Lisa and I watch the hit show Billions, on Showtime. Sometimes you learn a lot about the human condition through fictional characters.
Axe Capital, run by Hedge Fund tycoon Bobby Axelrod, confirms every negative stereotype you might have about the uber rich. US Attorney Chuck Rhoades, brilliantly portrayed by Paul Giamatti, leaves you wondering if our entire system of justice is also corrupt.
It’s an interesting show for our times. All of the characters are deeply flawed, breaking promises and laws. Including the supposed good guys.
Wealth, influence and corruption. Do they always go hand in hand? Of course. This game of cat and mouse is literally just that. Are you going to eat or be eaten?
Do nice guys finish last?
If you are successful, you’re probably familiar with the phrase: “Rules are made to be broken.” That’s truer than we like to admit.
Doubt it?
YouTube has the biggest library of video sharing on the internet. It got there by completely ignoring copyright laws as long as it could. Napster wasn’t so lucky, but both had the same illegal strategy.
Amazon.com has become almost a monopoly online retailer. Online sales have decimated physical brick and mortar stores. And they got started by charging no sales tax. That’s right, your mall was mugged.
Apple avoids taxes by keeping Billions in Jersey, but not New Jersey. Jersey is a tiny island in the English Channel that, like many Caribbean tax havens, charges no tax on corporate profits for most companies. Apple, you see, has a $252 billion mountain of cash offshore.
How about the recreational marijuana industry in Colorado, Washington, and now coming to most of New England? Every dollar spent and every bit of medicinal and recreational weed sold is in direct violation of federal law.
We like to think of lawbreakers as hiding in the shadows. But much lawbreaking is done right out in the open. And there will always be selective enforcement.
Will this ever change? No. The winners and losers vary, but there are always more mice than cats.
Is money the root of all evil? No. A religious person I knew once said: If you want to hide something from a Christian, put it in the Bible. The Apostle Paul actually said: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
Loving people seems like an investment we could be making more often. Y’know, to balance the portfolio.
Best,
Bob
Bob Rivers
Radio Host from age 14 to Present. Currently blogging, planning to launch a new radio show later this year.
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