An article in a news website sought sympathy for the wealthy. It actually was an advertisement cloaked as an article and was maintained on the website for months, during the time the Canadian government was contemplating raising taxes on the rich. It played on people's sense of fairness and justice; pleading for fairness, it portrayed government as the evil Goliath swinging its might against the powerless David.
It was so full of falsehoods, it almost made me puke.
They wanted Canadians to feel sorry for them, as if to say, we're worse off than you, won't you please help us?
The following dialogue is between two chimpanzees named Abu and Mabu: I use A and M to distinguish the speaker.
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A: Mabu, why do you have such strong antagonism for rich humans? Is it because they're successful?
M: No. It's because they have lost all contact with the real world. They're out of touch with reality!
A: How is that possible? Aren't they the ones shaping the world humans live in?
M: They are indeed. But their policies are geared to self-enrichment and aggrandizement, not for the betterment of humanity. They have no clue how the rest of the world lives and, clearly, they don't give a damn!
A: Don't they deserve some sympathy? After all, they're letting 99% of humanity have one half of the wealth!
M: That's precisely why, Abu. While the top one percent live in unimaginable luxury, the bottom one percent suffer in unbelievable poverty.
A: I share your concern for the poor, but didn't the super rich work hard for their wealth? Isn't it their right to do with it as they please?
M: Ha ha ha! The super rich don't even know the meaning of hard work. Most of their wealth comes from government handouts – entitlements. The more they demand from governments the more they get. If they weren't so demanding there would be something left for the poor so they wouldn't be so destitute.
A: Mabu, what you say is incredible!
M: You may find it difficult to believe, but it's true! The elites are so greedy and so out of touch with humanity that they don't even deserve to be called human beings. They have no sense of fairness, morality or justice. They don't even know the golden rule, and if they do, they certainly don't practice it.
A: What's the golden rule?
M: It's what us chimps call the rule of nature: do unto others as you would want them do unto you.
A: If that's the case, Mabu, then they're scum; they don't deserve any sympathy.
M: Of course, not all deserve that label. There's the odd one that tries to do something positive for humanity with their wealth, but even they don't do as much as they could and should.
A: Do you have any sympathy for them?
M: No. They still live on government largess and entitlements, but because of their token good works I wouldn't call them scum!
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I found that advertisement despicable for all its falsehoods, but even more so because the very wealthy would stoop so low!
Well, not surprisingly, they won the battle with the government: their taxes were not increased. It was all another exercise in futility, a political activity that's become all too common. Governments get away with it because people have short memories, and because of that politicians don't have to be accountable for broken promises.
It appears to me that corporations, controlled by the one percent, have more rights than citizens. The government has no money to help the poor, but it showers corporations with tons of it, just for the asking.
Bombardier's executives bankrupted their company and went running to the government for money. The day after they received it, they took a good chunk of it for themselves, presumably as reward for their efforts in bankrupting the company in the first place. Yes, I know that after much public anger and outrage they delayed payments, but it was poor government judgement to give such a huge amount with no strings attached.
The Ford Motor Company, flush with cash, having closed 2016 with over a billion dollar in profits, asked the government for money and readily received it. Of course, all of it is done in the name of jobs, but the truth of it is that good paying jobs are being taken over by robots. It's time to stop the rhetoric. Canadians are not stupid!
The government keeps transferring taxpayers' money to the one percent. When is this going to stop?
If the government wants to create jobs, it should provide incentives to small businesses, not to the giants that turn around and slash jobs anyway and appropriate government money for bigger executive bonuses.
Any sympathy for the rich and powerful?
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The Crazy Apes: A Satire of Human Society
RandomA baby gorilla asks his father, "What are humans?" The father replies, "They are monkeys without hair, who believe they are masters of everything around them. They build shelters that go up to the sky. Their ego and greed know no limits and take fro...
