But like don't you think we need to let them or else we pull society down around our ears, or something like that? Property rights?
No? I think their wealth needs to be taxed down using wise policy, because it can be bungled. I'm well aware of how we have pivoted into a serfdom-based economy instead of a functional capitalist society.
And honestly, it's perfectly easy to see how wealthy people ruining the public environment is itself a violation of property rights.
But none of this changes the fact that we are spending our wealth unwisely during the good times.
Is the problem those @ the top or those willing to follow?
What would Jeff Bezos be without the amazon consumer? What would Trump be without his followers? If people stopped eating burgers, fries and sodas would we have McDonald's?
Until we reject consumerism and personal convenience as our top values the identities of those @ the top are irrelevant.
This position will be mocked by two cohorts of people. The first will be people who know that systemic change is more important than personal change writ large (and are missing an opportunity). The second will be the cohort that doesn't want to bother, and then can poo poo you while blaming people more powerful than themselves while they don't bother (ignoring their massive power relative to the actual victims).
But where they are wrong is in dismissing the personal sacrifice. In order to change the world for the better, we need to live less hedonistically. Not so much to reduce our footprint, although of course that helps, but to free up the resources required to effect the systemic change. Slowing the damage buys time, pivoting is what makes the future viable.
The person who is willing to sacrifice, at least can be convinced to sacrifice more efficiently. The person who isn't willing to is more likely to encourage those around them to not. It will be frustrating to watch.
"What do you do with the savings?". If I don't give Bezos 10 bucks a month, I have an alternative use of that $10. I also have an alternative use of the time I could have spent watching the TV he purchased to distract me. If I give the money and time to disney, it will be a huge wash except for the teensy factor about whether one of them is better than the other in the long run.
Our political opponents hit the gym, donate to think tanks, preferentially hire allies, purchase capital, and purchase guns. All in addition to just the overwhelming advantages they inherited. So the people who mock the futility of personal sacrifice are totally missing the point. Sacrifice is required, and after that it needs to be pivoted into ever wiser alternatives.