I often hear the argument that one community needs to bootstrap and stop asking for help, because that’s how communities always have been doing: they bootstrap themselves and then rule whatever part of the world, economy, etc. This completely ignores the concentration and abuse of power that we’ve witnessed in the past 70 years or so.
See how the US is almost at 30,000 in 2000? It is now past 60,000 in 2020. Luxembourg is at 100,000. So basically, a straight line going up.
This colossal wealth has been generated by ourselves and our families, and of course a whole lot of stealing and abuse of power and millions of people dying. It is also concentrated in less and less hands which means an abrupt disruption in any kind of bootstrapping. You simply can’t bootstrap yourself anymore. The capital is gone, owned by a Chinese oligarchy or an American trust fund. If your family is doing fine, they’re not doing fine enough for you to “try” something. If you’re lucky to do so, you will sell to whichever big company before you burn yourself to the ground or said companies asphyxiate your business with unfair practices (aka they have money, you don’t).
We have like 6 companies doing ALL of our entertainment. We have about the same number for ALL of our food, do you understand how different the world is since 2000s globalization?
Refusing to talk about fairly redistributing wealth considering how the world is today doesn’t demonstrate a lot of compassion, to say the least. Not engaging in reparations conversations for black Americans considering the history and the receipts (up to right now, with black folks waiting in line for 10+hours to VOTE and block a second term), is so violent and dismissive.
But here we are, arguing over a one-time small ass payment of $2000 in a pandemic while trillions move left and right in the arcane of banks and corporations. Sigh.