5 ms·

You are analyzing one aspect of the system in vacuum, and probably conflating correlation and causation. You, and nobody else don't really know what higher taxa

You are analyzing one aspect of the system in vacuum, and probably conflating correlation and causation. You, and nobody else don't really know what higher taxation over last 30 years would bring. More tax havens, which are really everywhere these days? Which is an effect I can confirm from my home country (higher tax -> higher avoidance/optimalization -> less taxes to the state). Lower the taxes, and tax office actually collects more cash for a given year. Rich are not dumb, they will not just sit and watch some state eat their wealth and getting nothing tangible back, in contrary. I know I would too, if for nothing else then my future kids and their kids.

CPLX 8y ago
Nothing tangible? Maybe we can herd them up and drop them in Somalia so they can get familiar with some of the tangible benefits of a stable society with a well funded and functional government.
- saiya-jin 8y ago
  I assume you are trolling for fun/boredom and in reality don't have this naive and outright dangerous early soviet-style mindset. Or maybe you do (and don't share basic values of western civilization), and then I would kindly ask you a favor - could you please relocate to North Korea, at least for some time? I struggle to find any other similar paradise on the face of earth these days, they seemed to crumble despite their apparent greatness but this one is still holding a bit and showing off to those evil capitalists how masses cleverly run the show... right. When I meant tangible returns, it is in vein of giving say 4 millions $$ to the state and seeing nothing actually coming back in form of better roads, schools and hospitals or anything else in the area they live. The money just disappears in bottomless bit called state budget, where corrupt officials take a cut or two, then it gets paid either in salaries of state employees (which many view as ineffective bureaucrats) or in messed up overpriced contract work to maintain/improve, of course only to overly friendly companies. It is a bit of a caricature of functional western society but so is some evil uncle Scrooge, reality looks a bit differently. The more we move towards this caricature the more real the culprits on both sides will be, including types you like yourself to pose in.
  - CPLX 8y ago
    Who's talking about the Soviet Union? I'm talking about Northern Europe. It's not like there aren't examples of countries with effective social services and very high rates of marginal taxation for the highest brackets. I recommend visiting Copenhagen, it's amazing. I've seen dozens of people in this thread explain why that type of taxation system can't exist. But I've like actually seen it happen in real life. On the flip side there are literally zero places with a genuinely limited government where it's safe to be a billionaire.
    - opo 8y ago
      >...for the highest brackets. The US has a more progressive tax system than just about any OECD country. Those northern European countries no longer have the close to 100% confiscatory tax rates they sometimes had because they end up hurting the country - what they do have are high effective rates that much of the country pays.

CPLX 8y ago

Nothing tangible? Maybe we can herd them up and drop them in Somalia so they can get familiar with some of the tangible benefits of a stable society with a well funded and functional government.

saiya-jin 8y ago
I assume you are trolling for fun/boredom and in reality don't have this naive and outright dangerous early soviet-style mindset. Or maybe you do (and don't share basic values of western civilization), and then I would kindly ask you a favor - could you please relocate to North Korea, at least for some time? I struggle to find any other similar paradise on the face of earth these days, they seemed to crumble despite their apparent greatness but this one is still holding a bit and showing off to those evil capitalists how masses cleverly run the show... right. When I meant tangible returns, it is in vein of giving say 4 millions $$ to the state and seeing nothing actually coming back in form of better roads, schools and hospitals or anything else in the area they live. The money just disappears in bottomless bit called state budget, where corrupt officials take a cut or two, then it gets paid either in salaries of state employees (which many view as ineffective bureaucrats) or in messed up overpriced contract work to maintain/improve, of course only to overly friendly companies. It is a bit of a caricature of functional western society but so is some evil uncle Scrooge, reality looks a bit differently. The more we move towards this caricature the more real the culprits on both sides will be, including types you like yourself to pose in.
- CPLX 8y ago
  Who's talking about the Soviet Union? I'm talking about Northern Europe. It's not like there aren't examples of countries with effective social services and very high rates of marginal taxation for the highest brackets. I recommend visiting Copenhagen, it's amazing. I've seen dozens of people in this thread explain why that type of taxation system can't exist. But I've like actually seen it happen in real life. On the flip side there are literally zero places with a genuinely limited government where it's safe to be a billionaire.
  - opo 8y ago
    >...for the highest brackets. The US has a more progressive tax system than just about any OECD country. Those northern European countries no longer have the close to 100% confiscatory tax rates they sometimes had because they end up hurting the country - what they do have are high effective rates that much of the country pays.