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Cyprus had bank account seizures and some eastern European nations seized private pension accounts. You can't seize what you don't control. No cash means no an

by vaadu 11y ago

Cyprus had bank account seizures and some eastern European nations seized private pension accounts. You can't seize what you don't control. No cash means no anonymity No cash allows banks to charge negative interest rates

cesarb 11y ago
Here in Brazil, we had the "Confisco da Poupança" in the 90s. According to Wikipedia (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano_Collor https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano_Collor), 80% of every bank account above some value was frozen for 18 months. Even nowadays, rumors of a new "confisco" are enough for some people to take all their money out of their bank accounts (even though constitutional amendment 32, written a decade later, contains a clause specifically designed to prevent another "confisco").
- dmichulke 11y ago
  At the current rate of inflation (12%?) the government taxes you even if you don't have your money in the bank.
  - st3v3r 11y ago
    That claim makes absolutely no sense. Taxes are revenue the government brings in. It can then use that money to do stuff. Inflation does not bring in revenue, and does not make it possible for the government to do stuff.
    - anon4this1 11y ago
      you should look up "debt monetization" and investigate how it relates to quantitative easing and money printing. Cliff's notes is that quantitative easing is really money printing used to finance government spending, and is really just another form of taxation, although it goes through a slightly convoluted process to get there.
    - cmsmith 11y ago
      Unless the inflation is caused by the government printing money. If 10 citizens each have $10, then there are $100 in the money supply. Now the government prints $10. If no actual value was created with that $10, then the value of the dollar has to drop. Now all the citizens have $9.1 (real value) and the government has $9.1 (real value). This is the same as a 10% tax on wealth.
      - thaumasiotes 11y ago
        From the given numbers, it sounds like a 9% tax.
    - gozur88 11y ago
      Of course inflation brings in revenue. You get inflation when the government prints money (electronically, these days) to "do stuff". It's no different than a tax on any account you hold with that currency. And inflation allows the government to make money off of any asset you hold, too. Let's say you buy a brick of gold (or equities or real estate - doesn't matter) worth $100. In a non-inflationary environment, you sell you brick for $100 ten years later and... nothing. In an inflationary environment, you sell your brick ten years later for $1000. From the government's perspective $900 of that is profit for which you'll have to pay income taxes, even though the purchasing power of $1000 is the same as it was when you bought the gold. If your tax rate is 30% that's a $270 tax payment, and the government has managed, through inflation, to take 27% of the value of your gold brick. Inflation is a wealth tax. Always.

by vaadu 11y ago

cesarb 11y ago

Here in Brazil, we had the "Confisco da Poupança" in the 90s. According to Wikipedia (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano_Collor https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano_Collor), 80% of every bank account above some value was frozen for 18 months. Even nowadays, rumors of a new "confisco" are enough for some people to take all their money out of their bank accounts (even though constitutional amendment 32, written a decade later, contains a clause specifically designed to prevent another "confisco").

dmichulke 11y ago
At the current rate of inflation (12%?) the government taxes you even if you don't have your money in the bank.
- st3v3r 11y ago
  That claim makes absolutely no sense. Taxes are revenue the government brings in. It can then use that money to do stuff. Inflation does not bring in revenue, and does not make it possible for the government to do stuff.
  - anon4this1 11y ago
    you should look up "debt monetization" and investigate how it relates to quantitative easing and money printing. Cliff's notes is that quantitative easing is really money printing used to finance government spending, and is really just another form of taxation, although it goes through a slightly convoluted process to get there.
  - cmsmith 11y ago
    Unless the inflation is caused by the government printing money. If 10 citizens each have $10, then there are $100 in the money supply. Now the government prints $10. If no actual value was created with that $10, then the value of the dollar has to drop. Now all the citizens have $9.1 (real value) and the government has $9.1 (real value). This is the same as a 10% tax on wealth.
    - thaumasiotes 11y ago
      From the given numbers, it sounds like a 9% tax.
  - gozur88 11y ago
    Of course inflation brings in revenue. You get inflation when the government prints money (electronically, these days) to "do stuff". It's no different than a tax on any account you hold with that currency. And inflation allows the government to make money off of any asset you hold, too. Let's say you buy a brick of gold (or equities or real estate - doesn't matter) worth $100. In a non-inflationary environment, you sell you brick for $100 ten years later and... nothing. In an inflationary environment, you sell your brick ten years later for $1000. From the government's perspective $900 of that is profit for which you'll have to pay income taxes, even though the purchasing power of $1000 is the same as it was when you bought the gold. If your tax rate is 30% that's a $270 tax payment, and the government has managed, through inflation, to take 27% of the value of your gold brick. Inflation is a wealth tax. Always.