TWO VIEWS: The billion dollar question
Billionaires’ wealth has reached insurmountable proportions, givin to allow one person to acquire an excessive amount of wealth. Sho COMMENTARY BY NATALIA PALLAS, BUSINESS MANAGER
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OST PEOPLE have at least once imagined, maybe even dreamed of, becoming a billionaire. Such wealth is incomprehensible to many, yet does that mean the ability to accumulate that amount of wealth should be eliminated? The desire to advance financially permeates society and removing that dream could lead to a decrease in innovation and the desire to work hard. Radicating the possibility and status of becoming a billionaire overlooks inate human desire for wealth. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), many studies have found how small financial incentives motivate the brain, meaning money has the power to significantly change behavior — and for the better. Removing the incentive to become a billionaire would only discourage those who want to achieve more financial success, which in turn can make for a less productive society. CNBC states that for workers making more than $150,000 per year, 68% of them were very fulfilled with their occupation. A significant decrease was shown with workers who made less than $50,000, as only 40% of them felt the same way. This supports the argument that money is a critical factor in motivating hard work. If billionaires did not exist, there would be less of an incentive to try to overcome one’s income level and strive for a better life. “Becoming a billionaire is very difficult and does seem unfair, but it would be even
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more unfair to take away that chance for other people,” junior Hannah White said. It is no question that a billion dollars is an immense sum of money, yet so is 500 million or even 50 million. These milestones of wealth are arbitrary and there is no compelling need for the government to eliminate them. To confiscate such feats of wealth would just promote people taking their business to other nations or even turning to illegal methods of
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BECOMING A BILLIONAIRE IS VERY DIFFICULT AND DOES SEEM UNFAIR, BUT IT WOULD BE EVEN MORE UNFAIR TO TAKE AWAY THAT CHANCE FOR OTHER PEOPLE HANNAH WHITE, JUNIOR acquiring wealth. The fact that most will never accumulate such large quantities of money, does not mean the government should curtail the pursuit of that. The debate about whether billionaires should exist stems mostly from the criticism of capitalist society. Yet, it is only in a capitalist society that one can overcome their past finances and climb towards a better tomorrow. Capitalism’s free-market propels the production of goods and services as well
as allows for economic freedom for one to choose their financial path. Any limitations not only border on a violation of the United States constitution but form roadblocks in a functional economic system. Billionaires that have not inherited their wealth are typically those who have gained wealth through innovation in services and products that benefit society today. Take for instance, Facebook. According to Statista, the social media platform currently has around 2.7 billion current users and has helped people connect all over the world. This creation has spurred the invention of social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. A law or regulation prohibiting billionaires could be a deterrent to this type of technology and the thousands of jobs created by this industry. According to Forbes, “the top 12 billionaire job creators — all together worth more than $308 billion — have generated at least 2.3 million jobs globally.” Current daily life activities would seem unimaginable and likely more difficult without a smartphone or Google. There is no denying that there are large economic disparities in the United States. Pews Research Center compiled data showing how from 1989 to 2016 the wealth gap has broadened between America’s wealthiest and most poverty stricken families. “Better quality education would decrease the economic strain placed on low-income communities while increasing their chances of succeeding,” senior Samantha Gazda said. However, the solution to this unfortunate consequence should not be to eliminate billionaires as a whole. Instead, a more reasonable solution would be to reach a middle ground, in which there would be a higher tax on billionaires. Moreover, there h s h o u l d
by the numbers Billionaires have more wealth than 60% of the world’s population. Compiled by Natalia Pallas and María José Cestero/ highlights
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One in five U.S. households have zero or negative networth.
55.8% of the 2,604 billionaires in the world are selfmade.
Source: Oxham International, Federal Reserve, Wealth X, Pew Research Center
