4 ms·

Turning greed into a virtue, feels like something only an American economist could do!

niij 6y ago
The same could be said about people who want to take other's money away. People are spend-thrifts enough as it is, a wealth tax just dis-incentivizes being fiscally responsible.
- Mandatum 6y ago
  How about a wealth tax on everything above $10MM? Suddenly 99% of the world is no longer discouraged from being fiscally responsible. Do I really care if a billionaire is fiscally irresponsible? Maybe for a single generation. After that, we're good.
  - andersonvom 6y ago
    This is already how things work in the US: you only need to file if your estate is greater than 11.5MM as of 2020 [1]. "As a result, only about 2,000 estates per year in the US are currently liable for federal estate tax." [2] The argument that it "discourages living frugally" is just complete nonsense. [1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe... [2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_Sta...
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - niij 6y ago
      What GP proposed was a Wealth Tax which is an additional tax on _living_ people who have a net worth over a certain amount. What you linked is an Estate Tax (aka death/inheritance tax) which only applies when someone passes wealth on after death. If they decide to give all their money away to charity or otherwise spend it while they're alive it does not apply.
rcoveson 6y ago
What we now recognize (and decry) as greed looks very similar to the force that created intelligent life from primordial soup. Greed, ambition, and Darwinian fitness seem close to synonymous. Also, there's nothing uniquely American about considering greed virtuous[0]. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand

niij 6y ago

The same could be said about people who want to take other's money away. People are spend-thrifts enough as it is, a wealth tax just dis-incentivizes being fiscally responsible.

Mandatum 6y ago
How about a wealth tax on everything above $10MM? Suddenly 99% of the world is no longer discouraged from being fiscally responsible. Do I really care if a billionaire is fiscally irresponsible? Maybe for a single generation. After that, we're good.
- andersonvom 6y ago
  This is already how things work in the US: you only need to file if your estate is greater than 11.5MM as of 2020 [1]. "As a result, only about 2,000 estates per year in the US are currently liable for federal estate tax." [2] The argument that it "discourages living frugally" is just complete nonsense. [1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe... [2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_Sta...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - niij 6y ago
    What GP proposed was a Wealth Tax which is an additional tax on _living_ people who have a net worth over a certain amount. What you linked is an Estate Tax (aka death/inheritance tax) which only applies when someone passes wealth on after death. If they decide to give all their money away to charity or otherwise spend it while they're alive it does not apply.

rcoveson 6y ago

What we now recognize (and decry) as greed looks very similar to the force that created intelligent life from primordial soup. Greed, ambition, and Darwinian fitness seem close to synonymous. Also, there's nothing uniquely American about considering greed virtuous[0]. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand