Define needs. Do you need Egyptian cotton pillowcases?
I prefer a more blanket approach of progressive taxation. If someone has a ton of disposable income, they best be paying a large % on taxes to support the rest, and those taxes should be used for social safety nets like universal health care, housing, and universal basic income. This raises the floor, lowers the ceiling, but still allows for gradations in the middle to provide incentive for professional development and creativity.
I would say it’s up to each person to define what their needs are. To take the example of the pillowcases, I don’t need that, but suppose there’s someone who struggles to sleep and for whatever reason, they find that these sorts of pillowcases greatly improve the situation for them. I’m not going to say “no, you shouldn’t have that!” However, if a person is laxly defining their own needs and they feel upset when someone suggests a general sentiment about excess, then that person’s own mind might be suggesting something to them about the nature of their actual needs, as opposed to what might be a justification for excess.
Define needs. Do you need Egyptian cotton pillowcases?
I prefer a more blanket approach of progressive taxation. If someone has a ton of disposable income, they best be paying a large % on taxes to support the rest, and those taxes should be used for social safety nets like universal health care, housing, and universal basic income. This raises the floor, lowers the ceiling, but still allows for gradations in the middle to provide incentive for professional development and creativity.
I would say it’s up to each person to define what their needs are. To take the example of the pillowcases, I don’t need that, but suppose there’s someone who struggles to sleep and for whatever reason, they find that these sorts of pillowcases greatly improve the situation for them. I’m not going to say “no, you shouldn’t have that!” However, if a person is laxly defining their own needs and they feel upset when someone suggests a general sentiment about excess, then that person’s own mind might be suggesting something to them about the nature of their actual needs, as opposed to what might be a justification for excess.