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This is a good turnaround of the previous statement. It is incorrect to assume there is only so much wealth, and subsequently, billionaires need to be taxed in

by nverno 6y ago

This is a good turnaround of the previous statement. It is incorrect to assume there is only so much wealth, and subsequently, billionaires need to be taxed in order to maintain our standard of living. Most billionaires have created something entirely new, not hoarded some scarce resource from the rest of us.

comex 6y ago
Perhaps, but only to an extent. It is not as if, if only average people were clever enough, we could all become billionaires, and the GDP could be 10,000x higher than it currently is. There are, in fact, scarce resources – including land and minerals and other natural resources, but also labor. Most billionaires become that way by being in charge of a large company, one with a lot of workers. Well, you can't be the ruler without people to rule over. And if not for you, those people would still exist and would be making some other contribution to society.
pmiller2 6y ago
"To maintain our standard of living" is not even close to the reason we need to tax billionaires. Let me put it to you this way: I couldn't give 2 shits how many mansions, yachts, and Ferraris anybody has, but, when there are people[0] who literally have the ability to spend an amount of money greater than the entire GDP of a small country[1] to influence my country's elections, then I have a problem with that. Put another way, it's not the amount of money that certain people have accumulated that bothers me. It's the amount of undue influence those people get because of it that's the problem. It's not 1 person = 1 vote. It's more like $1M = 1 vote, when you take that $1M and apply it in the right places (such as directly into the pockets of politicians by way of lobbyists). Find a way to fix that problem, and then we can talk about allowing billionaires to exist. Until then, America isn't a republic: it's a de facto oligarchy. And that, I have a real problem with. --- [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg_2020_presidential_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg_2020_preside... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Federated_States_of_Micronesia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Federated_State...
- andi999 6y ago
  $1M 1vote is no problem. So even a big short billionaire cannot influence much since 50,000 votes would be $50bn. Ok, this might effect Slovenia. One time. And then its a former billionaire.

by nverno 6y ago

comex 6y ago

Perhaps, but only to an extent. It is not as if, if only average people were clever enough, we could all become billionaires, and the GDP could be 10,000x higher than it currently is. There are, in fact, scarce resources – including land and minerals and other natural resources, but also labor. Most billionaires become that way by being in charge of a large company, one with a lot of workers. Well, you can't be the ruler without people to rule over. And if not for you, those people would still exist and would be making some other contribution to society.

pmiller2 6y ago

"To maintain our standard of living" is not even close to the reason we need to tax billionaires. Let me put it to you this way: I couldn't give 2 shits how many mansions, yachts, and Ferraris anybody has, but, when there are people[0] who literally have the ability to spend an amount of money greater than the entire GDP of a small country[1] to influence my country's elections, then I have a problem with that. Put another way, it's not the amount of money that certain people have accumulated that bothers me. It's the amount of undue influence those people get because of it that's the problem. It's not 1 person = 1 vote. It's more like $1M = 1 vote, when you take that $1M and apply it in the right places (such as directly into the pockets of politicians by way of lobbyists). Find a way to fix that problem, and then we can talk about allowing billionaires to exist. Until then, America isn't a republic: it's a de facto oligarchy. And that, I have a real problem with. --- [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg_2020_presidential_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg_2020_preside... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Federated_States_of_Micronesia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Federated_State...

andi999 6y ago
$1M 1vote is no problem. So even a big short billionaire cannot influence much since 50,000 votes would be $50bn. Ok, this might effect Slovenia. One time. And then its a former billionaire.