4 ms·

It’s not about a level, it’s about the rule. To everyone who says “15% is fair,” consider what you’ll feel like at 70% marginal. Literal global rule. Some woul

It’s not about a level, it’s about the rule. To everyone who says “15% is fair,” consider what you’ll feel like at 70% marginal. Literal global rule. Some would call that overreach.

alexpetralia 5y ago
This is like pretending only binaries matter (rule/not rule) vs. gradations on a continuum.
- the_optimist 5y ago
  No pretending. Sometimes binaries do matter.
  - AnimalMuppet 5y ago
    Sometimes. Now, do you have an argument that in this situation, binaries matter?
    - the_optimist 5y ago
      This would establish a standard for global minimum taxes, an instrument of power. The history of such instruments of power being repealed without dramatic catastrophe (warfare) is near zero. The failure of such standards to fulfill their intended purpose is high. Who exactly is ceding what to who here? Extremely naive people seem to think this is a “let’s hold hands and jump into the pool together” idea, as though they’re holding hands with everyone from Gates, Buffett, to bin Salman, Putin and Xi, and that’s going to work.
permo-w 5y ago
If you're at 70% marginal, it means you're already earning an ungodly amount of money
- the_optimist 5y ago
  How much could you possibly need to live a good life? Certainly not more than, say, $50 per day, right? Let’s simply cap ourselves there. I say this to demonstrate that “ungodly” always means “more than me,” irrespective of all else. Justification through jealousy. A recipe for a lowest-common denominator society, at global scale.
  - permo-w 5y ago
    >How much could you possibly need to live a good life? Certainly not more than, say, $50 per day, right? Let’s simply cap ourselves there You say that as if it's ridiculous. That sounds fine to me. Warren Buffet espouses exactly the same thing I'm saying. Is that jealousy too? Ungodly means more than you need. No one needs a billion dollars. The top marginal tax rate was 90% in the 1960s, and guess what? inequality was much lower

It’s not about a level, it’s about the rule. To everyone who says “15% is fair,” consider what you’ll feel like at 70% marginal. Literal global rule. Some would call that overreach.

alexpetralia 5y ago

This is like pretending only binaries matter (rule/not rule) vs. gradations on a continuum.

the_optimist 5y ago
No pretending. Sometimes binaries do matter.
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  Sometimes. Now, do you have an argument that in this situation, binaries matter?
  - the_optimist 5y ago
    This would establish a standard for global minimum taxes, an instrument of power. The history of such instruments of power being repealed without dramatic catastrophe (warfare) is near zero. The failure of such standards to fulfill their intended purpose is high. Who exactly is ceding what to who here? Extremely naive people seem to think this is a “let’s hold hands and jump into the pool together” idea, as though they’re holding hands with everyone from Gates, Buffett, to bin Salman, Putin and Xi, and that’s going to work.

permo-w 5y ago

If you're at 70% marginal, it means you're already earning an ungodly amount of money

the_optimist 5y ago
How much could you possibly need to live a good life? Certainly not more than, say, $50 per day, right? Let’s simply cap ourselves there. I say this to demonstrate that “ungodly” always means “more than me,” irrespective of all else. Justification through jealousy. A recipe for a lowest-common denominator society, at global scale.
- permo-w 5y ago
  >How much could you possibly need to live a good life? Certainly not more than, say, $50 per day, right? Let’s simply cap ourselves there You say that as if it's ridiculous. That sounds fine to me. Warren Buffet espouses exactly the same thing I'm saying. Is that jealousy too? Ungodly means more than you need. No one needs a billion dollars. The top marginal tax rate was 90% in the 1960s, and guess what? inequality was much lower