inda McQuaig - "Trouble with Billionaires" full show

[bluewren2]

Terrible speaking voice and delivery and why doesn't she do something about that hair. It doesn't really inspire people to become richer does it?.

[AngrySemite]

Ironic that a Mitt Romney campaign add preceded this video when I opened it.

[rayallin]

The rich create wealth and jobs...they are the inventors, industrialists and business owners that make your daily lives better. What you should HATE is Fascism , corporatism, UNFAIR lobbying and PROTECTIONISM where tax breaks, subsidies or grants to select businesses apply CRONY CAPITALISM which destroys FREE MARKETS by unfair advantage. Most all the businesses that you feel are greedy are the very ones that have little to no competition and are given special treatment by government.

[blacklite911]

@rayallin Inventors are not rich in general and historically, have never been. I agree with the latter part of your post but being rich doesn't signify anything about the individual besides the fact that they are wealthy. Snooki's rich, wtf has she produced? Just a problem with the rhetoric thats all.

[rayallin]

@blacklite911 Invention as a category is people or corporations that solve problems or provide benefits be it via an annotative service like Paypal or Ebay or a medical heart stent or iphone. Capitalism doesn't guarantee success and only a small percentage achieve success. The consumer votes with his wallet through voluntary transactions when they feel value exceeds the payment. There will always be exceptions such as the Snooki's of the world or but they are certainly not the norm.

[blacklite911]

@rayallin I beg to differ, the innovations we do have in this day and age, are the exceptions to the rule.

If the profit motive worked for providing the best then healthy food would be cheap, energy would be free, we would have the best electronics that don't break down (not planned obsolescence), healthcare and education wouldn't be considered a "luxury." Companies wouldn't have to cut corners and outsource slave labor, and so much more that I don't have the space to list. Read some Chomsky.

[blacklite911]

@rayallin A concrete example of how the profit motive doesn't guarantee the best innovations is the military. The military has historically been a leading source of innovation in the world. In modern age the internet, gps, radiation science, etc Yet there are no markets, just committed people with a focus of creating things that will benefit their cause.

I'm not a proponent of what the military does with their innovations, but they clearly show that you don't need markets to have innovation.

[LasagnaIsGood]

@blacklite911 LOL, who do you think the military hires to create everything? They contract businesses to do it for them, usually handing them off to the companies that are the most innovative and competent for the job. That is a market right there, funded by tax payer money. If the military directly supervised the entire operation through central planning it would be a complete mess.

[budala1969]

This interview and the book that it's about, pretty much summarize everything that's wrong with our tax system.

[hayden50]

socialist (B)itch...

[sarcee1960]

@hayden50  Fuck you. yeah, you.

[phoqnchyt]

@hayden50 Either this guy is one of those drones "joe the plumber" idiots who believe that they will be rich one day or he is one a Bay Street parasite that produces shit for society. What a fucking drone...

[ujean56]

What a refreshing conversation. For once billionaires are being blamed for our economic problems instead of unions... and Ms McQuaig isn't a communist! Outstanding! Thanks for this post.

[lucettelp]

@ujean56

She may have been influenced by David Lewis who represented the anti-communist left. David Lewis's father was a leader of the Jewish Bund and moved his family to Canada after being interrogated for days by the Russians. The Bund is the Jewish version of the Social Gospel with a bit more emphasis on worker rights and autonomy.

[ujean56]

@lucettelp Thanks for the history lesson. I'm not sure what you are saying but she still seems to lay the blame for our economic problems squarely at the feet of those who, by all accounts, are responsible. If she were influenced by Hammurabi she'd still be correct.