success" as Bezos. I hope that soon more Americans will acknowledge there is no need for this much money.
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