Commodus
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 2004
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Ever hear of Blue Orgin or SpaceX? Lots of jobs there.
Blue Origin has about 6,000 employees, while SpaceX has nearly 10,000. Not exactly huge, economy-changing achievements for two of the world's wealthiest people. And I suspect you're not mentioning Tesla because its early success leaned heavily on government subsidies and outside investments. (SpaceX is heavily dependent on government contracts, I'd add.)
You'd have a case if Bezos or Musk had said "you know what? I don't need these billions — let me invest them in hiring tens of thousands more people, giving workers more than a subsistence living, or in making broad investments in economic developments that could make a real difference." Instead, they make the occasional philanthropic contribution that's sometimes more about the tax deduction than the cause.
Besides, if the very wealthy were taxed more like they were in the past, that would lead to a more balanced budget, more money for infrastructure and, you guessed it, more jobs. And I don't mean more bureaucracy — I mean more road maintenance workers, teachers and others whose vital work depends on healthy government funding.