General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There is not a single business owner in this country who got where they are 100% on their own [View all]Bluerthanblue
(13,669 posts)the only reason you were able to build your house "all by yourself" is because you live in a community. You wouldn't have cement, lumber, roads, shingles etc. if you lived in the self oriented vacuum you are describing.
When we decided to come together as a species, we compromised some of our individual freedom. When you have a 'business' you only have one because you are part of an established society. Without people to make use of your goods or services, you don't have any business. And living in a society requires all of us to pay towards the common good to an extent.
If you want to go out into the wilderness (good luck finding a piece of land that no one else has claimed) chop down trees, eat foraged and hunted food, clothe yourself with skins and garments you produce, and live apart from society, then you can claim to be really living by your own 'wits'- (for lack of a better word)
What is money really? It is the promise of 'work' or 'goods'. It doesn't matter if the "money" is gold, paper currency, or stock certificates- The billions that Romney is sitting on, is only of value when it is exchanged for the goods and services which other people are willing to provide in exchange for the 'promise' of someone else's' future work or goods.
This is why the concept of such inequalities of rich and poor of inherited wealth are destroying society imo. We want the benefit of community without the responsibility.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money" ~ Cree Indian Proverb