Thế nào là một người giàu?

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Who is the prototypical rich person? // Greg Mankiw

I recommend this op-ed by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. Not because I agree with its recommendation (đề xuất) of super high tax rates on the rich (thuế suất thật cao đối với người giàu), but because it makes clear the perspectives and motives (động cơ) of the Left (cánh tả).

In the standard economic approach (phương pháp tiếp cận kinh tế học chuẩn) to optimal redistribution (tái phân phối của cải một cách tối ưu) (such as Okun and Mirrlees), the case for progressive taxation (đánh thuế lũy tiến) is based on diminishing marginal utility (lợi ích cận biên giảm dần). But that is not the essence of the matter, according to Saez and Zucman. They view rich people as fundamentally undermining democracy (phá hoại nền dân chủ một cách căn bản). It is more a political argument (lập luận chính trị) than an economic one.

Saez and Zucman seem to think that rich people are like Henry Potter, the conniving (thâm hiểm, quỷ quyệt) banker (chủ ngân hàng) in It's a Wonderful Life. Mr Potter makes his money dishonestly (không chân thật, gian trá) and uses it to control the instruments of the government (kiểm soát công cụ/cơ quan của chính quyền) to further enrich (làm giàu, vinh thân phì gia) himself and impoverish (bần cùng hóa, làm cho nghèo khổ) the lives of those around him.

Another kind of rich person is someone like Taylor Swift. She gets fabulously wealthy (net worth > $300 million) but does so by enhancing the lives of others through great music. As far as I know, she does not have significant political clout (sức mạnh/quyền lực chính trị).

So are most rich people more like Henry Potter or Taylor Swift? Obviously, they come in both kinds. Unfortunately, we now have a Henry Potter living in the White House. 

But most rich people I know seem more like Taylor Swift. They make their money honestly by providing value to others. And they have less political influence than is often supposed.

Indeed, most rich people I know would have been happy to spend vast sums of money to keep Mr Trump out of the White House. And many tried. The Trump phenomenon is not an argument that the moneyed elites (giới tinh hoa) have too much influence (ảnh hưởng) on politics. If anything, it is an argument that they have too little.

Bài trước: Không ổn rồi