The guilty billionaire.

A young Sikh accountant in Los Angeles posted a Huffington Post story to his Facebook page entitled, Billionaire Feels Guilty About Having Gotten Rich At The Expense Of All Of Us. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/bill-gross-scrooge-mcducks-taxes_n_4182039.html Here was my response to his post: ___________ "By reducing the 20% of national income that golden scrooges now earn, by implementing more equitable tax reform that equalizes capital gains, carried interest and nominal income tax rates, we might move up the list to challenge more productive economies such as Germany and Canada." - guilty billionaire Canada is "more productive" than the United States? He's clearly not doing any research before writing these missives seeking affirmation from the liberal media. "Canadian workers are estimated to be 82% as productive per hour as their American counterparts." Source: http://ideas.repec.org/a/sls/ipmsls/v9y20041.html What about income? Are they better off than the average U.S. citizen? "Although wealth is more highly concentrated in the U.S., the median (50th percentile) worker has essentially the same purchasing power in each nation. In terms of purchasing power parity, the most recent statistics from the IMF has Canada lower (US $42,317) than that in the United States (US $51,704)." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP Germany is even lower than Canada when it comes to purchasing power parity: $38,666 If he really feels "guilty" he should give all of his money away to a charity not controlled by other billionaires. Perhaps he just feels empty and wants the world to love him -- but the world is fickle. It's more likely that he lacks a relationship with God and his solution to his "guilt" is misdirected. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Mark 8:36 In my opinion the result is the same for those who want to steal from the rich. Greed and theft are two sides of the same coin. Those who covet wealth want to steal it -- and those who have a lot of wealth want to worship it.

And that's why when the "Robin Hoods" get their way they end up being just like the rich whom they replaced. The government is no angel of light... they're just as greedy and self interested as the wealthy -but far more dangerous since they have a lot more concentrated power. For this reason the solution is not bigger government, but a far more limited and smaller government. These guilty billionaires can give their riches to charity that will be far more efficient redistributing the wealth and involve "free will" rather than coercion by the government. Don't forget that billionaires can forum shop and leave the country with their money -- the poor people cannot. It's also worth noting that some of their guilt leads them into dark places such as "population control". Simply being charitable doesn't mean they're done being evil. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and many other billionaires are using their billions for evil purposes even when they decide to become "charitable". Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are two of the biggest supporters of abortion on the planet earth. Source: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kouri/060705 Source: http://archive.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=648 If their heart is in a dark place... "guilt" alone won't save them. What they need is to be redeemed. Then, and only then, will their wealth be used for good and not evil. "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." - Matthew 6:24 That verse is for all of us. We don't need to be a billionaire to kneel at the altar of greed. And we don't need to be a billionaire to help others and change the world: Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Jesus, and Socrates were all poor. Christ never said, "Steal from the rich and give it to the poor." He said give to Caesar what it Caesar's because he recognized that the love of money didn't lead to salvation. And when the rich young ruler showed up to follow him he said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Matthew 19:21-22 The more wealth people accumulate the more difficult it is for them to consider others -- including God. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." - Mark 10:25 When wealth becomes the center of a person's existence -- God ends up in the periphery. And when God is in the periphery almost anything becomes acceptable to achieve selfish goals: lying, cheating, stealing, and eventually murder.

So if we want to help others we don't need to look to the billionaires and demand that they give up their riches. We need only look at ourselves and ask, "What's holding us back?" We can feed the poor. We can clothe the naked. Too often we blame others for tasks that we were assigned to complete, but our own rebellion prevents us from accomplishing. And the solution is to open the flood gates between our soul and God's. "Mayadhari ut andha bola." - Guru Amar Das "Main greeb main maskeen ... tera naam hai adhara" - Guru Nanak -Steve Steven Lopez Spiritus Films Cell: 832.882.3825 www.spiritusfilms.com