I Like Rich People
I like rich people.
It seems to be a popular pastime today to bash rich folks. Some folks want to tax them until they are drained of their riches. I get the impression that some of these folks would put rich folks in jail if they could.
Now in their anger with rich folks, they make notable exceptions: entertainers and professional athletes. For some unknown reason they seem to get a pass.
The rich folks who are demonized are mainly business people. “How dare they have so much money.”
I suspect that the basis of their hatred of rich businessmen is envy. Personally, envy has never been part of my personal vocabulary.
Andrew Carnegie was a “rich” industrialist who made his fortune primarily in the steel industry. During the latter part of his life, he gave away 90% of his fortune. Although his philanthropy took many forms, he placed particular importance on libraries. He supported the construction of 3000 free libraries. The locals did have to provide funds for the land and operations and maintenance---he was no fool.
A few other names you may recognize of rich folks who are philanthropists are the following: Warren Buffett, 40.80 billion, healthcare, education, AIDS-prevention, sanitation; Bill Gates, 35.8 billion, healthcare, extreme poverty, education, access to information technology; Howard Hughes, 1.56 billion, healthcare; Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Foundation, 12.4 billion, economic improvements, education, freedom and democracy, and world peace.
Other notable philanthropists include J. Paul Getty, John Hopkins…well, it's a rather lengthy list which also includes entertainers such as Jon Bon Jovi and Paul Newman.
Now, some of these philanthropists did some pretty questionable stuff, but, on the other hand, a lot of middle class and poor folks also did some pretty questionable stuff. Just saying.
One reason I like rich folks is that they are the financiers who make a lot of projects possible, and while they are making money, so are their employees…you know, trickle down. That should give a liberal a headache.
If you are not happy with “trickle down,” initiate your own business, and you'll quickly discover that you are still part of the trickle down process. Sorry about reality.
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said to Ernest Hemingway, “The rich are different from you and me,” to which Ernest replied, “Yes, they have more money.” I tend to agree with Ernest.
Many folks aspire to be rich. I'm just not one of them. I guess I missed out on the I-want-to-be-rich gene. Now, if I were to suddenly be the beneficiary of millions, I would consider that to be a good thing, but I just don't feel like making the effort to work for it. I'll leave that to other folks…folks who have my admiration.
As for me, I'll go on drawing my teacher retirement, doodling a few paintings, and writing little essays.
enough