Governments are the greediest institutions in our society. So it was no surprise when the news that Elon Musk had become the world’s first trillionaire caused liberals to salivate at the thought of getting their hands on his money. Elizabeth Warren was perhaps the worst, but she had plenty of company.
Democrats visualize Musk as a sort of Scrooge McDuck, skiing down mountains of gold:
In fact, of course, the vast majority of Musk’s wealth is locked up in productive investments. Democrats want to force him to sell some of his shares in SpaceX and give them the money.
Why? Because money is power, and they want more of it. Some people unthinkingly assume that government spending is somehow good, so that the world becomes a better place when wealth is taken out of private hands and transferred to the government. I think that is the opposite of the truth: we are far better off if private citizens like Elon Musk earn and invest money, than if the government steals it. Private investment is almost always better for our general well-being than government spending. The government already has, and spends, far too much money. And much of that spending consists of giving money away to criminals. Elon Musk and his fellow entrepreneurs do vastly better.
For what it’s worth, Musk will likely be an ex-trillionaire before long. Let’s hope that happens as a result of a drop in SpaceX’s share price following the IPO, and not on account of a growth-destroying wealth tax enacted by greedy Democrats.
