4 ms·

And this is why everyone my age jokes about eating the rich. (Ha ha, only serious!)

whatshisface 7y ago
What should these rich people do? Quit buying houses? Sit on their money? Buy yachts instead? You could argue that buying and renting out houses directly helps the proletariat, because it lowers rent.
- eli_gottlieb 7y ago
  They could quit buying houses, buy yachts (which, at the very least, are a consumer industry), or, you know, just give the money away. Or they could, and I know this will come as a shock, pay taxes.
  - ravenstine 7y ago
    How much taxes do you think rich people already pay? https://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/11/the-rich-do-not-pay-the-most-taxes-they-pay-all-the-taxes.html https://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/11/the-rich-do-not-pay-the-most... https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/13/high-income-americans-pay-most-income-taxes-but-enough-to-be-fair/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/13/high-income...
    - eli_gottlieb 7y ago
      > How much taxes do you think rich people already pay? Sufficiently little that they're still buying up whole neighborhoods to rent-seek on people's basic needs, so, not nearly enough. If the rich don't want to pay "all" the taxes, they can let us shift to an economic model in which they don't take home "all" the money.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  How about paying their employees better?
- Junk_Collector 7y ago
  Ideally they would invest in the production of something new rather than trying to corner a limited market to engage in literal rent-seeking. I'm not anti-real estate investment by any means and own a few properties of my own but I think it has all gotten a bit silly and needs a cold shower.
  - whatshisface 7y ago
    If they buy houses and prices go up, doesn't that incentivize building?
    - owyn 7y ago
      Not necessarily. It seems to incentivize more buying. If real estate prices keep going up and actually building anything new is too much work why bother?
      - whatshisface 7y ago
        >actually building anything new is too much work why bother If prices rise above the cost of building a house, you could make money by paying someone else to build a house, no work required.

What should these rich people do? Quit buying houses? Sit on their money? Buy yachts instead? You could argue that buying and renting out houses directly helps the proletariat, because it lowers rent.

eli_gottlieb 7y ago
They could quit buying houses, buy yachts (which, at the very least, are a consumer industry), or, you know, just give the money away. Or they could, and I know this will come as a shock, pay taxes.
- ravenstine 7y ago
  How much taxes do you think rich people already pay? https://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/11/the-rich-do-not-pay-the-most-taxes-they-pay-all-the-taxes.html https://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/11/the-rich-do-not-pay-the-most... https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/13/high-income-americans-pay-most-income-taxes-but-enough-to-be-fair/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/13/high-income...
  - eli_gottlieb 7y ago
    > How much taxes do you think rich people already pay? Sufficiently little that they're still buying up whole neighborhoods to rent-seek on people's basic needs, so, not nearly enough. If the rich don't want to pay "all" the taxes, they can let us shift to an economic model in which they don't take home "all" the money.
maxxxxx 7y ago
How about paying their employees better?
Junk_Collector 7y ago
Ideally they would invest in the production of something new rather than trying to corner a limited market to engage in literal rent-seeking. I'm not anti-real estate investment by any means and own a few properties of my own but I think it has all gotten a bit silly and needs a cold shower.
- whatshisface 7y ago
  If they buy houses and prices go up, doesn't that incentivize building?
  - owyn 7y ago
    Not necessarily. It seems to incentivize more buying. If real estate prices keep going up and actually building anything new is too much work why bother?
    - whatshisface 7y ago
      >actually building anything new is too much work why bother If prices rise above the cost of building a house, you could make money by paying someone else to build a house, no work required.