Jeff Bezos says the quiet part out loud

 So, Jeff Bezos finally went to space. It's been talked about for a while, and many people criticized it, arguing that a system that allows this guy to get so much money to go to space, while his workers are underpaid and exploited, is immoral. Now, I feel somewhat mixed on this. I certainly don't believe that people should be banned from going to space. And I'm not against some level of income inequality. I'm not a hardcore socialist who is die hard on the labor theory of value. But I do think that a system that allows such grotesque inequality to exist, where people make billions while workers are exploited, is problematic. While I'm not necessarily for stopping billionaires from happening via wealth caps or legislation, I do think something is fundamentally wrong with a system that allows some to get so rich, while others get so poor.

Then Bezos comes back, and basically thanks his workers for "paying" for this. Uh, you're welcome, jerk. Look, I'm not going to claim that a UBI would necessarily fully solve this issue in itself. It would help. Both by redistributing income from Bezos to everyone else, and increasing worker bargaining power leading to wage increases and improved conditions, but it really depends on the implementation and the amount. UBI could range from mild changes to being completely life changing depending on how it impacts the labor market. 

I do think it's an insult to injury, given how much this guy has exploited poor desperate people and coerced them into detestable working conditions under the threat of poverty, that after underpaying them and making billions of dollars, that he then "thanks" his workers for paying for his luxurious joyride. At this point he's either tone deaf or just flexing. 

Again, am I hardcore on the labor theory of value where I believe no private citizen should go to space? Not necessarily. But I do think something is wrong with a system that gives some so much while others get so little. If we had a basic income and working at amazon was TRULY (by my indepentarian standard) voluntary, and the dude paid his taxes, and his workers what they are really worth in a truly free market, I wouldn't have as much of a problem here. But given the exploitation exists, something must change about the current arrangement of the American economy. Everyone rips on the jobless as lazy leeches, but the only leeches I really see are people like Bezos.