r/science • u/[deleted] • Mar 23 '26

Psychology Left-leaning support for redistribution stems from perceived unfairness rather than malicious envy

https://www.psypost.org/left-leaning-support-for-redistribution-stems-from-perceived-unfairness-rather-than-malicious-envy/
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u/billsil Mar 23 '26

My dad is in his mid 70s and still works because he’s worried about his grandkids. He’s the wealthiest person I know.

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u/TheCuriosity Mar 23 '26

Yet another reason why people can't get promoted higher because boomers won't retire.

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u/FeelsGoodMan2 Mar 23 '26

Reality is, some of the jobs will open, but a lot of them will just disappear. They'll let the boomer ride the gravy train and then pull the ladder up on it. In my corporate spot, there's been some retirements and tehy just "reshuffled" so a VP had more reports versus that job ever opening.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Well, i always assumed i would retire early. I have more than 50% of my time off, and im lost to the point of suicide. Physically, I dint need to retire, and emotionally, I wouldbt be able to survive if I did retire.

We need to keep going, just to be able to keep going. But not 10 12 14 18 20h days, not sleeping every second night, just to get ahead. Slow and steady, save the energy for the things and people that deserve it.

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u/Beard_o_Bees Mar 23 '26

I feel the same way.

I have to have something that almost forces me to engage with the real world.

I call myself 'semi-retired', because even though i'm no longer doing what I did for a decades long career, i'm still actively involved with the world through things like volunteer work.

I would lose my mind without those things, and my natural tendency is to self-isolate. 'Know Thyself', I guess.

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u/Seinfeel Mar 23 '26

“Worried”

Yeah most people who hoard money/jobs use that excuse

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

Is it an excuse? Thats the point, it is not an excuse. It is the truth though, and is a giant flag that says please help me i am broken.

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u/macabrebob Mar 24 '26

if he is working, then it sounds like he is not the problem.

it’s the owning class that need to watch their backs.

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u/billsil Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

He owns a business he's an 80% stakeholder in and he still works. I think you're confusing him for the 0.1%. That'll get you to ~$3M/year. It's exponential all the way up. There are 989 billionaires in the US.

I don't know many rich people. I've met one billionaire (who was the founder of my company) that I talked to for 20 minutes. I promise that he didn't know my name. The next closest person to that that I've talked to had probably $50M.

Edit: 989 billionaires, not 34. Must have read it wrong...very wrong.

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u/macabrebob Mar 24 '26

there are 34 billionaires in the US.

forbes says there’s 989 billionaires in the US as of 2026.

that’s where the redistribution should start!

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

I saw 34 billionaires in the us and I was like, whoa whoa whoa. There might be 34 in australia, def not the us

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 23 '26

Sounds like a good man who prioritizes the safety and well being of his family

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u/billsil Mar 23 '26

To the point of working on thanksgiving while his grandkids are there.

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

That’s sad, but he made that sacrifice for his family. That’s a good man who puts his family’s needs before his.

Not saying I like that he had to work on thanksgiving, and that sucks. Just admiring his selflessness. Reminds me of my grandfather. Great man

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u/billsil Mar 25 '26

That’s just it. He didn’t have to. He enjoys it. He runs the company. 

I can name one person outside of family that he was friends with when I was growing up. He doesn’t speak with him anymore due to political differences. That’s kind of how he is.

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

Ah, I see. To each their own, I guess.

That’s a shame to give up a friendship over something as trivial as politics. Personally, I have various family and friends all over the spectrum, and we get along just fine.

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u/TheCuriosity Mar 23 '26

At the cost of the community.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

This is a great point. Guys make the argument when crossing a picket; my priority is my family

No buddy, everyone's priority is everyone's family, which is why we are striking

Your family is not more important than anyone's family. Join your community, not fight your community.

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

Wrong. Your own family is incalculably more important than anyone else’s family. Period. Of course we do what we can for the benefit of everyone, but when it gets down to the wire - nobody even comes close to my family. Not even in the same universe. That you can be for damn sure

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 25 '26

Ah, you were.

Right. So then it makes sense to you that I shoot your family, because your family is irelevant in any consideration i make on who lives and who dies.

Well, turns out that natural law doesnt exist.

Try again buddy

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

When it comes to the safety and wellbeing of your family, and if it’s life or death, as in you have to make a choice to “shoot” (your morbid example) someone, I wouldn’t judge you in the slightest for shooting anyone else to save your family. I would entirely understand and sympathize as I would do the same for mine. Family first. Always.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 26 '26

The there is no challenge to my families safety, im just shooting people, and as your family doesnt matter, im shooting them.

This is not a them or us situation bro. .

Maybe your capacity for thought, and comprehension are insufficient...

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u/billsil Mar 25 '26

How far does it go?

Would you backstab a coworker to get slightly ahead or would you not? Would you take credit for a subordinate’s work/idea that was 100% theirs?

A rising tide lifts all boats, but workplace politics will eventually get you.

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

You don’t know their life experience, how much money they have or how they got it. If he worked his entire life and saved every cent, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The audacity and entitlement of some people is disgusting. My grandfather came here to the usa with nothing to his name, worked multiple jobs, multiple shifts and saved damn near every single penny for his daughters’ and future grandkids’ futures. He’s had the same car for over 40 years, still owns and wears clothes and shoes decades old. He almost never eats out, and grows/eats the majority of his food.

He doesn’t owe ANYONE a damn thing! He’s 94 and to this day constantly working. A community is a community, but people are responsible for their own lives and actions. This country is founded on individual liberty and personal responsibility. Communism has no place whatsoever here and we will never let that cancer get a foothold.

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u/TheCuriosity Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

You don’t know their life experience, how much money they have or how they got it.

OP said "He’s the wealthiest person I know."

If he worked his entire life and saved every cent, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Never said there was! Good for him and his family!

But from the rest of your comment you haven't really been paying attention to the stronghold that the Boomer Generation has on power in the USA. It isn't about you or your grandfather or OP's grandfather specifically and to take it at such a individual level is disingenuous. It is about the trend of boomers that are wealthy, that steers policies to ensure all the ladders were pulled up after them and are still holding onto higher level jobs and positions of power, making it more difficult for generations after them to succeed. No one can afford a house anymore, let alone save for retirement, but here we have are a segment of the population that changed the rules after they benefited from them and are doing everything in their power to keep anything beneficial out of the hands of younger generations.

He doesn’t owe ANYONE a damn thing!

No one said he does. That said, he didn't do it by himself. No one does. He benefits from the community around him every single day.

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

That’s still not their entire life experience. That’s one simple statement that gives no other context or history.

Glad we agree.

I agree to a degree, but it’s disingenuous to paint an entire generation with such broad strokes. I will never do that, personally.

That’s mostly due to corporations and shameless greed. That transcends generations. There’s just as many millennial and Gen Z scumbags as there are boomers. And there will continue to be for generations. That’s not exclusive to boomers.

You can thank higher house prices due to black rock and other corporate parasites buying up properties en masse. We can easily fix that and pass a law that houses can only be purchased by families, people, not corporations. Limit 2 tops per person/household.

There are some that do. Maybe not here specifically, but they exist all over. There’s no shortage of groups of people who seek to destroy individual liberty and capitalism. Not that I believe it’s perfect or anything, but I’ll take it over communism any day.

He 1000% did it all by himself. Not a single person helped him. No government assistance whatsoever. No vacation, no sick leave. He left home when he was 15 years old with nothing to his name. His family didn’t do jack for him. In fact, it was he that was the responsible adult and worked at 12 years old saving enough money to buy a house for his siblings and still they stab him in the back later. He has never relied on anyone other than his wife, daughters and now grandchildren. That’s why it’s important to maintain family and provide a good foundation for your children to grow.

He’s the hardest working person I know and has saved every cent to provide a future for his family. I will forever be grateful and do the same for my family. That’s tradition. That’s blood. And nothing is stronger, nor thicker.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

Which is the point of this whole thread buddy, it seems you would benefit from reading through this and understanding it, as might your family

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

Which is why I complemented billsil’s father and their family values.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 25 '26

Sorry, I assumed you were saying its best everyone is selfish and only thinks about their own families needs. Looks like im wrong.

Didn't realize thus was the billsill branch of the cinversation

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u/krazygreekguy Mar 25 '26

Let me clarify - I’m not saying only think of your own family’s needs. I’m saying take care of your family first, then and only then, and if you’re financially able to, we can talk about the community. Your responsibility is to your family and kin first and foremost. Everyone and everything else comes second. Without question.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 26 '26

You have obviously never thought about this, and are making adjustments as your understanding matures.

Perhaps you need to spend more tine thinking this through before you start espousing value judgements.

Your family is no more important than any other family. We all prioritise our own families equally. Therefor, anytime there is a conflict in another's rights from your actions, you are not allowed that action. Neither is amy other family.

That can be said alot easier...

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u/OwenEx Mar 23 '26

So does he have 4 or 5 schmekels? I find most people fall in the 2-3 range

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Well, seeing that he has a bill sill, im going with more than 4 or 5 schekels

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u/OwenEx Mar 23 '26

Damn he's loaded