Reflection 4: How Much is Too Much?—Should Billionaires Exist?

At an MLK event in 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, "I'm not saying that Bill Gates or Warren Buffett are immoral, but a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don't have access to public health is wrong." What Ocasio-Cortez was pointing to was the growing focus on income inequality in America today. And increasingly, the face of this inequity is America's billionaires. Indeed, the gap between the mega-rich and everyone else is staggering. For example, the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, has a net worth of $139.4 billion. The Amazon CEO earns an astonishing $2,489 per second—or $8.9 million an hour. Such figures have led many to question the very existence of billionaires. Is it okay for a single person to have that much money? Is it morally justifiable? Or, as some argue, would impeding the pursuit of wealth hurt society? Finally, what obligations, if any, do these individuals have to the rest of us?

Include at least two of the following in your reflection:

• "Should Billionaires Exist? Sanders, Warren and Steyer Debate It" (New York Times)
• "Think Billionaires are Just Super-Rich People? Big Mistake" (Guardian)
• "Actually, Bernie Sanders, Billionaires Should Exist" (MerionWest)
• "Two Cheers for Billionaires—They’ve Made Life so Much Better for Us" (MarketWatch)
• "Why Does Everybody Suddenly Hate Billionaires? Because They’ve Made it Easy." (Washington Post)
• "What Billionaires Said About Wealth Inequality and Capitalism in 2019" (CNBC)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Approximately 300 words
• Works cited 

Due: Wed 4.22