Tuesday March 5, 2019

// March 5th, 2019 // Daily News

POWER PLAYERS
Bill Gates: ‘For the first time in my life, people are saying, Okay, should you have billionaires?’

In America capitalism generates a lot of wealth, but it’s landing in the hands of a very, very few. Microsoft co-founder Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett collectively have more wealth than the 160 million poorest Americans, according to a 2017 Institute for Policy Studies report. And people may just be sick of it.
“It is fascinating that for the first time in my life, people are saying, ‘Okay, should you have billionaires?'” billionaire Bill Gates told Forbes editor in chief, Randall Lane.
Bill Gates and the Return on Investment in Vaccinations Bill Gates and the return on investment in vaccinations
Though Gates entertains the discussion, he thinks capitalism is still a good system and “the idea that there shouldn’t be billionaires—I’m afraid if you really implemented something like that, that the amount you would gain would be much less than the amount you would lose,” he said.
But Gates — who is worth $98 billion and is the second richest person in the world, according to Forbes — acknowledges that opinion needs to be championed by non-billionaires. “That sounds self-interested, so who’s the neutral witness on this one? … We need somebody who’s not wealthy to say that in some cases allowing people to be wealthy is okay,” Gates told Forbes.
The discussion comes as some question the efficacy of capitalism in the U.S.
As Forbes points out, an August 2018 Gallup poll found only 56 percent of Americans reported having a positive view of capitalism; 37 percent reported a positive view of socialism. For young Americans ages 18 to 29, 51 percent said they have a positive view of socialism and only 45 percent have a positive view of capitalism.
And billionaire Bridgewater Associates billionaire Ray Dalio said “capitalism basically is not working for the majority of people. That’s just the reality,” at the 2018 Summit conference in Los Angeles in November.
Along with Gates, Warren Buffett — who is worth $82.8 billion and is the third wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes — supports a capitalist economy, but admits it’s flawed. Both Gates and Buffett have said the wealthy should pay higher taxes, for example.
“America works, and it works now better than it ever worked,” Buffett told Lane. “The luckiest person that will ever be born in the world to date will be a baby being born in the United States today.”
However, as the market system gets more specialized, said Buffett, it “pushes more money to the top. The natural function of a more specialized market economy is to divert more and more of the rewards to the top. That’s something I don’t think we’ve fully addressed in this country.”

Today’s Inspiration

MARCH 05, 2019

Wait Patiently

James starts his epistle writing about patience, and here in the last chapter he writes about patience again. Patience is not just the ability to wait; it is the ability to keep a good attitude while we are waiting.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that can only be developed under trial. That is the reason God permits us to go through times of testing and difficulty instead of delivering us from them as quickly as we would like. God always has a plan for our deliverance, but He wants us to grow and stretch so we will be stronger when we come out of the trial.

Isaiah 40:31 is a well-known verse about waiting on the Lord: But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired (AMP).

This verse teaches us that waiting on God is expecting, looking for, and hoping in Him. It is spending time with Him in His Word and in His presence. We do not worry while we wait on God; we do not get frustrated while we wait on God; we do not get upset while we wait on God. We rest in faith believing God will do what needs to be done for us at the right time.

Learning to wait with patience and hopeful expectation is a mark of spiritual maturity. When we find ourselves having to wait on something, we can patiently take a seat in Him and rest in God’s presence. The promise of God’s peace is not made to those who work and struggle in their own strength but to those who rest in Christ Jesus. As we wait on Him, our strength is renewed.

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to wait well—with patience and hopeful expectation. Help me to use the challenging times in life as opportunities to grow closer to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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