5 ms·

What's the root cause of inequality? There are certainly historical causes of inequality (e.g. slavery, feudalism, colonialism). These root causes are largely

What's the root cause of inequality? There are certainly historical causes of inequality (e.g. slavery, feudalism, colonialism). These root causes are largely in the past, though they have modern residues (e.g. racism, sexism, western chauvinism) which contribute to inequaliy. I think they are often less important than how already existing inequality is amplified by cumulative advantage dynamics (the rich get richer). A wealth tax directly reduces the amplification and wealth can be redistributed to reduce inequality (not just of wealth, but of education, skills, and status too) on the other end.

seibelj 6y ago
The root cause of wealth inequality is that some people value accumulating wealth more than others. At the working class level it’s some people taking jobs cleaning sewers vs. mopping floors. Without inequality no one would do the “dirty” jobs.
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  "Some people will do less pleasant jobs for more pay" is a very tiny fraction of inequality. It's technically a root cause but not one of the big problem ones. For the most part, once you add in the other factors, the dirtier jobs pay you worse!
  - seibelj 6y ago
    I could not disagree with you more. If you want to do back-breaking labor for equal money as cushy jobs, be my guest. But my experience is that the difficulty, skill, and (gasp!) risk of a job determines how well it’s compensated. If you want to imagine that all jobs can pay equally well, enjoy the ruination of your country if your preferred political party ever manages to seize power.
    - Dylan16807 6y ago
      Cushy jobs pay much more than labor jobs! > If you want to imagine that all jobs can pay equally well That's not what I said at all. I said that harder jobs paying more is NOT the problem. I don't want all jobs to pay the same. I'm happy with some jobs paying ten times as much as other jobs. But there's a limit to overall inequality before problems start to happen.
kovek 6y ago
I think that's a good point. Let's say that tax as a way of "dampening" "inefficiencies". Also, let's say that the accumulation of wealth through heritage + accumulation of wealth thanks to tools available to only the wealthy are unfair (in terms of opportunity) parts of the system / bugs. Then, taxing the wealthy a certain amount may be a way to dampen the wealth accumulated in unfair ways. I was before thinking that a wealth tax did not make sense, but now that you raise these "bugs" in the system, then it makes sense to tax the wealthy a certain amount. 1% per year, maybe? When the system allows everyone equal access to and equal opportunity to create profits, then it does not make sense any more to have the wealth tax.

seibelj 6y ago

The root cause of wealth inequality is that some people value accumulating wealth more than others. At the working class level it’s some people taking jobs cleaning sewers vs. mopping floors. Without inequality no one would do the “dirty” jobs.

Dylan16807 6y ago
"Some people will do less pleasant jobs for more pay" is a very tiny fraction of inequality. It's technically a root cause but not one of the big problem ones. For the most part, once you add in the other factors, the dirtier jobs pay you worse!
- seibelj 6y ago
  I could not disagree with you more. If you want to do back-breaking labor for equal money as cushy jobs, be my guest. But my experience is that the difficulty, skill, and (gasp!) risk of a job determines how well it’s compensated. If you want to imagine that all jobs can pay equally well, enjoy the ruination of your country if your preferred political party ever manages to seize power.
  - Dylan16807 6y ago
    Cushy jobs pay much more than labor jobs! > If you want to imagine that all jobs can pay equally well That's not what I said at all. I said that harder jobs paying more is NOT the problem. I don't want all jobs to pay the same. I'm happy with some jobs paying ten times as much as other jobs. But there's a limit to overall inequality before problems start to happen.

kovek 6y ago

I think that's a good point. Let's say that tax as a way of "dampening" "inefficiencies". Also, let's say that the accumulation of wealth through heritage + accumulation of wealth thanks to tools available to only the wealthy are unfair (in terms of opportunity) parts of the system / bugs. Then, taxing the wealthy a certain amount may be a way to dampen the wealth accumulated in unfair ways. I was before thinking that a wealth tax did not make sense, but now that you raise these "bugs" in the system, then it makes sense to tax the wealthy a certain amount. 1% per year, maybe? When the system allows everyone equal access to and equal opportunity to create profits, then it does not make sense any more to have the wealth tax.