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A wealth tax directly targets wealth inequality. No other tax can do that. It is also extremely predictable, as wealth doesn't necessarily disappear when the ec

A wealth tax directly targets wealth inequality. No other tax can do that. It is also extremely predictable, as wealth doesn't necessarily disappear when the economy has a downturn. You need a war to destroy wealth. Wealth lasts for generations, and you don't pay inheritance taxes on family connections or a top tier education. New taxes that make the accumulation of wealth more equal, i.e. progressive income taxes or capital gains as income taxes, will not erode the existing wealth disparity within our lifetimes. Just look at how the policies up until the 80s resulted in white Americans owning all the property, which subsequently appreciated due to monetary policy. If wealth inequality is a problem, which I believe it is, you should tax wealth because it directly reduces the gap in absolute terms.

bwb 6y ago
I disagree, a wealth tax targets wealth, not inequality. Inequality is deeper, inequality should be targeted with things like free access to university and technical schools, policies that target housing prices to keep those lower or progressively tax homes with property taxes to reduce expensive homes, tax empty homes, fix health care so a base level is included as part of taxes for every citizen, expand childcare/school to age 3 months, pass paid vacation on a federal level of 4 weeks, bump minimum wage, pass an inheritance tax of 50% on anything more than 1 million, etc. Thinking a wealth tax fixes anything is crazy. Just look at all the case studies out of Europe. All it does is create more loopholes, reduce business investment, and cause capital to flee. Also, inequality in the right ratio is good. Now we just need to figure out where that ratio should be. I think the USA is obscene right now, but mostly because we have enough money to build a real working society and instead we've built a cage to fight to the death within.
- 0xfaded 6y ago
  Europe has most of what you are saying should be done to reduce inequality. The real problems stem from bureaucracy and lack of a central government.
  - bwb 6y ago
    Kinda, you would be amazed that they are lacking a lot of those. Inequality in Germany is close to the USA for example. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in 25 years. A lot of cool stuff is happening behind the scenes. Europe has some really bad policies around not letting companies die that need to die. It is really hurting them. I am hopeful that they can remap labor policies to allow for more flexibility to compete with the USA while keeping a real social safety net through payroll taxes and government "insurance". Europe also needs better bankruptcy laws to allow for people to start over. The USA has the best bankruptcy laws in the world right now IMO. Europeans can't afford to take risk or access capital because of some of these policies. I am living in Spain btw, about to move to Portugal. I am leaving because of the Wealth tax here is so poorly thought out it would take 60%+ of my income and I couldn't live on what remains. Especially since I am starting a new business. Note - We could also stop the step up clause for inheritance which makes me angry. So that when someone dies and the assets pass to someone else they pay capital gains instead of zeroing it. This is such a loophole for rich people.
dantheman 6y ago
A good way to destroy wealth is to tax it.
- tomdell 6y ago
  A good way to *spread wealth is to tax it.
- turtleturtle 6y ago
  Another way would be to print lots of money and redistribute it until you've satisfied your equality threshold.
  - dantheman 6y ago
    The market/price system is the world largest information system. Printing money distorts that system and make it function poorly and throughout history has been disastrous.
- bwb 6y ago
  A good way to distort an economic system is to tax wealth rather than output. Wealth will flee, hide, and find loopholes. If you raise taxes on income, all types, that is a better path.

bwb 6y ago

I disagree, a wealth tax targets wealth, not inequality. Inequality is deeper, inequality should be targeted with things like free access to university and technical schools, policies that target housing prices to keep those lower or progressively tax homes with property taxes to reduce expensive homes, tax empty homes, fix health care so a base level is included as part of taxes for every citizen, expand childcare/school to age 3 months, pass paid vacation on a federal level of 4 weeks, bump minimum wage, pass an inheritance tax of 50% on anything more than 1 million, etc. Thinking a wealth tax fixes anything is crazy. Just look at all the case studies out of Europe. All it does is create more loopholes, reduce business investment, and cause capital to flee. Also, inequality in the right ratio is good. Now we just need to figure out where that ratio should be. I think the USA is obscene right now, but mostly because we have enough money to build a real working society and instead we've built a cage to fight to the death within.

0xfaded 6y ago
Europe has most of what you are saying should be done to reduce inequality. The real problems stem from bureaucracy and lack of a central government.
- bwb 6y ago
  Kinda, you would be amazed that they are lacking a lot of those. Inequality in Germany is close to the USA for example. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in 25 years. A lot of cool stuff is happening behind the scenes. Europe has some really bad policies around not letting companies die that need to die. It is really hurting them. I am hopeful that they can remap labor policies to allow for more flexibility to compete with the USA while keeping a real social safety net through payroll taxes and government "insurance". Europe also needs better bankruptcy laws to allow for people to start over. The USA has the best bankruptcy laws in the world right now IMO. Europeans can't afford to take risk or access capital because of some of these policies. I am living in Spain btw, about to move to Portugal. I am leaving because of the Wealth tax here is so poorly thought out it would take 60%+ of my income and I couldn't live on what remains. Especially since I am starting a new business. Note - We could also stop the step up clause for inheritance which makes me angry. So that when someone dies and the assets pass to someone else they pay capital gains instead of zeroing it. This is such a loophole for rich people.

dantheman 6y ago

A good way to destroy wealth is to tax it.

tomdell 6y ago
A good way to *spread wealth is to tax it.
turtleturtle 6y ago
Another way would be to print lots of money and redistribute it until you've satisfied your equality threshold.
- dantheman 6y ago
  The market/price system is the world largest information system. Printing money distorts that system and make it function poorly and throughout history has been disastrous.
bwb 6y ago
A good way to distort an economic system is to tax wealth rather than output. Wealth will flee, hide, and find loopholes. If you raise taxes on income, all types, that is a better path.