The “Your Money or Your Life” thing was a joke

Scott Adams’s blog, The Dilbert Blog, is often used, it seems, just to stir the pot. In a recent post, Scott argues that it’s silly to believe that George W. Bush started the Iraq War to make a profit for himself or his rich friends:

If you believe that the ultra rich capitalist overlords wanted war to increase their profits, you have to believe they were willing to kill hundreds of thousands of people to get it. THAT’s the part I don’t buy. There can be sociopath billionaires to be sure, but I can’t see them being the majority force in the government.

I have a theory that only people who have never been rich would believe that the rich are routinely willing to kill enormous amounts of people to get richer. Personally, I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. And I can speak from first hand experience about how it changes you. I’m far less bloodthirsty than before.

The comments are, as always fun (except for the inexplicable fact that they’re backwards — the newest ones are on top). Some people point out that tobacco (and/or firearms) companies are “killing” for profit (I’m surprised they didn’t point at fast food moguls for doing the same, honestly), which is a predictable, if somewhat imbecilic, argument. Others immediately switch to “it wasn’t for money, it was for power”, as though the President of the United States is somehow lacking for power. I guess he was threatened by Saddam’s massive influence over… well, no one outside of his own country.

This one, though, had to have been my favorite comment:

“If you believe that the ultra rich capitalist overlords wanted war to increase their profits, you have to believe they were willing to kill hundreds of thousands of people to get it. THAT’s the part I don’t buy. There can be sociopath billionaires to be sure, but I can’t see them being the majority force in the government.”

What is the difference between this and laying off 1/3 of your workforce???

Posted by: parsko | April 28, 2006 at 03:26 AM

Parsko’s world must be a strange, strange place. If laying off workers is the same as murdering them, then does that mean quitting a job is like committing suicide? What if you quit, then start a new job a few days later? Have you suddenly tranformed yourself into a new-age Christ? Or have you simply been reincarnated?