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China is willing to do it, as well as capital punishment for fraud. IMO this just transfers more power to politicians. There are more laws than anyone could eve

China is willing to do it, as well as capital punishment for fraud. IMO this just transfers more power to politicians. There are more laws than anyone could ever read or count, anyone whose affairs are that complicated can be jailed at any time so it becomes purely political -- would Trump chose to arrest the same billionaires as you?

cookiecaper 9y ago
Yes. Selective enforcement of law, especially esoteric or procedural laws that often apply in white-collar crime, is widely used and under-recognized as a potent political weapon.
- rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
  Sometimes referred to as "rule by law" as opposed to "rule of law."
  - seanp2k2 9y ago
    The headshot is my favorite: http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-another-head-shot/ http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-anoth... TL;DR they can get you good for taking money from your parents to buy your first house, which most people in the US do.
    - astebbin 9y ago
      Most people sounds like overstatement. Personally the idea, "to give your child any money as a loan and then let the child claim those assets as his or her own income or saving [...] in support of a loan application," strikes me as obvious fraud. Without data, I would doubt that most homebuyers follow this practice. I think the author's argument wasn't that this practice is not or should not be a crime, but that the potential criminal penalty - 30 years! - is far too high.
Animats 9y ago
China does severe punishments, but the odds of punishment are low.
- samstave 9y ago
  Speculation on my part only based on observation: If you're a billionaire in Russia or China, you only get punished if A) you piss-off/embarrass the leadership or B) the leadership wants to steal all your wealth.
intended 9y ago
But This will always be the case. A change in taxation and improvements in coverage by the IRS will always be challenged by the Rich and their political agents. Its is, always has been, and always will be - a power play. This is the level at which sufficient money accumulates in individuals that it converts to power. So Earlier - the monied class converted wealth to power to act on the political class. Now the constituents and political class want to use their diversified/unfocused power to counteract the monied class. This is the simple transfer of force model.

cookiecaper 9y ago

Yes. Selective enforcement of law, especially esoteric or procedural laws that often apply in white-collar crime, is widely used and under-recognized as a potent political weapon.

rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
Sometimes referred to as "rule by law" as opposed to "rule of law."
- seanp2k2 9y ago
  The headshot is my favorite: http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-another-head-shot/ http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-anoth... TL;DR they can get you good for taking money from your parents to buy your first house, which most people in the US do.
  - astebbin 9y ago
    Most people sounds like overstatement. Personally the idea, "to give your child any money as a loan and then let the child claim those assets as his or her own income or saving [...] in support of a loan application," strikes me as obvious fraud. Without data, I would doubt that most homebuyers follow this practice. I think the author's argument wasn't that this practice is not or should not be a crime, but that the potential criminal penalty - 30 years! - is far too high.

Animats 9y ago

China does severe punishments, but the odds of punishment are low.

samstave 9y ago
Speculation on my part only based on observation: If you're a billionaire in Russia or China, you only get punished if A) you piss-off/embarrass the leadership or B) the leadership wants to steal all your wealth.

intended 9y ago

But This will always be the case. A change in taxation and improvements in coverage by the IRS will always be challenged by the Rich and their political agents. Its is, always has been, and always will be - a power play. This is the level at which sufficient money accumulates in individuals that it converts to power. So Earlier - the monied class converted wealth to power to act on the political class. Now the constituents and political class want to use their diversified/unfocused power to counteract the monied class. This is the simple transfer of force model.