May I address a flaw in this tweet as a small fry citizen with a decent net worth?

It's true I don't have bags of cash in my house equivalent to my net worth. But what I do have is CONTROL over a bigger value of assets than a lot of people. That's the point of Eat the Rich.

I have the power to CHOOSE where I channel my assets (disclaimer: I have enough to retire on a B40 budget; it's called LeanFIRE). Therefore what I choose to do with my money matters.

Billionaires have this power on a grander scale.

Let's say I'm a tight-fisted asshole. I have financial resources at my disposal. A cousin has a heart problem but doesn't have the money to pay for her medical fees because she's been staying at home to nurse our grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer's.

Now I, as someone who's relieved of nursing duties because my cousin took care of that end, left the country to make some big bucks. I send pittance to my cousin every month to placate her but I'm such a jerk I ignore her heart condition and her need for more money.

If you think of this situation from my asshole perspective, I can say hey my money is all mine. I worked hard for it.

But I conveniently forget that I'm only able to earn this money because the rest of my family contributed in different ways.

This is what billionaires do. They thrive on undervalued labor of exploited citizens, but when the time comes to contribute (pay taxes) they find loopholes not to do so. If the loopholes aren't enough they even lobby politicians for more loopholes.

When billionaires donate money (to charities THEY CHOOSE, another exercise of power) they get tax breaks.

This is like me saying I won't give money that is due to my family for their contributions to my success unless they spend the money exactly the way I want it.

If you think democratic socialism is about attacking individuals who have loads of cash lying around you're wrong. It's about evening out that imbalance of power in both economic and sociopolitical sense.

This is the end of my TED talk. Thanks bye.