It’s always the same, pompous virtue signalling but no action.
A group of 83 of the world’s richest people have called on governments to permanently increase taxes on them and other members of the wealthy elite to help pay for the economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
The super-rich members, including Ben and Jerry’s ice cream co-founder Jerry Greenfield and Disney heir Abigail Disney, called on “our governments to raise taxes on people like us. Immediately. Substantially. Permanently”.
“As Covid-19 strikes the world, millionaires like us have a critical role to play in healing our world,” the millionaires said in a letter shared with the Guardian. “No, we are not the ones caring for the sick in intensive care wards. We are not driving the ambulances that will bring the ill to hospitals. We are not restocking grocery store shelves or delivering food door to door.
“But we do have money, lots of it. Money that is desperately needed now and will continue to be needed in the years ahead, as our world recovers from this crisis.”
Sigh…
There is no need for government to do anything. These 83 souls can simply get their chequebooks out and write the relevant cheques. Problem solved. I mean, if the money is needed now, then the sooner the better, eh?
Why hand over money to the government anyway? The state has to be the worst possible custodian of their surplus cash. Why not invest it in start up businesses where it will do far more good?
Quite. But virtue signalling is not about reason or logic, it’s about feelz and being seen to be virtuous.
If the government increases their tax bills, they will have their shyster lawyers initiate tax reducing programmes, so it will look like they are ‘helping the people’ while actually paying less tax than before. Like you said, if they really meant it, they would get their cheque books out.
They can pay what they want but don’t expect any more money from me.
Actually it’s a calculated move by the super rich to protect themselves from a serious ask. They offer “a little bit” to relieve any pressure for them to pay up something bigger, so they can then say “we did our part” when the state comes to hammer the rest of us through PAYE
And the final gag on these pompous, superior beings will be to demand some serious money instead of the chump change they smugly expect.
So for every person who signed the letter, who clearly has too much of it, and is gagging to give it away, shall we start the bidding for a windfall tax at, say, £3 billion? Or £5 billion? Let’s see how long the virtue signalling lasts
Like his music or no, it was a testament to the guy that in the wake of George Michael’s death the true extent of his charitable and philanthropic giving emerged. Often it seemed that the sole condition of a donation from him was that his name would not be linked to it. He put his money where his heart told him to and did not do so in order to win kudos from the world around him. More of these cringe-making corporate knobshiners could learn to follow his example.
Do you mean follow his example by dying? I must agree that for some of them, it would be a laudable step.