Whether thrilling to the awesomeness of large numbers, or tsk-tsking their way through a "How did this happen?" segment, talkers talking about Elon Musk and his Glorious Trillion predictably invited other people to talk along with them. Many of the invitees have been at least ambivalent about individual humans owning their own countries (haven't we already done this?), and many are adamant that no, individual humans should not, in fact, have the money (or fiction of money) to control the fates of tens and hundreds of millions of folks.
But whatever the particular bent of the particular talker, one question that gets asked as if it's a moment of holy reflection is: "Is it wrong for someone to have a trillion dollars?" (Used to be a billion. Good old days.)
It's a trick question, of course, straight from the bot-scripted newsy show handbook. If the well-meaning guest says "No, but..." the questioner is all "Then what's the problem?" implicitly endorsing the widespread delusion that owning billions and billions of dollars proves you are god.
If, however, the guest comes up with, "Yes, of course it is wrong," then they are bombarded with two dozen versions of "Why?" and ten "stifle innovation" hypotheticals dipped in contempt and fired directly into the "communist!" guest's face until they retreat, harrumphing their way to commercial.
But it doesn't have to be that way. There is an easy, elegant, best of all straightforward answer to the question, whether one is a cheerleader for the wealth class or thinks obscene amounts of dollars is wrong or immoral or bad or destructive to democracy (which it certainly is).
Nope, don't need none of that. The simple answer is: "No, billionaires, even trillionaires are not inherently evil or immoral. The problem is the system that creates them. This system, a system that creates billionaires and created Trillionaire #1, is not fair.
Taxes are not fair (see carried interest, unrealized capital gains leveraged for loans (buy, borrow, die), even the preferential rates on capital gains). Special V.I.P. access to information and investments is not fair. Inheriting all the money and pretending you earned it--not fair.
Individual billionaires--and even Trillionaire #1, 2, 3 etc.--may or may not be evil, may or may not be immoral, but the system that created them and which they strive every day to recast to their advantage, that system is rigged against everyone else. It's corrupt, and it's unjust, and the wealthy strive every day to further corrupt it and make it even more unjust. The system is evil and immoral.
The wealthy work tirelessly to reshape the system to their advantage by buying more and more influence. It is wrong, but it is not eternal. Where it is legal, laws can be changed. Where it's illegal, criminals can be prosecuted. This brand of capitalism, with its front-of-the-line treatment for chosen insiders and slamming doors for the rest of us, is not an immutable law of nature. It was designed and developed by human beings, some more powerful than others, to serve the interests of the most powerful. It doesn't have to be this way.
The system is the problem and it needs to be changed. It was made by human beings and it can be destroyed and remade by human beings. The sooner the better.
Then we won't have to worry so much about the rich.