“Comedian” Bill Burr has become increasingly less funny as he has become increasingly political. He has transformed into the crown prince of mid-wit beliefs. His understanding of the world is uninformed at best. Nonetheless, this millionaire theater guy has been keen on lecturing everybody with the economic sophistication of a toaster.
His “ideology” is this amalgamation of populism and snobbery. It involves a mix of both elitism in some cases and Marxism in others. For example, he previously went onto “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and unironically complained that “people” were criticizing the handling of the LA fires. He complained that since they are not “fire experts,” they ought to keep their mouths shut. These people, mind you, are voters. Even so, since he has a problem with people who comment on things because they supposedly lack sufficient knowledge, it seems this formerly-funny Hollywood rich guy is more out of touch than any other group on planet Earth. He is more guilty than anybody of speaking on things of which he has not the slightest experience or knowledge. Yet he refuses to stop speaking on such matters.
Burr has been spending time campaigning against the evils of capitalism and the billionaire class. Last week on his podcast, “Monday Morning Podcast,” he said that “billionaires need to be put down like rabid dogs.” His justification was that the billionaires are “rabid with greed.” Now, it is significant to note that he, like many other left-leaning elitists, conveniently refuses to include the millionaires. Burr, a millionaire, might be implicated otherwise.
He continues on this rant, saying, “If you work a full f—— week, you should be able to pay your f—— rent. You shouldn’t have to go and get another f—— job and still be struggling.” Now, these statements are all things everybody wants. Everybody wants hard workers to prosper. Everybody wants to minimize societal difficulties. But these comments do not alter reality in any way. They do not make resources any less scarce. They are simply an attempt to signal to others that Burr is super virtuous and compassionate regardless of the foolish reasoning and injurious implications undergirding his call for murder.
Burr insinuates that the difficult conditions ordinary people face are a product of billionaires. In his mind, the American market is a zero-sum system. When one person accumulates more money, another person is left with less. Therefore, the rights of billionaires must be infringed with the aim of achieving some cosmic justice to correct people’s disparate outcomes. In reality, this is not only ahistorical, it is downright illogical.
American jobs did not just pop into existence. Jobs are created by business people who incur the risk in a business venture to create goods and services for society. Adam Smith’s famous “invisible hand” explained that in the free market, when business people seek profit, they contribute to the public good, whether intentionally or unintentionally. For instance, a business person will not succeed in business if they do not provide things others want. Therefore, they must satisfy some demand. Additionally, in order to provide things others want, business people employ workers whose risk, unlike the employer, is minimal as these laborers are guaranteed the money for their work. If the business is unfair or inadequate, workers and consumers can go to a competitor or become the competitor.
Burr’s insinuation that work is some dirty act is condescending. From the earliest years of mankind, people have long had to kill what they eat. Work and labor have always been necessary to produce goods and services. This will be the case until all needs are satisfied or all work is automated. To assume that our current state of affairs ought to defy this reality is nothing more than an irrational appeal to emotion and blatant ignorance.
Regardless, Burr seems to be aiming to redistribute wealth by fiat, as if handing dollar bills to poor people eliminates fixed realities. It doesn’t. This misunderstanding of economics as the basis for a crusade against successful people will subsequently curb growth, innovation and living standards. If you want to destroy Western entrepreneurship, this is a marvelous way to do it.
This cynical view of wealthy people in America as a crony class of fat cat trust fund oppressors that sit on their yachts producing nothing and stealing from others could not be farther from the truth. The overwhelming majority of the 2024 Forbes 400 were self-made. According to the New York Times, the top one percent of earners are more likely to work more than 50 hours a week than lower income brackets.
The basis for their money is the selling or investing in goods and services that others willingly purchase. There is no guarantee when they invest resources into a business venture they will succeed. That is inherently a part of why the rewards are so large. They assume the risk and uncertainty, and thus, a gigantic chance of being left empty-handed. Billionaires have typically failed numerous times preceding their success.
For a moment, let’s put aside the fact that infringing upon individual liberties is evil. It is the risk-takers who built this country. They are the people Burr is lobbing threats against. Once all of the billionaires are gone, hopefully, Burr’s comedy can manufacture new cars, cool homes, enhance high-speed internet, develop the next life-saving drug and supply Americans with the essentials. But, then again, he left comedy behind long ago.
