EclectEcon

Whenever I hear people complain about the greed of the large oil companies and others, jacking up prices and earning big profits, I have several reactions:

1. What are you complaining about? You could have bought into those profits if you had bought stock in those companies last year or three years ago or...; why didn't you?
2. The greed of the complainants is appalling in these situations. What they are really saying is,
   • You have the oil and the profits, and I want some of what you have. I might make an appeal that says, "The oil belongs to all of us" when in fact I chose not to become an owner of some of the oil or a claimant to some of the profits.
   • Or I might make a more general statement that it is not right for the rich to get richer at our expense.
   This strikes me as being at least as greedy as charging what the market will bear.

Even if those who complain about other people's wealth are not asking for more for themselves, they ARE asking to be able to control how others use their wealth. Doing so is also a form of greed. It's like saying, "You have the wealth, but I want to tell you what to do with it." This latter approach sounds less greedy if couched in terms of making things affordable for the poor, but it is no less greedy in the sense that I want to take it from you and use it how I want it used, not how you want it used.