5 ms·

Sadly this is unsurprising. Those who could help the most, doing the least.

donovanian 6y ago
> those who could help the most Wouldn't complete confiscation of the wealth of billionaires finance something like Medicare for All for around 3 years? I don't think people understand how utopian and ultimately ill-conceived their plans are.
- missedthecue 6y ago
  The total wealth of all American billionaires is $4 trillion, the same amount Bernie Sanders estimates M4A would cost on an annual basis. So if you took all those assets, somehow found $4 trillion of buyers (lots of Chinese, Russians, and Saudis would line up, I'm sure) we'd get 1 year, not 3.
  - vrovro 6y ago
    This is not a valid comparison. We still spend close to $4 trillion on healthcare in the private sector.
    - missedthecue 6y ago
      And almost all of it is funding by the employees, just like in Europe.
  - LinuxBender 6y ago
    And it is about to get much worse according to the CDC in 2017. [1] IIRC there were some articles cant find them that talked about the Department of Defense tracking this as an existential threat to the future of the United States of America. [1] - https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-repor...
  - jellicle 6y ago
    Universal healthcare in the USA would have a negative cost; that is, today, the US government spends more than Canada does per capita on providing healthcare to the population. And then private individuals spend as much more again. And for all that spending a huge proportion of the population has effectively zero healthcare. So if the US could implement Canada's system wholesale not only would your health insurance costs and direct payments drop vastly but you'd also get a tax refund.
    - missedthecue 6y ago
      Why is Bernie's estimate so high then? ($12k per man, woman, and child)
smabie 6y ago
But they're not paying the least, they are paying the most (of course, not as much as they are legally obligated to pay). Moreover correctly paying your taxes starts to get really difficult the more and more money you make: income starts to come from many different sources and figuring it all out is super difficult. If we drastically simplified the tax code, I think the IRS would collect more taxes, people would pay more taxes, and high earners could easily calculate their tax burden without hiring very expensive professionals. This would unequivocally be a net win, though entrenched interests would never allow it to happen.
- patmorgan23 6y ago
  People in the top 1% don't have an issue paying a CPA to make sure their taxes are correct. That being said the tax code and filling process is made purposely obtuse due to lobbying for tax prep companies.
  - ratsmack 6y ago
    The tax code is also heavily influenced by the very wealthy allowing for massive tax relief through various tax havens, shell companies and loopholes. Of course that all takes a team of high power accountants to figure out.
  - withinboredom 6y ago
    A CPA only knows what you tell them and ultimately relies on you remembering to tell them about a new bank account, invoices, etc. If one is forgotten or missed, the CPA won’t add it the books.
- NoSorryCannot 6y ago
  A simpler tax code would likely make for fewer unintended loopholes so revenue may very well go up but I don't find "oopsie" to be a remotely plausible explanation for this state of affairs. The wealthy have wealth managers who know exactly what they are doing.
  - smabie 6y ago
jl2718 6y ago
How much extra did you pay?

> those who could help the most Wouldn't complete confiscation of the wealth of billionaires finance something like Medicare for All for around 3 years? I don't think people understand how utopian and ultimately ill-conceived their plans are.

missedthecue 6y ago
The total wealth of all American billionaires is $4 trillion, the same amount Bernie Sanders estimates M4A would cost on an annual basis. So if you took all those assets, somehow found $4 trillion of buyers (lots of Chinese, Russians, and Saudis would line up, I'm sure) we'd get 1 year, not 3.
- vrovro 6y ago
  This is not a valid comparison. We still spend close to $4 trillion on healthcare in the private sector.
  - missedthecue 6y ago
    And almost all of it is funding by the employees, just like in Europe.
- LinuxBender 6y ago
  And it is about to get much worse according to the CDC in 2017. [1] IIRC there were some articles cant find them that talked about the Department of Defense tracking this as an existential threat to the future of the United States of America. [1] - https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-repor...
- jellicle 6y ago
  Universal healthcare in the USA would have a negative cost; that is, today, the US government spends more than Canada does per capita on providing healthcare to the population. And then private individuals spend as much more again. And for all that spending a huge proportion of the population has effectively zero healthcare. So if the US could implement Canada's system wholesale not only would your health insurance costs and direct payments drop vastly but you'd also get a tax refund.
  - missedthecue 6y ago
    Why is Bernie's estimate so high then? ($12k per man, woman, and child)

smabie 6y ago

But they're not paying the least, they are paying the most (of course, not as much as they are legally obligated to pay). Moreover correctly paying your taxes starts to get really difficult the more and more money you make: income starts to come from many different sources and figuring it all out is super difficult. If we drastically simplified the tax code, I think the IRS would collect more taxes, people would pay more taxes, and high earners could easily calculate their tax burden without hiring very expensive professionals. This would unequivocally be a net win, though entrenched interests would never allow it to happen.

patmorgan23 6y ago
People in the top 1% don't have an issue paying a CPA to make sure their taxes are correct. That being said the tax code and filling process is made purposely obtuse due to lobbying for tax prep companies.
- ratsmack 6y ago
  The tax code is also heavily influenced by the very wealthy allowing for massive tax relief through various tax havens, shell companies and loopholes. Of course that all takes a team of high power accountants to figure out.
- withinboredom 6y ago
  A CPA only knows what you tell them and ultimately relies on you remembering to tell them about a new bank account, invoices, etc. If one is forgotten or missed, the CPA won’t add it the books.
NoSorryCannot 6y ago
A simpler tax code would likely make for fewer unintended loopholes so revenue may very well go up but I don't find "oopsie" to be a remotely plausible explanation for this state of affairs. The wealthy have wealth managers who know exactly what they are doing.
- smabie 6y ago

jl2718 6y ago

How much extra did you pay?