Letter: Billionaires and the American Dream

I was going to use several billionaires of varying quality to explain the logic of regulated wealth. Regulated wealth? It’s not just the billionaires the socialists are after—it’s that extraordinarily huge trove of money the government calls “regulated wealth.”

Regulated wealth is money the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve know and watch closely, ostensibly to protect ordinary investors. The billionaires’ money is included, as are all of our bank accounts, retirement accounts, nest eggs, and so on. Calling out the billionaires is a “red herring” to hide the jackpot of everybody’s money that would not be accessible to the socialist schemes until they redistribute it equitably among everyone.

That is what we are talking about here. The mechanism they propose for redistribution with equity is the government, which has proven to be universally incompetent for this endeavor.

But let’s play their game and focus on everybody’s favorite billionaire, Elon Musk.

In simple terms, Musk is an immigrant living the American dream. He started where most Americans begin, with a good education, a modicum of intelligence, and some very good ideas. Most people share many of these traits. What sets him apart is an incredible drive, discipline, and a high tolerance for risk.

The companies he developed include PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, Neuralink, Starlink, and The Boring Company.

Some people say he is too rich. They say nobody should be entitled to so much money. To a person, none of those people could, or ever will, control wealth like that. These same people suggest I am entitled to their political opinions. These same people suggest they are entitled to a greater portion of Elon’s wealth—to distribute “equitably.”

These same people have never imagined success outside of their programmed ideology, an ideology devoid of optimism, opportunity, and exceptionalism.

They say that he has so much and others have too little. His critics are willfully ignorant of what he does with his wealth. Musk reinvests, risks his wealth constantly — starting new companies, imaging populating distant planets! Musk’s wealth, his imagination, and his energy created and fund over 600,000 middle- and upper-middle-class paychecks weekly.

Tesla automobiles have reduced carbon emissions more than any other product on the market. Neuralink helps handicapped people regain their active capabilities. No socialist, no politician, and no influencer has done anything that compares?

Should any individual or government be given the right to eliminate our freedom to go as far as our skills and abilities can take us? Should a political ideology determine when I have succeeded enough? Who should say anybody has enough? Who gives anyone the right to say, “I will determine the equitable distribution of your wealth.”

This year, we are celebrating the signing of our Declaration, which affirmed our God-given unalienable right not to surrender to the reign of a Socialist Court.

This essay is an observation. There is no recommendation to alter our freedoms. We should never give up our rights to our rewards. Besides, no single organization is capable of running our entire economy and no human could stay honest or compassionate with that much power.

”ESPECIALLY SOCIALISTS!”

Sincerely,

Joe Shortino

Owego, New York