Some Guy
Deregulated User
- Jan 19, 2010
- 2,437
- 426
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You can't simultaneously maintain that the wealthy took risks to become wealthy and that luck had nothing to do with it, those are mutually exclusive positions to take.
For one, "luck" can't really be clearly defined. The fact that K-Mart has pretty much been buried by Wal-Mart really doesn't have anything to do with luck: it had to do with offering a superior value to the consumer. You could say the same about DR-DOS vs. MS-DOS when IBM was developing computers for in-home use.
There's a saying: luck is simply when opportunity meets preparation. Working hard to build something pretty much covers the "preparation" part.
But you're straying away from what the OP is saying: success = luck. Let's say i mine and sell rock salt. I'm busting my ass to expand my customer base, get my brand out there and increase production capacity. You might call a massive blizzard "luck", but really, it's just preparation meeting opportunity (and demand). Not just anyone is going to be able suddenly work hard selling road salt cause i've busted my ass to establish connections and production capacity.
If the OP had his way, I would be taxed much more heavily because it was "luck", completely ignoring the work it took to be in a position to capitalize on said luck. And let's not pretend that all successful businesses and people have never had their share of bad luck either.