Recently, the big wigs at Goldman Sachs were brought before Congress to explain their role in what appears to be questionable practices in hedge fund management. There was a lot of swearing by congressman, accusations of breaking the law, vehement monologues that nothing Goldman did was illegal, and in short, nothing was actually accomplished. All can agree that what Goldman Sachs actually did was immoral, but not necessarily illegal. Also recently, Obama actually made the statement, “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.” Unfortunately, the fact that he made this statement is not surprising. But there is something in these two topics that I believe need discussing. That topic is the concept of capitalism and the MORAL responsibility to those that "have enough."
What is “enough”? Who “has enough”? Can you honestly say that if someone makes $_________ per year that that is enough money? The answer is no. Most everyone will say, "it depends on a number of factors such as, location, standard of living, debt to income ratio, dependents, etc." There is no absolute number that will fit all people. Now, I can say that recently Michelle and I had the conversation of “where did it all go this month?” Granted, we were able to identify where the money went, but it got me thinking again: “what is enough?” Truth is, I don’t have a very good answer. I find myself thinking that I don’t have enough on a not too frequent basis. I have to remind myself that there is a significant majority who don’t even have a home on this planet.
Historically, as people gain more and more money, they strive to spend more, give more, and save more. This is the beauty of our society, and this concept helps it to thrive. In short, as I am paid more, I will spend more and give more. Those who I give to spend more as well. This spending and giving improves the economy. As the economy improves, I make more money, thus spending and giving more. It’s a beautiful circle….
Our commander and chief would have us believe that he knows what the finite amount is that someone can earn. But do we really want to live in a culture that actually has a ceiling on financial growth? My answer is no. Unfortunately, the Goldman Sachs fiasco has led people to believe that our free market can (or at least should) have laws attached to it that force people to do the moral thing. This is not true. No amount of laws will force people to ALWAYS do the moral thing. Restricting someone's income, for any reason, will only force them to focus more on themselves, than on others.
If someone has a lot of money, they should give a lot of money to those in need. We all know this to be the case, because it is the moral thing to do. We all have a moral compass built inside of us. There should not be laws in place to force people to do the right thing with money. That‘s my problem with Obama’s statement and congress wasting tax payer money trying beat up executives taking advantage of rules already set forth in the financial arena. Because here is the question: “how much money do I give?” Would I really give enough if I am forced to give?
We want billionaires to give away as much as possible. We don’t want entrepreneurs to be limited to a certain value. That defeats the purpose. What we want is for billionaires to recognize that the money actually isn’t theirs in the first place. Its God’s. He wants you to do wonderful things with it! So, instead putting laws in place to restrict growth, let’s start encouraging those with more to give more. How do we do that?
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