A child’s guide to why billionaires should, in fact, exist

Americans have largely rejected the left’s silly, childish push for communist ideology over the past 15 years or so. But some of these folks refuse to move on.

In a recent post on X, Melanie D’Arrigo, the executive director of the Campaign for New York Health and vice president of legislation at the New York National Organization for Women, repeated several long-debunked talking points:

If we capped wealth at $999,999,999 we could invest almost $5.9 trillion into improving our country.

And if you’re upset at transferring wealth down, why are you ok with how we pass laws to transfer wealth up — from the working class to billionaires?

Billionaires shouldn’t exist.

Since this is the equivalent of a toddler’s rant, I thought I would provide a toddler’s guide to why billionaires should, in fact, exist.

Mommy, why are there billionaires?

The label of “billionaire” is nothing more than an accounting of the net worth that someone has. But most billionaires aren’t swimming around in a room full of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck (which would be impossible anyway). They have most of their net worth tied up in owning a valuable business.

Typically, billionaires have established businesses that employ other people and provide goods and services that others want. Because consumers find those goods and services worthwhile, the business becomes more valuable. Based on the value at any point in time, the founder or manager’s share of that business could be “worth” a billion dollars or more. If it stopped providing value, it could be worthless.

Why should you or anyone else get to decide that someone has ‘too much’ wealth?

Billionaires exist most of the time because they created a lot of value for others, as well as themselves.

But aren’t billionaires bad?

Creating value is never a bad thing. Generating jobs and providing essential goods and services play a crucial role — arguably more important than most of what the government does these days!

Why can’t we just take away their money?

Taking someone’s money away is theft. Theft is wrong and a violation of your property rights, honey. Someone can’t just come in here and say you have too many toys and take some of them away. One can’t say that your room is too big and others need shelter, so you have to let strangers sleep in your room.

As Thomas Sowell said, “I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.” It sounds like you are the one being greedy, sweetie!

But why can’t we just cap their money at $999,999,999?

You just made up that number. And the word you’re looking for is wealth. Why should you or anyone else get to decide that someone has “too much” wealth?

Also, incentives drive outcomes, so if you cap wealth, you limit the incentives for others to make investments, to innovate, and to provide important value to the world.

That money could help other people!

Wealth isn’t just other people’s money. In many cases, it isn’t money at all. Businesses provide value that benefits others.

More government funding hasn’t led to better results. Spending has increased over time, yet the only clear beneficiaries are government cronies!

America remains one of the most generous nations, donating more to charity than any other country in the world.

But it’s almost $6 trillion!

If you tried to take away billionaires’ business stakes, the value of those businesses would go down, so you would never see the $6 trillion, and it would hurt the wealth of middle-class Americans whose pensions and 401Ks are invested in the stocks of those companies.

Also, the U.S. government spent almost $7 trillion last year, so taking that money wouldn’t fund the government for even a year, and then where would the government get money the next year?

Your arguments truly make no sense — which I guess is understandable since you are a toddler.

I don’t care! Billionaires shouldn’t exist!

Adults who use toddler logic shouldn’t exist, but here we are. Now, go eat your vegetables.

I hope this guide proves useful when Bernie Sanders, Robert Reich, Melanie D’Arrigo, or someone else presents a toddler-level argument about billionaires.