5 tycoons who want to close the wealth gap
5 tycoons who want to close the wealth gap
BY HANNAH DREIER
Associated Press February 23, 2014
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UNZ: THE REPUBLICAN WHO FAVORS A RAISE
Not all members of the super-rich taking up the issue of inequality are progressives. Ron Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire and registered Republican who once ran for California governor, is advocating the highest minimum wage in the country for his home state.
Unz, 52, trained as a theoretical physicist, has an IQ of 214 and has written scholarly papers on the Spartan naval empire. His political rivals and allies alike have made much of his nerdy demeanor. But his unorthodox background seems to have given him the confidence to go against the conventional wisdom of his party.
"The thing that's really shocking is that the Republican response to the problem is to call for increased welfare spending. From a free-market perspective, businesses should compete without subsidies," Unz said. "If they can't compete, then maybe they should go out of business."
HANAUER: HELPING PEOPLE BUY WHAT AMAZON SELLS
Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer believes the growing wealth gap threatens the economic system that has given him his wealth. One of the early investors in Amazon, Hanauer started the Internet company aQuantive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2007 for $6.4 billion.
But Hanauer said he doesn't consider himself a "job creator." If no one can afford to buy what he's selling, the jobs his companies create will evaporate, he reasons. In his view, what the nation needs is more money in the hands of regular consumers. "A higher minimum wage is a very simple and elegant solution to the death spiral of falling demand that is the signature feature of our economy," he said in an interview with the AP last summer.
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BUFFETT: THE BILLIONAIRE PIED PIPER
SILBERSTEIN: THE QUIET ADVOCATE
HINDERY: THE TITAN WHO WANTS TO PAY MORE TAXES
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/02/23/3046005/5-tycoons-who-want-to-close-the.html#storylink=cpy
