Most so-called “billionaires” just take money away from middle-class people in one of two ways: they sucker them to buy their junk, and then, when that runs out, force them to hand over their money by means of government grants, contracts, and bailouts. As you get poorer, they get richer. It’s a scam.

So that Elon Musk is rich on your dime should be no surprise to anyone.

It’s all hype, of course. Just make big promises to the little people and they will dutifully believe you.

The CNN article had this knee-slapper of a quote:

Wall Street’s faith in Musk is the main reason his wealth has reached previously unimaginable heights — at least for the moment, as long as his companies’ share prices remain near where they are. But that faith comes because at the start of his businesses, when he needed financial assistance the most, it was the US government — not Wall Street — that provided the needed help.

“It turned out it was definitely good for the government, America, and society that these companies exist, so I don’t regret that the government gave him the money,” said Gerber, the early Tesla investor who is now a Musk critic. “The mistake the government made is they should have had an equity stake.”

Of course, this statement is ignorant. It’s only good for Musk. The government should not give a penny. Your business either can make it on its own or it can’t. It is no coincidence that Musk went into the White House in a Trogan Doge, got access to government intel and now, magically, is being labelled a trillionaire, while the fortunes of tens of millions of people are precarious and decaying.

That you have big talkers get free money is no surprise. People are indoctrinated to believe words not actions. What’s more intriguing is that you have dumb middle-class sheeple go along with it and justifying it over and over again.

It reminds me of a fable my grandmother used to tell me about a queen who had so little respect for the people she was exploiting and abusing, that she would go to the royal balcony and shout, “My people! My livestock!” and people would cheer at being called sheeple. No one told off the queen. No one thought to throw horse dung in her face or snatch the paper crown from her narcissistic little head.

Yet there is disturbing truth to the parable. There really are three kinds of people in the world: those who play other people; those who get played, and those who don’t play, but deal, and dealers always win because they know better than to play the game in the first place.