Is MegaUpload Tycoon Kim Dotcom part of the 1%?
February 5th, 2012
The 1% rhetorical device that the Occupy Movement uses is pretty intellectually dishonest if you think about it. It gives the mob screaming “We are the 99%” the false impression that they somehow actually represent the opinions and political position of the vast majority of American society, which from a democratic mindset is actually pretty dangerous. It might give individuals the sense of moral authority to say… break windows, or vandalize private property. It also gives people the false impression those in the top 1% of income earners are somehow unified, or similar in some way, when in reality they may be quite diverse.
According to the IRS the top 1% of income earners make $344,000 or more. That’s about what GOP front runner Mitt Romney made in speaking fees last year ($374,000) which he called “not very much” and about what President Barack Obama made in salary last year ($400,000). So, barring some tipping point where Ron Paul sweeps the rest of the primary, we’re likely looking at an election between two members of the 1%. Are we to assume that Obama and Romney have identical opinions and political positions? For that matter, if any President is going to earn a salary that puts them in the top 1% of income earners are we to assume that every president is going to represent the 1%? Are we then to assume that if we dock the President’s pay to $343,999 annual income that he will suddenly represent the 99%? It’s an interesting thought, but more than anything it exposes the fallacy of this rhetorical device.
So, let’s talk about Kim Dotcom. He was the founder of the file-sharing site MegaUpload that was shut down by the Department of Justice the day after the SOPA protest blackout. Now, most of the Occupy friends I’ve made are into file-sharing. They’re big fans of WikiLeaks and Anonymous, and their on board protesting SOPA and PIPA and ACTA and any other kind of government intervention on the Internet. They are a generation of web savvy activists that think of hackers and pirates like Kim Dotcom as heroes. But here’s the thing, Kim Dotcom made $42 million last year from MegaUpload. Mathematically speaking he’s easily within the top 1% of income earners (except that he’s technically in New Zealand, but the Occupy Movement is international). The guy lives in a $24 million mansion that is the most expensive private home in New Zealand. At the time of his arrest, police towed away nearly 30 luxury vehicles with vanity plates like, “HACKER,” “MAFIA,” and “GOD.”
According to the logic of the 1% vs. 99% rhetoric this highly successful entrepreneur should share the same opinions and political positions and Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, but instead he’s in jail in New Zealand waiting to be extradited to the U.S. on charges of Internet piracy and racketeering. What’s going on here? The thing is Dotcom didn’t make his millions by lobbying influential politicians to pass advantageous legislation. He didn’t get any bail out from the Federal Reserve. He didn’t even make his millions by “exploiting the labor of working class” even though my Communist Occupy friends tell me that’s the only way to get wealthy. Kim Dotcom got wealthy because a group of about 30 computer experts created a website that provided a service that users were willing to pay for voluntarily. MegaUpload was a repository of computer files. The basic service was free, but millions of users bought subscriptions to get faster downloads and larger memory. According to the indictment MegaUpload took in $150 million in subscription fees. This was done without any collusion with government, all through the voluntary cooperation of the online community.
I think it’s time activists began to engage in more nuanced thinking when it comes to politics and economics. Knowing someone’s income is not sufficient information to judge their character, and those who are the top income earners are not always political elites, and Wall Street insiders. The crucial question the Occupy Movement needs to be asking is not how much money someone makes, but how they make their money.
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