4 ms·

Of course, when you look at the biggest sources of rent seeking in the US, they are mostly not protecting the interests of the very wealthy. Exclusionary zonin

Of course, when you look at the biggest sources of rent seeking in the US, they are mostly not protecting the interests of the very wealthy. Exclusionary zoning, occupational licensing, overpriced government services, these are probably the biggest (in terms of $) examples of rent seeking in the US. These generally favor some middle class and poor folks at the expense of other middle class and poor folks. If this theory were true, where is the rent seeking?

asgard1024 11y ago
> these are probably the biggest (in terms of $) examples of rent seeking in the US LOL. You forgot big banks and "too big to fail", military-industrial complex and all the wars.. Your examples are peanuts compared to these.
- yummyfajitas 11y ago
  Um, banks and "too big to fail" cost a few billion dollars a few times a century. The most recent bailout was profitable for the treasury. While I'm not generally a proponent of war or the military, it's hardly clear that these are a large amount of rent seeking compared to the broader economy.
xiaoma 11y ago
How much has Apple paid in taxes as a percentage of revenue (or even profit) over the past 5 years? While the tax system may look progressive at a very superficial level, the richest people or corporations tend not to pay as much in taxes as the middle class does. Even beyond the specifics of the law, the sheer complexity of the law means that only those whose earnings is high enough to justify the cost of a good tax accountant or tax lawyer can get a good rate. Regulatory complexities in general are also a burden on smaller companies and sole proprietors. Ted Turner described his experience building CNN as one where he was climbing a ladder and seeing the rungs he had just climbed knocked away. Outsiders now simply don't have the ability to handle the regulatory costs of creating the next CNN unless they're already extraordinarily wealthy. Finally, our banking system is a model of rent-seeking. There are fees charged for doing just about anything with money (borrowing it, lending it, exchanging it for another currency, etc), many of the fees are invisible and once again they are extremely difficult to avoid. Example: how much of the money from YouTube's acquisition went to the financiers? How much do banks make when a tech company IPOs?
- yummyfajitas 11y ago
  Rich people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes, and that doesn't even account for taxes paid by corporations they own. http://taxfoundation.org/blog/no-country-leans-upper-income-households-much-us http://taxfoundation.org/blog/no-country-leans-upper-income-... http://taxfoundation.org/article/new-data-top-1-pay-greater-dollar-amount-income-taxes-federal-government-bottom-90 http://taxfoundation.org/article/new-data-top-1-pay-greater-... I agree with you about regulatory complexities. But you seem to be going very counter to the narrative - greedy rich people pushing for more regulations to harm incumbents and consumers? So, yay for deregulation?

asgard1024 11y ago

> these are probably the biggest (in terms of $) examples of rent seeking in the US LOL. You forgot big banks and "too big to fail", military-industrial complex and all the wars.. Your examples are peanuts compared to these.

yummyfajitas 11y ago
Um, banks and "too big to fail" cost a few billion dollars a few times a century. The most recent bailout was profitable for the treasury. While I'm not generally a proponent of war or the military, it's hardly clear that these are a large amount of rent seeking compared to the broader economy.

xiaoma 11y ago

How much has Apple paid in taxes as a percentage of revenue (or even profit) over the past 5 years? While the tax system may look progressive at a very superficial level, the richest people or corporations tend not to pay as much in taxes as the middle class does. Even beyond the specifics of the law, the sheer complexity of the law means that only those whose earnings is high enough to justify the cost of a good tax accountant or tax lawyer can get a good rate. Regulatory complexities in general are also a burden on smaller companies and sole proprietors. Ted Turner described his experience building CNN as one where he was climbing a ladder and seeing the rungs he had just climbed knocked away. Outsiders now simply don't have the ability to handle the regulatory costs of creating the next CNN unless they're already extraordinarily wealthy. Finally, our banking system is a model of rent-seeking. There are fees charged for doing just about anything with money (borrowing it, lending it, exchanging it for another currency, etc), many of the fees are invisible and once again they are extremely difficult to avoid. Example: how much of the money from YouTube's acquisition went to the financiers? How much do banks make when a tech company IPOs?

yummyfajitas 11y ago
Rich people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes, and that doesn't even account for taxes paid by corporations they own. http://taxfoundation.org/blog/no-country-leans-upper-income-households-much-us http://taxfoundation.org/blog/no-country-leans-upper-income-... http://taxfoundation.org/article/new-data-top-1-pay-greater-dollar-amount-income-taxes-federal-government-bottom-90 http://taxfoundation.org/article/new-data-top-1-pay-greater-... I agree with you about regulatory complexities. But you seem to be going very counter to the narrative - greedy rich people pushing for more regulations to harm incumbents and consumers? So, yay for deregulation?