Keeping up with the Joneses isn't about the sum of money, which by that age is trivial in the Bay Area. It's about the constant attitude of one's unhappiness stemming deeply from a sense that others are doing better than oneself. Fairness is a concept with diverse meanings: for some it means equality and for others it means proportionality. The fact that you have not equalized your wealth to the global median by transferring fractions to those lower than you proves that you do not believe in equality and retain some concept of proportionality.
It's unsurprising that one conveniently draws the line at one's own wealth as decent and fair but it should also be unsurprising when others do the same with their own larger amounts.
The average Indian (the modal nationality in the world), as an example, must work 200 years to gain the wealth you did at the age of 33. Show us your commitment to fairness and decency. I am curious to see you achieve parity with him.
Of course, I like that you did that. But it's not near fair enough considering people are starving. Bezos has given billions to charity. Will that do? Clearly not. So what you have done cannot suffice either.
I'm a believer in progressive taxation, and I think the principle applies here too. That principle is that the "burden" of taxation should be about the same for everyone, and in turn relies on the concept of the marginal value of money: for someone who earns 10k/yr, an extra 1k is a gigantic gain (or loss), but for someone who earns 10M/yr, an extra 1k is basically noise.
It's unsurprising that one conveniently draws the line at one's own wealth as decent and fair but it should also be unsurprising when others do the same with their own larger amounts.
The average Indian (the modal nationality in the world), as an example, must work 200 years to gain the wealth you did at the age of 33. Show us your commitment to fairness and decency. I am curious to see you achieve parity with him.