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1. Held wealth past a certain threshold (500k? 1 million?) will be taxed at X% yearly. 2. US budgets get a huge new source of Y revenue, to balance current def

1. Held wealth past a certain threshold (500k? 1 million?) will be taxed at X% yearly. 2. US budgets get a huge new source of Y revenue, to balance current deficits, pay off debts, or fund progressive programs that help the needy. How is that not helpful? It wouldn't help most HN users, it would help children, the elderly, sick, disabled, etc. It depends on the legislation, you can funnel the funds or you can keep them general purpose.

commandlinefan 7y ago
> Held wealth past a certain threshold (500k? 1 million?) will be taxed at X% yearly. By definition, the revenue stream will run out. You tax, say, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates until their net worth is exactly $500,000. Then, next year, they make $50,000, so you tax it again and their net worth is now exactly $500,000. Nobody else can ever pass that magic threshold once everybody’s been leveled down to it (unless they play games with offshore accounts in which case you still can’t get it). Now you have progressive social programs that rely on a steady stream of billions of dollars of confiscated wealth and nowhere to get it from.
- dorchadas 7y ago
  Notice they said "x%", not "100%". It's not like they're taking all the extra money. Rich people will still have more, and still be able to get richer, but a higher percentage of that is going to help the disadvantage (which the technology rich people developed often hurt).