Billionaires say they are desperate to give away their money – but their interests are misaligned with society’s. Just tax them!
Almost exactly a year ago, Vox journalist Kelsey Piper was having a heart-to-heart with Sam Bankman-Fried. The “Crypto King” (people used to call him a lot of stupid things) had just declared bankruptcy, setting off a chain of events that last week ended in his conviction for multiple types of fraud. He has yet to be sentenced, but he faces a maximum term of 115 years, which is quite some override of the principle “avoid sending rich people to prison” laid down, I believe, by the founding fathers.
Against a backdrop in which Bankman-Fried has already been put bang to rights, and on the understanding that further critique of the young gentleman won’t give anyone their money back, I still can’t help circling one part of the Piper/Bankman-Fried exchange. “You don’t believe anyone is doing anything for good reasons,” Piper told him in a message. “You don’t believe the ‘good guys’ are good, so why not make it big and then be the one who gets to decide what ‘good’ is?”
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