In economics 1 dollar is 1 vote. The super rich have billions of...

In economics 1 dollar is 1 vote. The super rich have billions of votes at their disposal which they can use in determining what resources are to be allocated to the satisfaction of their needs. Expensive cars, private jets, access to the best lawyers and doctors, huge mansions, security guards, etc. while the homeless may just have a couple of votes to be used in determining what resources are to be allocated to the satisfaction of their needs, a meal at the salvos, a garden bench for a bed, a supermarket trolley and some alcohol and smokes. To be honest I cannot see any morality in this expression of economic freedom. All that some people end by having is their own labor that nobody wants to buy.

But undoubtedly, that in a world without taxes these people would all be better off thanks to private beneficence. And, most importantly, if they end like this then it must be their fault.

" What these academics are finding is that the American dream is being used to rationalize a national nightmare. It all starts with the psychology concept known as the “fundamental attribution error”. This is a natural tendency to see the behavior of others as being determined by their character – while excusing our own behavior based on circumstances.

For example, if an unexpected medical emergency bankrupts you, you view yourself as a victim of bad fortune – while seeing other bankruptcy court clients as spendthrifts who carelessly had too many lattes. Or, if you’re unemployed, you recognize the hard effort you put into seeking work – but view others in the same situation as useless slackers.

Their history and circumstances are invisible from your perspective. Here’s what has gone wrong: hard work and a good education used to be a sure bet for upward mobility in the US – at least among some groups of people. Americans born in the 1940s had a 90% chance of doing better economically than their parents did – but those born in the 1980s have only 50/50 odds of doing so."