Unless you're claiming violent seizure, then the Benz had a good probability of being earned by someone, thus meriting some social clout by those who value those contributions. I have a pickup over a decade old and with a noisy muffler, and write comments on forums like this instead of, apparently, providing value sufficient to afford more. It's not meritorious, and I receive and deserve some derision. Well at least I don't genuflect before the God of egalitarianism, so I'll accept credit for that.

In almost all situations, a high school student being dropped off by parents in a fancy car did nothing to help the parents earn the fancy car. In fact, generally kids at that stage are a net negative on parents finances.

The key is that the wealth used to buy the car was earned (unless evidence to the contrary is convincing). The parents elected to buy an expensive car, and maybe they bought their kid more expensive clothing. But can't you see, that having one's child lack want is (one) motivation for making the efforts to earn wealth? Suppose those parents were otherwise identical (in terms of their privileges), but, like you, decided that such differential wealth displays were to be shunned. Not needing those displays caused them in part to lose motivation to obtain wealth, and thus lose motivation to perform the efforts that would lead to that. So they produce less. Great, now the people who can produce the most are encouraged to produce less. Try selling that to the people who will now be more poor as a consequence.

Instead of clipping the knees of the productive, realize that envy can encourage the unproductive to imitate the habits of the productive to themselves become productive. We all benefit indirectly thereby.

I never claimed the wealth was unearned - I said it was unearned by the high school student who is gaining clout from it.

> but, like you, decided that such differential wealth displays were to be shunned. Not needing those displays caused them in part to lose motivation to obtain wealth

I don't think you'll find any evidence to support this. No one decides that since they don't need a Benz to show off, that they would like to live in a hovel and work until they are 75.

> Instead of clipping the knees of the productive, realize that envy can encourage the unproductive to imitate the habits of the productive to themselves become productive

An equally plausible scenario is that the envy leads unproductive people to spend every last penny they can earn on the displays, leaving them in a much worse financial position than someone who eschews the displays and invests their money in productive enterprises.

edit: just realized I posted this from my phone which has a different account signed on...opsec fail, just a heads up googlryas=oh_sigh