You can run companies without billionaires. Nationalize them, or turn them into worker-owned cooperatives. Or even just sell them to investor groups, if we aren’t going full marxist.
You can of course just force them against their will to liquidate 99% of their assets, and then oversee redistribution collectively, maybe by some previously agreed upon framework for that, or maybe pledge it toward some government coffer, nationalize it, many different options.
And that would be a whole hell of a lot more kind than what Lenin or Mao did.
What is most important is the reformation of the workplaces, the business’s structure and ownership itself into democratic entities in and of themselves, as opposed to little business dictatorships/oligarchies, this way, going forward, proceeds of a productive enterprise are at least not as easily siphoned into new giant private collections of wealth, held by some other person or group or class.
Outlaw private corporations beyond some small headcount size, mandate they are instead worker run co-ops that adhere to some bare minimum standard of representation for all employees.
I like how are talking about yachts like that’s some significant portion of their wealth and not all the land these people own. Not to mention their investments into residential housing.
You picked the frivolous thing instead of the very tangible useful things they horde
A yacht could transfer from a single owner’s luxury item to a public owned means of production though.
Instead of a billionaire taking it out a handful of times a year for intimidation parties (because of the implication) it could instead be used to generate wealth for the public purse by being used daily for cruises or a multitude of other things.
Doctors Without Borders use large boats as mobile hospitals to go to places most in need, if you’re really determined it must be used for healthcare I’m sure some renovation to an existing super yacht is cheaper and easier than building a boat from scratch.
You’re still making the best of a bad situation though. You’d rather the original resources were available. Seizing “wealth” won’t get you the full book value.
Who the fuck cares if we don’t get ‘full book value’ or ‘making the best of a bad situation’ when the implied alternative is not doing anything.
How about we do something? Given how badly the situation has gone, taking that wealth back and making the best use we can with what they’ve wasted money on is one of the best paths forward
That’s not an argument against removing billionaires though, right? You’d rather want to stop the spread of cancer instead of bemoaning the fact that we got sick at all. The best we can do is reposes their frivolously purchased assets and recycle them as much as it’s reasonable, and cast away what remains. It’s not all yachts, some of that wealth is locked in empty flats/houses, and giving those back to community would be very beneficial without needing to transform those assets further.
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It’s fun how people make this stupid “they’re not actually rich” argument while they buy politicians to fuck everyone over.
You can run companies without billionaires. Nationalize them, or turn them into worker-owned cooperatives. Or even just sell them to investor groups, if we aren’t going full marxist.
Bullshit.
“Stocks” are “ownership of the means of production”.
You absolutely can feed yourself on your share of “the means of production”.
You can of course just force them against their will to liquidate 99% of their assets, and then oversee redistribution collectively, maybe by some previously agreed upon framework for that, or maybe pledge it toward some government coffer, nationalize it, many different options.
And that would be a whole hell of a lot more kind than what Lenin or Mao did.
What is most important is the reformation of the workplaces, the business’s structure and ownership itself into democratic entities in and of themselves, as opposed to little business dictatorships/oligarchies, this way, going forward, proceeds of a productive enterprise are at least not as easily siphoned into new giant private collections of wealth, held by some other person or group or class.
Outlaw private corporations beyond some small headcount size, mandate they are instead worker run co-ops that adhere to some bare minimum standard of representation for all employees.
All of those can be sold in exchange for currency.
Only to other billionaires. The yacht moves between owners. It doesn’t turn into healthcare.
The problem with a yacht is that it exists
I like how are talking about yachts like that’s some significant portion of their wealth and not all the land these people own. Not to mention their investments into residential housing.
You picked the frivolous thing instead of the very tangible useful things they horde
A yacht could transfer from a single owner’s luxury item to a public owned means of production though.
Instead of a billionaire taking it out a handful of times a year for intimidation parties (because of the implication) it could instead be used to generate wealth for the public purse by being used daily for cruises or a multitude of other things.
Doctors Without Borders use large boats as mobile hospitals to go to places most in need, if you’re really determined it must be used for healthcare I’m sure some renovation to an existing super yacht is cheaper and easier than building a boat from scratch.
You’re still making the best of a bad situation though. You’d rather the original resources were available. Seizing “wealth” won’t get you the full book value.
Who the fuck cares if we don’t get ‘full book value’ or ‘making the best of a bad situation’ when the implied alternative is not doing anything.
How about we do something? Given how badly the situation has gone, taking that wealth back and making the best use we can with what they’ve wasted money on is one of the best paths forward
That’s not an argument against removing billionaires though, right? You’d rather want to stop the spread of cancer instead of bemoaning the fact that we got sick at all. The best we can do is reposes their frivolously purchased assets and recycle them as much as it’s reasonable, and cast away what remains. It’s not all yachts, some of that wealth is locked in empty flats/houses, and giving those back to community would be very beneficial without needing to transform those assets further.