4 ms·
Eliminate all federal taxes and print the money needed for government operations. Effectively this becomes an inflation tax. Automatically it affects the weal
by te_platt 16y ago
Eliminate all federal taxes and print the money needed for government operations. Effectively this becomes an inflation tax. Automatically it affects the wealthy in direct proportion to their wealth as opposed to their most recent earnings. No loopholes, no games, no misallocation of resources for tax breaks.
- 100k 16y agoInteresting idea, but already the reason we are so concerned about government debt when inflation is so low and the economy is so bad is that inflation hurts the rich, and they control the discourse. I do not think they would go for a superinflation senario like this.
- benohear 16y agoThis would hit people with savings in cash (or bonds), i.e. the middle class. The rich tend to have assets (or foreign holdings) which should be largely inflation-proof.
- va_coder 16y ago..and old people on fixed income.
- melling 16y agoIf you work for the post office or are a teacher, for example, your pension adjusts for inflation. Other govt jobs are similar? So, inflating out of the problem won't help here.
- forgottenpaswrd 16y agoNot true. Your pension adjust for OFFICIAL inflation, I invite you to make a simple shopping cart on Excel with your most important expenses and compare with official figures. Official's is allays less(all govs massage the numbers as there is so much money at stake).
- tbrownaw 16y agoApproximately nobody holds physical cash these days, and I expect bank accounts would still pay interest like they do now (and higher interest if there was higher inflation). Bonds would also pay higher interest, you can see they're already priced to include expected inflation by looking at inflation-protected ones.
- te_platt 16y agoI admit to not taking my own idea here too seriously but still want to add a couple of points. There would only be inflation if the amount of money printed exceeded the production of new goods and services. Could congress control how much they spend? Not too likely but it's not very likely now and at least this way everyone including the poor would have a reason to resist excessive spending. Would the production of new goods and services increase? I think so. There would be other benefits as well, including: 1. Eliminating the costs of compliance with tax law. 2. Eliminating the costs of collecting the tax. 3. Severely cutting back the power of congress to control through tax policy.
- Devilboy 16y agoNothing stops the middle class from buying gold instead of keeping their money in a cash account. Once you change the system the people will adapt.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- mooism2 16y agoDoesn't affect the wealthy that much because they hold more of their wealth in property, shares, etc, rather than in bank accounts. And everyone would switch to using euros.
- dantheman 16y agoInflation hurts the poor and the middle class the most since their savings are not in inflation protected assets - land, stock, etc...
- wanderr 16y agoAsk Brazil how that strategy worked out.
- mseebach 16y ago> No loopholes, no games, no misallocation of resources for tax breaks. Bonds, currency and commodities?