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I know this wasn't intended but I thought it was interesting that he doesn't think of the 1% as Americans.

by swlkr 7y ago

Lammy 7y ago
The 1% are above any state. They will align with any state that gives them favorable tax loopholes. If America clamps down they will just leave. Look at Eduardo Saverin for example.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > The 1% are above any state. They will align with any state that gives them favorable tax loopholes. If America clamps down they will just leave. Look at Eduardo Saverin for example. The ability for an individual to choose their favored tax jurisdiction is an artifact of law, and laws can be changed. If America decides to clamp down on the 1%, it can also create laws to disincentivize leaving for tax reasons, like Saverin did.
- GhettoMaestro 7y ago
  Technicality: You're not referring to the 1%, but something like the .01% or even .001%. The difference between 1% and .01% income is staggering.
- cobookman 7y ago
  I think you mean .01%. The 1% maybe have 1-10million of savings.
  - swagasaurus-rex 7y ago
    And likely invest in assets that can't be moved to foreign soil.
kick 7y ago
They aren't, generally. Given the condition of the lowest of our nation, "traitors" isn't an unreasonable way to describe the 1%, and no one in the 1% has ever seen a firing squad or the electric chair. Not even lethal injection. If they aren't subject to the same rules as Americans, are they really Americans? If they have a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries, can they be considered anything but sovereign?
- bzbarsky 7y ago
  1% of the US population is something like 3 million people; let's say about 2 million adults. Do you really think that there are 2 million adults in the US who have "a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries" and that the US should go and execute 2-3 million of its citizens?
  - umeshunni 7y ago
    > Do you really think that there are 2 million adults in the US who have "a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries" and that the US should go and execute 2-3 million of its citizens Germany did in the 40s. There's a reason this rhetoric popular with the socialists in the US sounds very familiar.
    - bzbarsky 7y ago
      Actually, the number of German citizens (or ex-German-citizens, given that German Jews were stripped of citizenship) executed by the Third Reich was "only" about 200,000-300,000 [1], which was about 0.3-0.4% of the population (~70 million). So sort of in the ballpark of "1%", but not even close to 2-3 million, given the much smaller population. Lots more killing of non-German citizens, of course... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Deaths_due_to_Nazi_political,_racial_and_religious_persecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War...
- umeshunni 7y ago
  Why stop at 1% and not 5% or 10%?

I know this wasn't intended but I thought it was interesting that he doesn't think of the 1% as Americans.

by swlkr 7y ago

I know this wasn't intended but I thought it was interesting that he doesn't think of the 1% as Americans.

The 1% are above any state. They will align with any state that gives them favorable tax loopholes. If America clamps down they will just leave. Look at Eduardo Saverin for example.

CharlesColeman 7y ago
> The 1% are above any state. They will align with any state that gives them favorable tax loopholes. If America clamps down they will just leave. Look at Eduardo Saverin for example. The ability for an individual to choose their favored tax jurisdiction is an artifact of law, and laws can be changed. If America decides to clamp down on the 1%, it can also create laws to disincentivize leaving for tax reasons, like Saverin did.
GhettoMaestro 7y ago
Technicality: You're not referring to the 1%, but something like the .01% or even .001%. The difference between 1% and .01% income is staggering.
cobookman 7y ago
I think you mean .01%. The 1% maybe have 1-10million of savings.
- swagasaurus-rex 7y ago
  And likely invest in assets that can't be moved to foreign soil.

kick 7y ago

They aren't, generally. Given the condition of the lowest of our nation, "traitors" isn't an unreasonable way to describe the 1%, and no one in the 1% has ever seen a firing squad or the electric chair. Not even lethal injection. If they aren't subject to the same rules as Americans, are they really Americans? If they have a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries, can they be considered anything but sovereign?

bzbarsky 7y ago
1% of the US population is something like 3 million people; let's say about 2 million adults. Do you really think that there are 2 million adults in the US who have "a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries" and that the US should go and execute 2-3 million of its citizens?
- umeshunni 7y ago
  > Do you really think that there are 2 million adults in the US who have "a higher amount of wealth than sovereign countries" and that the US should go and execute 2-3 million of its citizens Germany did in the 40s. There's a reason this rhetoric popular with the socialists in the US sounds very familiar.
  - bzbarsky 7y ago
    Actually, the number of German citizens (or ex-German-citizens, given that German Jews were stripped of citizenship) executed by the Third Reich was "only" about 200,000-300,000 [1], which was about 0.3-0.4% of the population (~70 million). So sort of in the ballpark of "1%", but not even close to 2-3 million, given the much smaller population. Lots more killing of non-German citizens, of course... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Deaths_due_to_Nazi_political,_racial_and_religious_persecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War...
umeshunni 7y ago
Why stop at 1% and not 5% or 10%?