Billionaires, Stolen Wealth and Social Health

Last week Propublica published an article revealing how the ultra rich scam the tax system.

I am grateful for the reporting. I am furious about the fact that these dudes get away with this. Here I share a response, based on my years of studying nature-based spiritual practices.

You know how trees share resources underground through root systems and mycelial networks? That's great. Sharing trees = healthy forest. A healthy forest = healthy trees. It's an exquisite loop. There is no billionaire tree who refuses to share with its forest. In the logic of nature, this is completely unsustainable and ultimately disastrous for every being in the forest, including the billionaires.

I don't know anyone who is mega-wealthy like this. But I have known lots of folks to defend this kind of privilege, who say that high taxes for the rich is "stealing" what they "earned" fair and square. I think they’re really defending their own fantasy that they too might become one of the few, rare, "special" beings who "deserve" extra resources, endless comfort, and boundless pleasure. That becoming wealthy really means crossing some finish line and arriving into a place beyond suffering--a personal utopia, an experience of ultimate freedom and empowerment. Isn't it interesting that these guys are also the ones trying to blast off to outer space, leaving humans and forests behind?

This is a toxic, false story that does not line up with reality. In my experience, when we subscribe to false stories, suffering inevitably ensues. No matter how much money or privilege or influence you have, Nature is how you got here and Nature always wins in the end.

I have compassion for all of us who fall for the lie. It's been fed us our whole lives. The newsfeed and the history books are full of fetishized narcissists. The idea is that there are history "makers" and then us ordinary chumps who follow along behind their brilliance and bravery. They are the subjects of the world and the rest of the human race, along with all the aspects of nature, are the objects for them to push around. How can one not end up internalizing some version of this story that these bully billionaires are impressive? That the point of life is to be "winners" such as they?

False stories divide us. What unites us is that we all want to alleviate our own suffering. We all want to--and deserve to!--feel belonging and peace.

What if that sense of belonging actually came from taking care of each other? What if that sense of peace came from knowing that we lived in a society which respected every single being, not just the “special” ones? What if freedom meant flipping the bird to the narcissists and to this whole "winner' narrative? What if leadership actually came from looking inward, and toward the laws of Nature for older, deeper, wiser guidance; toward neighbors and friends as collaborators co-creating a new way of life that aligns with this guidance? What if power and privilege were a means for healing and cleaning up our shared world, rather than conquering or escaping it?