Who has a billion dollars? Your net worth is what someone is willing to pay for what you have, whether you've sold it or not. If a famous painter paints a new portrait, the value he's created wasn't taken from anyone. Nor if an entrepreneur creates a much-loved product.https://twitter.com/peterdaou/status/1206656298625966081 …
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Like so: 1) Bezos would likely be broke if he was born in Somalia. 2) The US, even without Bezos, would still likely have a massive online retailer worth hundreds of billions. Therefore: Bezos didn't create Amazon. The United States did.
Do you... think *you* wouldn't be broke if you were born in Somalia? Do you think the US is entitled to the delta between your earning potential in Somalia and your earnings today? Do you believe you've ever created something that the United States didn't actually create?
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And what about immigrant founders? How much of Patrick Collison does Ireland own, and how much rightfully belongs to the USA?
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A majestic arbitrage opportunity, to poach global talent and capitalize on their outsized outcomes.
End of conversation
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(1/2) So yes: clearly I (and you, and Bezos) shouldn't get zero. How things are divvied up by co-creators is always a negotiation. Those arguing for higher taxes are just negotiating for a bigger cut of the spoils. No different from the canvas stretcher demanding a raise.
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(2/2) So then the question is: when does society's cut get so big that entrepreneurs walk away (and we all lose)? This is an empirical question, not an ethical or moral one. If we go too high, the problem isn't unfairness, it's an efficiency collapse.
End of conversation
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