Friday, December 9, 2011

A Valid Question For Anyone Who Supports The "Occupy" Protesters...

Here is the real question that I would ask of any "Occupy Wall Street" supporter, who believe some people have too much wealth.

Let's say a person builds a certain item. It costs him $95 to manufacture, market and ship the item. Do you believe it is too much for him to ask and deserve a $5 profit for all his work and trouble?

Sane people would say a 5% profit is more than reasonable.

Now let's say his product is so useful and popular that he sells 10 million of those things (think Apple iPad). In the process, and directly because of his efforts and investment, he has to hire 1000 people to produce those items. Since his cost is $95 per unit, that means he is directly responsible for pumping $950 million into the economy for salaries, inventory, marketing, shipping etc. And he still gets $5 per unit. But that $5 per unit now comes to $50 million.

NOW you suddenly have a problem with him. But why? He has invested everything he has. He has worked hard. He has provided jobs for 1000 families. He pumps $950 million into the economy. And he is still only earning the same 5% he did in the beginning. Meanwhile, let us not forget that he has sold 10 million items - which means 10 million people now have a useful item they did not have before. All because of him. Thank GOD for him, and those like him!

And you begrudge him his profit!

And now for one last question - if we take away his right to earn that much, what are the odds he would have designed, built and marketed the first one? What are the odds he would have hired 1000 people, or pumped $950 million into the economy. If Steve Jobs could not hope to become wealthy, what are the odds we would have the iPad or iPhone today? I'll tell you the odds - about zero. No one will go to that much trouble, and risk their capital and sanity just to make a modest income that is no different from the income they could earn working in some factory.

If the world were to operate the way "Occupy" people and socialists want, the world simply would grind to a halt. It happened in the USSR. It is happening in the socialist nations of Europe as you read this.

One thing the "occupy" folks fail to acknowledge - it is "wealth" that is the incentive for progress, for innovation, for research and development. It is the promise of wealth that causes some to risk everything. Without that incentive, no one would put in the resources or effort. And there would be no iPads, smartphones or computers. There would never have been automobiles, airplanes or electric lights. All those things required risk, effort and capital. And no one would invest those things just to achieve a mediocre income. The short take -- If Bill is going to end up with everything that Joe has, why would Bill try harder. Why risk your capital, home, work, family etc. when you know that you will not get anything more for it - you will still have the same as Joe, the guy who is camping out in a park on Wall Street.

If the "occupy" bunch want to have what the so-called "1%" have, all they have to do is do what the 1%-ers have done. Risk everything you have, work a hundred ours a week, work harder and think smarter than most people, and drive yourselves nuts trying to beat your way to the top.

Anyone not willing to do that does not DESERVE to have what the 1%-ers have. And you won't get it by camping out in tents in a public park for months, making a mess, doing drugs and just complaining.

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