But two experts say the uber-wealthy are often huge contributors to society — and trying to eliminate them could badly backfire. It's become increasingly popular to make claims such as "billionaires shouldn't exist" and "any billionaire is a policy failure." But these moral criticisms of billionaires are unconvincing because people overstate billionaires' power and influence and overlook the benefits of some billionaires. There's a widespread belief that governments should tax billionaires primarily and spend that money on public goods and anti-poverty programs. Instead of saying that every billionaire is a policy failure, we should instead embrace the idea that every billionaire is a policy success.

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Persons: Critics, —, Jessica Flanigan, Richard L, Chris Freiman, It's, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Jobs, Bezos, Warren Buffett, isn't, Taylor Swift, LeBron James Organizations: Service, Morril, University of Richmond, West Virginia University, Business Locations: multimillionaires