C. Lear,
In fact you are the one who should reflect on the facts of the case. The benefit you get from stock ownership is obvious. You receive the benefit of work that others do because you own that work. They receive their wages and nothing more. I don't care if you work a million hours, paint hammers and sickles on the wall in your spare time, and live in a janitor's closet. Your "merit" is completely superfluous. You are profiting from those who work but do not own. How do you think Bill Gates got rich, by being the smartest programmer in the world or by owning the rights to the work product of thousands of other programmers?
peace