Millionaires never have enough and pay too little tax – Joop

In search of a humane society.

Greed is a bad trait. It manifests itself in banks, shareholders, but increasingly in healthcare institutions that make profits, in multinationals that pay almost no taxes, in monopolists that raise the price of their products, in room renters who charge exorbitant prices, in civil servants who declare costs not incurred, and so on. . Greed is often at the expense of the living space and health of others or even of all of us. Households that live in poor living conditions and can barely make ends meet, children and people with problems who are not helped or are helped too late, people who are discriminated against or treated aggressively, environments that are ruined by too much pollution or deforestation, violence and war. No one in their right mind would find these phenomena acceptable, and yet they continue to emerge. Humane values ​​are violated again and again.

In the meantime, the difference between rich and poor is increasing worldwide, including in the Netherlands. In particular, wealth differences have grown. In other words, those who have money can easily make more money, and those who have debt quickly have more and more debts. Rich people have many privileges, such as a large house with lots of space around, many choices in healthcare, education, energy supply, food and drinks, transport, and leisure time. They usually have a much healthier working environment, a larger network, and can arrange much more in case of problems they encounter. They can afford the luxury of expensive dining options, long-distance vacations and chic clothing, and they often feel entitled to them. They support each other in this. The rich teach their children that the world is their oyster if they follow in their parents’ footsteps. The rich also become richer because they usually marry someone from a wealthy family. This creates a web of rich people who have little idea of ​​the world of the poor, because they hardly have any real contact with that world. Often the rich still believe that people can get out of poverty if they just do their best and seize the opportunities that arise. The fairy tale of the American Dream is persistent.

There is therefore a self-sustaining and self-reinforcing system, which is mainly based on material possessions and capital. How can the system of greed be broken? During the corona crisis it has become clear that not everything revolves around ownership and capital. Suddenly there was appreciation for people who roll up their sleeves, such as nurses and carers, parcel deliverers, maintenance technicians and cleaners. We were even applauding for them. We should have maintained that solidarity, but that did not happen. Yet we can fall back on the corona experiences and rely on the benefits of caring about each other and having compassion for each other. Time-honored values ​​such as “it is better to give than to take”, “what you don’t want to happen to you, don’t do it to someone else”, “alone is faster, but together you go further”, can once again become our guiding principles. to trade. It’s about appreciating everyone for who he or she is and supporting people to grow as human beings.