Dotty O'Brien, 50, of Denny's restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, is one of those people who rightfully believe successful people should not have to give back: "No, they should not be obligated, but it is really nice when they are charitable.”
Apparently she gets it better than most people. The concept that a successful person has an obligation to “give something back” is both ridiculous and counterproductive.
It is ridiculous because in the process of becoming successful a successful person has provided goods or services that people want at a price they are willing to pay and created jobs for his employees. What better service could he be doing for his fellow man?
It is counterproductive because it propagates several false, economically destructive and even evil ideas. It implies that he should feel guilty about his success and that he must have done something wrong to achieve it. It implies that society is entitled to take some or all of the fruits of his success away from him. It implies that profits are evil and losing money is a good thing.
The reader should be reminded that when a profit is being made, scarce and valuable resources are being converted into things that are even more valuable. When a loss is being made it implies that scarce and valuable resources are being turned into things that are less valuable.
The stated concept of “giving back” reinforces society’s tendency to punish the people that contribute the most and are the most needed while coddling the people who contribute the least and are the least needed.
We have come to the point where success is vilified and penalized while indolence, failure and other bad behavior are encouraged and even subsidized.
We are confronted with the specter of politicians following policies that are damaging to the economy and counterproductive in raising revenue simply to follow the silly idea that making things harder on the successful people is good because it makes things “fairer” for all.
One of the best examples of this phenomenon is Bill Gates. In the process of creating his multi-billion dollar fortune he has raised the living standard of millions and millions of people free world, and created great jobs for over one hundred thousand people making many of them millionaires and even some of them billionaires. If he wants to use his personal fortune to do great works to benefit mankind that is good. However, it is doubtful that the good he accomplishes with his personal fortune will come anywhere close to the good he has done in accumulating it.
Note also that in general the more successful a person is the better he has to be at satisfying the needs and desires of his fellow man.
Most fortunes are achieved by creating wealth not stealing it. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but we should not punish all success for the sins of a few.