Paula's Place

Paula's Place

Saturday 22 January 2022

Clarification

I had an anonymous comment on my angry post the other day, they said 

"Your comments no doubt apply to a lot of rich people, and it is true that a lot of poor people are getting poorer. A few factors have to be taken into account, however, if your comments aren't going to be misconstrued. First, we must ask: are the poor getting poorer as a direct result of the rich getting richer? In some cases, probably, where the rich person is also amoral. However, there are exceptions, eg Bill Gates, who was a philanthropist to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Besides, if the wealthy man invests his wealth in job creation for fair wages, he is actually helping to alleviate poverty. All I'm saying is, we need to be careful not to tar everyone in a certain category with the same brush. Ironically, Paula, you're careful to avoid this with gender and colour, but not wealth."

I'm sorry that was not my intention, maybe it was because I was angry that I didn't express myself better, It is not personal wealth, or the people who possess it that makes me angry, some are kind considerate people, just as with everything else everyone is different, my intention was not to be, or to encourage others to be angry about wealth. NO, what I was railing against was not the amount of money some people possess, it is the system that leads to such inequalities, it is the system that values footballers more than nurses, the system where money flows to money, not to value, not work, not to need.  This is the same system that will pursue and prosecute minor offenders while allowing crooked cabinet ministers and corrupt politicians and civil servants to go scot free. The same system that forces people with disabilities to demonstrate just how disabled they are before being given any support while allowing corporations to avoid paying their taxes.

Now I'm quite sure that if we had the sort of system that I would espouse, some billionaires would not continue to increase their wealth at the same rate, a lot of people and corporations would pay more in taxes than they do now,  and some of our leading figures would not get away with flouting the law. I would not be shedding tears for them if that meant people didn't have to choose between heating or food, if people working in full time valuable jobs didn't have to claim benefits in order to survive, if people with disabilities got the support they need.

I hear it said that "there's not enough money" there is plenty of money, it is a political decision as to how much of that money is collected in taxation, and how it is spent, we have in this country and many others had a succession of governments who have chosen not to collect taxes and in turn have allowed, or encouraged services to decline. Unless we as citizens start to make different decisions about who we elect the rich will continue to get richer, the poor will continue to get poorer, services will continue to decline. I ask again, what sort of society do you want to live in.

1 comment:

Lynn Jones said...

"I ask again, what sort of society do you want to live in..."

One where people are well fed, cared for, respected, and feel safe to be themselves.

If someone is buying another luxury yacht and/or going into space: have a word with yourself.