4 ms·

This isn't an attempt to fix that. This isn't an attempt to fix anything at all. The government can just pay people's out of pocket expenses if it wanted to, it

by darawk 6y ago

This isn't an attempt to fix that. This isn't an attempt to fix anything at all. The government can just pay people's out of pocket expenses if it wanted to, it doesn't need to tax anyone to do it. This law doesn't even address inequality in any material way - it's a one time tax. It's a vapid political stunt, nothing more.

sho 6y ago
Yeah, it doesn't fix everything perfectly forever. But it's a shot across the bow.
- darawk 6y ago
  It's a one time tax. It has zero chance of passing, and it'd accomplish precisely nothing of value even if it did. It's a political stunt - the only purpose of which is to remind you that Bernie Sanders exists, he hates billionaires, and you should too.
  - sho 6y ago
    OK. Look, I'm not arguing, conceptually, against you. But there is a very big problem and it will need to be addressed. Sanders is doing what he can. Maybe this is not the best approach but is doing nothing better? Yeah, this act sucks! So let's make a better one. I just hated your nit picking attitude.
    - darawk 6y ago
      I don't really see how billionaires being rich is a problem either. The problem isn't that some people are rich, it's that other people are poor. I'm much more interested in solutions that make people not poor than ones that make people not rich. Deleting Jeff Bezos's wealth from the world tomorrow isn't going to make anyone any better off, and it'd be quite likely to make a lot of people worse off. The real problem with our tax system is that equity capital skirt's the income tax, because it is illiquid. Jeff Bezos doesn't pay almost no income tax because the top tax bracket is too low. He pays very little income tax because he doesn't sell his stock, and that allows it to compound, tax-free. The tax-free compounding provided by long term asset holding in the United States is an incredible gift to capital, that labor does not receive - labor is paid a salary, upon which they are taxed every year. People who own capital assets that they do not sell receive the full 'time value' of their money, which adds up to an enormous amount if held over many years. Address this issue, and you will address a major source of inequality. While you're at it, get rid of the tax break for 'long term capital gains', its based on some paternalistic false premise that "long term" investing is somehow good. These things won't get rid of inequality, but they would meaningfully reshape the process that produces it, and they would do so in ways that preserve fundamental notions of fairness and property, in a way that Bernie Sander's proposal does not. We don't want a government that simply randomly expropriates property from targeted slivers of the population who happen to be unpopular at the moment. We want a government based on principle and system design. The real problem with Sander's proposal isn't that it's a stunt. It's that it contravenes principles of good governance. It's a hack, not a principle.
    - gremlinsinc 6y ago
      Maybe this is a wakeup call to Billionaires that pitchforks are coming, so get behind printing money, or get behind us taking it from you. Maybe Bezos, et al up their support of universal healthcare, etc.. Maybe they willingly donate money to the U.S. govt above normal taxes. (Can we just setup a crowdfund so elites can donate and get applaud for helping out the country, their narcissism is appeased, and we get to eat, buy clothes, have a roof, and get healthcre).

by darawk 6y ago

sho 6y ago

Yeah, it doesn't fix everything perfectly forever. But it's a shot across the bow.

darawk 6y ago
It's a one time tax. It has zero chance of passing, and it'd accomplish precisely nothing of value even if it did. It's a political stunt - the only purpose of which is to remind you that Bernie Sanders exists, he hates billionaires, and you should too.
- sho 6y ago
  OK. Look, I'm not arguing, conceptually, against you. But there is a very big problem and it will need to be addressed. Sanders is doing what he can. Maybe this is not the best approach but is doing nothing better? Yeah, this act sucks! So let's make a better one. I just hated your nit picking attitude.
  - darawk 6y ago
    I don't really see how billionaires being rich is a problem either. The problem isn't that some people are rich, it's that other people are poor. I'm much more interested in solutions that make people not poor than ones that make people not rich. Deleting Jeff Bezos's wealth from the world tomorrow isn't going to make anyone any better off, and it'd be quite likely to make a lot of people worse off. The real problem with our tax system is that equity capital skirt's the income tax, because it is illiquid. Jeff Bezos doesn't pay almost no income tax because the top tax bracket is too low. He pays very little income tax because he doesn't sell his stock, and that allows it to compound, tax-free. The tax-free compounding provided by long term asset holding in the United States is an incredible gift to capital, that labor does not receive - labor is paid a salary, upon which they are taxed every year. People who own capital assets that they do not sell receive the full 'time value' of their money, which adds up to an enormous amount if held over many years. Address this issue, and you will address a major source of inequality. While you're at it, get rid of the tax break for 'long term capital gains', its based on some paternalistic false premise that "long term" investing is somehow good. These things won't get rid of inequality, but they would meaningfully reshape the process that produces it, and they would do so in ways that preserve fundamental notions of fairness and property, in a way that Bernie Sander's proposal does not. We don't want a government that simply randomly expropriates property from targeted slivers of the population who happen to be unpopular at the moment. We want a government based on principle and system design. The real problem with Sander's proposal isn't that it's a stunt. It's that it contravenes principles of good governance. It's a hack, not a principle.
  - gremlinsinc 6y ago
    Maybe this is a wakeup call to Billionaires that pitchforks are coming, so get behind printing money, or get behind us taking it from you. Maybe Bezos, et al up their support of universal healthcare, etc.. Maybe they willingly donate money to the U.S. govt above normal taxes. (Can we just setup a crowdfund so elites can donate and get applaud for helping out the country, their narcissism is appeased, and we get to eat, buy clothes, have a roof, and get healthcre).