If you see somebody rich and you envy them, and… that’s not fair. (That’s not fair, yes.) That’s their merit, (Understand.) that Heaven gives to them because they did something good in the former life. And if they do it all legally, they pay taxes, they pay their employees a lot already for the country.
Concerning taxing the rich, it maybe can bring in some more money for the government to spend, to play good guy to whomever they’d like to have support and votes from. But it has many other downsides. I told you already that they don’t invest anymore, they don’t make any more different investments. Because if they invest more, they will have more jobs for people. (Yes.) Like people say things about Bezos and all that, but he created tens of thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of jobs. (Yes, that’s right.) And if you take all the money from them, they’ll be hands-tied. They cannot invest anymore. Even if they have some money extra, they must have it to fall back, in case ‒ rainy days, or COVID-19 for example. (Yes.) They want to keep things going.
So if they tax the rich, for example, then as I told you, there are many reasons, but there is another reason that’s also not too good. Like for example, maybe many people will not agree with the system, and they will run away, they’ll go somewhere else, to make business in another country. (Oh, yes.) That’s why before, we had like refugees from the communist countries and all that, in the early days of the communists. People were flooding out, because they cannot continue to work like that. (Understand.) No freedom to invest and the money is controlled all by the government. (Yes.) Not only that puts off people’s motivation to work harder, but also the already rich people, they might immigrate. (Yes.)
With the money, they can do anything. They can go anywhere. Buy another passport in a freer country. (That’s right.) Even some examples already, like, for example, before when the British used to stay in Hong Kong, they rented it for 99 years, something like that. (Yes.) And then when the British moved out because the contract is done, many people in Hong Kong, the rich people, they immigrated to New Zealand, Australia or wherever, or England. (Yes, understand.) And slowly, later they feel that Hong Kong still has some freedom, so they slowly returned, some. (Yes.) But that is not a good thing for their country’s economy, to corner the rich to such an extent. (Yes.)
And then, also in France, they had one period of time, some years ago, they wanted to tax the rich also. And some citizens also left, rich people. Like I remember one only, like Gérard Depardieu, (Yes, I was just thinking that.) He was so famous and rich and then they wanted to tax him, a lot. Almost like, he said, he thinks like he would have no money, nothing. Nothing much left. And he worked so hard all these years. So he went out and became a Russian citizen. (Oh, yes, that’s right.) This is also bad for France’s reputation. (Yes.)
People think he has money easy, it’s not like that. I mean, even to be an actor, when you see them on screen, it looks easy, (Yes.) like they’re doing their part, flawlessly and very simply. Their role is easy to play. Like they immerse in their role as if they are the person in the film. And it looks easy and flawless. But it’s not like that. They have to work very hard. (Yes, that’s right.) They have to learn everything by heart. And then they have to act it out as if they are that person. And sometimes they have to do many takes, again and again, and it’s kind of off-putting, and also very uninspiring and very frustrating. (Yes.)
And if they are famous and all that, and their ego’s gone up, then it’s all the harder, harder to listen to the director. (Yes.) Directors, they’re nitpicking. They’re very, very critical, because the films cost them millions, hundreds of millions or billions to make. They cannot make mistakes. (That’s right.) And then, oh, it’s a very gruesome work sometimes. It’s not all that easy.
Sometimes they’re wounded on set. (Oh yes, that’s right. They get injured.) Yes, or die. (Yes.) They get injured or die. Like even, what’s the name? Jackie Chan. (Yes.) He was injured many times. Many films don’t show the aftermath or the background of the film, but Jackie Chan, he has the habit of showing everything, the extra. (Yes.) And they show it sometimes that he has to jump off buildings and all that. (Yes.) And he was really injured, very hard. They had to take him on the stretcher and brought him to the emergency (room) and all that. A lot of times. Sometimes he’s injured too seriously, he couldn’t do the film, had to stop for a long time. Many of the actors or actresses, they had it. (Yes, Tom Cruise broke his foot for a movie too.) Yeah. It’s just sometimes they don’t show it. (Yes.) Maybe on the news if they saw it, but they don’t show the actual pain and suffering that they have to go through. Some just die. Like some extras die. (Oh, yes, yes.) A lot. (The stunt people die.) Yeah. A lot of things. And sometimes they demand that they have to strip off all the clothes and do like intimate scenes in front of everybody. (Yes.)
There’s one film in France, I remember a long time ago, “My Wife is an Actress.” In the film, the director demanded that the girl had to strip, completely naked, and she didn’t want to. But she has to, otherwise cannot. (Yes.) Midway already, and then the director thinks she has to strip. And then she demanded that, “OK, if everybody on the set strips, then I will.” And they did! They did. They tried. Like, the boys, they were hanging some… There’s something, sometimes you travel, and you strap it on your waist and put your passport and stuff in it. (Oh, yes.) How do you call that thing? There’re some pockets in it, you can put your things. Like you go on an airplane or travel… (Yes, a fanny pack.) Fanny pack. And then they put it in front of their… (Yes.) on their belly, hanging from the waist down. (Yes.) So somehow, they covered, even though they were all naked. (Yes.) And the women, they were wearing something. Other women, they were wearing something, I can’t remember, but they all kind of camouflaged their intimate area. (Yes.) And then the actress had to. Cameramen, they also carried their equipment in the front, you know where. And all that. The whole personnel (That’s fair.) on set, they had to strip all. And it was a funny film. I can’t remember. I only remember that.
Maybe I did not see the whole film, it just happened. Sometimes you are on the airplane, or somewhere, and you just happen to see it. Sometimes restaurants, they play a film for people to watch while they’re eating, or sports and stuff like that. They have a television in some cheap restaurants. I went to some roadside restaurants, small booths or something. And in those things, they put a television for their customers to see. (Yes.) First-class restaurants, I don’t ever remember they have them. (No.) Just those cheap restaurants. And I often am the client of cheap restaurants, because they have the thing that’s more familiar. (Yes.) And they have good food, I don’t know why. They cook with heart or something, because it’s their own restaurant and small. (Yes.) So it’s very like family, and they cook very wholeheartedly. (Yes.) It tastes so good.
Sometimes in a good restaurant, you have to behave. In a cheap restaurant, you can sit there and watch TV, also OK. Because everybody does it. And you feel more casual, you don’t have to behave. You don’t have to wear posh clothes or something. (That’s right.) You don’t have to behave like somebody that you’re not. (Yes.) I just sit there and watch TV and eat my vegan fried rice or something, and drink a small little something, a soft drink or something simple, or water. (Yes.) And I feel more comfortable. First-class restaurants, they have their good things also, something that you cannot have in other restaurants, but you don’t always need those. (Yes. I wouldn’t know about the first-class restaurants.) I just happened to have it sometimes. (Yes, Master.) Because if I travel a lot, sometimes the small restaurants ‒ don’t have. I have to eat in my hotel. (Yes.) And in some hotels, they have first-class restaurants as a part of the bargain. (Yes.)
And sometimes in a cheap hotel, you don’t have internet, you don’t have fast broadband or whatever they called it before. (Yes.) And I sometimes need to contact often, even when traveling. So, there are pros and cons. (Yes.) But if I can go to a normal, simple restaurant with good food, I prefer. It’s more casual. And people appreciate you very much. In a first-class restaurant, you have to act like you appreciate them. (Yes.) Because they expect you to. “Madam!” Stuff like that. (Yes.) And, “Pull out the chair for you!” So you have to behave like some snob. Well, I can. I can behave like that, also.
But I feel more comfortable, more at home with the common folks. They don’t pretend, they don’t snob. (Yes, understand.) They’re just like you or they just enjoy their food. They don’t care. (Yes.) It’s more simple. And mostly in those common restaurants, food is good. (Yes. Maybe they do it without pride.) Yeah, without pride.
In first-class restaurants, sometimes they serve those very rare things and you don’t need them. (Yes.) And the cruelty. (Yes.) They have these delicacies which are cruel, (Oh, yes, yes, very.) and nobody likes them. I don’t like them, never. So I don’t ever need them anyway. So just order a salad and a soup and pay sky-high money, I don’t feel it’s so fair. (Yes.) Unless sometimes I have to, if I invite somebody important or something. Otherwise, it’s too snobbish.
So, taxing the rich has consequences. (Yes, definitely.) When they can earn money elsewhere and better, spend less and earn more and the government there treats them better, then sometimes they move. (Yes.) I remember some time ago, the person who owns Tesla company, what’s his name? Elon Musk? (Musk, yes.) In California at that time because of COVID-19 restrictions, he could not open his company and continue working. (Ah, yes.) And so he threatened. He opened anyway. He threatened, if they don’t let him, he will move to another state, I forgot which one. Texas? (I think Texas.) It doesn’t matter. He planned to move. (Yes.) Things like that.
So if you corner people too hard, you will lose at the end. (Yes.) And then if you continue like that, then you’ll have no more talent, no more enthusiastic younger people, to motivate themselves to be somebody, to make something for their own living and their proudness. (Yes.) So it’s not always good.
If you see somebody rich and you envy them, and… that’s not fair. (That’s not fair, yes.) That’s their merit, (Understand.) that Heaven gives to them because they did something good in the former life. And if they do it all legally, they pay taxes, they pay their employees a lot already for the country. (Yes.) Otherwise, these people may be jobless and they’ll go to take out the money from the social service. That’s some more loss. (Yes.) Not only these people don’t have work, the government has to pay them. (Yes.) (Unemployment benefits.) Unemployment benefits. And you lose both. You lose double. (Yes.) You lose a workforce, and you lose money. The benefit money to pay for unemployed people. (Yes.) So this is not wise. Not like OK, “Oh, that guy has a lot of money. I’m going to use the law or change the law to take money out of him,” because you are jealous, envious, or you think, “Why should he have so much money?” Why not? (Yes.) He didn’t steal, he didn’t kill. He didn’t do anything wrong. He deserves it.
And the more rich people, the more they will encourage other people to work harder, to be more rich, then the richer your country becomes. (Yes. That’s right.) It’s a pride of all the citizens of the whole country. You should not snub them like that. (Yes.) And that that will be bad. Even the communist countries, they learned that. So you see that in many post-communist countries, they are not restricting anybody anymore. (Ah.) Even in Russia, you can get rich. (Yes.) Legally and openly, no problem, as long as you don’t go against the government or do something illegal. (Yes.) And then even China, there’re many tycoons. (Oh, yes.) Nowadays. (Yes. They’re very rich.) Very rich, and some are openly rich, some quietly rich.
So why America wants to be worse than other countries, even worse than the communist country? It’s a shame. You know what I’m saying? (Yes, it is.) Just want to rob people. This is inborn or something ‒ character. (Yes, I understand.) Even if you cannot get it all for your private spending, you want to take it out from people, so they are uncomfortable, so they have less than yesterday. That is not fair, not good for the country, not a wise policy. (No, not at all.) Not at all.
In many countries, they pay high taxes, like even 40% in Sweden or something, I forgot. But they pay fair from everybody. (Yes.) And then whoever doesn’t have a job or is poor, they benefit from it. Truly, the government does that for the benefit of the people, but it’s all fair share. (Yes, understand.) You pay according to your income.
But then this bill wants to rob all the rich people. (Yes.) That is too obvious and not nice. Not wise policy. (Understand.) You need rich people in your country. You need them, because they are the ones who give a lot of jobs (Yes, they do.) to your countrymen, and that is very good for the government not to have to worry about unemployment. (Yes.) And unemployment is one of the big headaches for any government in any country. (Yes.) If they just sit and eat and have no job, they will do bad things also. If they don’t have anything to occupy themselves, and the government gives but not as much, then they have time and they’re bored, and they go out, rob and do other bad things. (Yes.) Because they are not occupied. So if you keep robbing the rich and then make everybody poor, then it’s terrible. (Yes.) Very bad for your country. It will go downhill. (Understand.)
