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Contrary to what a lot of people believe, it is actually pretty difficult to go from rags to riches in the USA, compared to other countries. One of the reasons

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, it is actually pretty difficult to go from rags to riches in the USA, compared to other countries. One of the reasons is the low inheritance tax. [0]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/13/american-dream-broken-upward-mobility-us https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/13/americ...

Grim-444 5y ago
How does making it cheap and easy to pass money to your children make them less likely to succeed?
- happytoexplain 5y ago
  I'm a layman, so correct me if I'm misunderstanding, but I thought inheritance tax only occurs north of ten million dollars, so nobody in a "rags" position is being helped by a lower inheritance tax. If you believe financial success is largely a zero-sum game, then a low inheritance tax hurts the poor. Alternatively, even if you don't believe that, a low inheritance tax still doesn't help the poor.
  - ac29 5y ago
    A low inheritance tax can't possibly be worse for building intergenerational wealth than a high one. I'm not sure what your point is.
    - happytoexplain 5y ago
      In general, of course. I was disagreeing that it helps the poor, specifically. Is what I said untrue?
    - dragonwriter 5y ago
      > A low inheritance tax can't possibly be worse for building intergenerational wealth than a high one. It absolutely can for the people who wouldn't, in either scenario, pay inheritance tax in the first place, since for them a low inheritance tax means only less wealth distributed out from those who already have enormous generational wealth from which they might build intergenerational wealth, but not any advantage in passing the wealth they do acquire.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  Making it easier for the super-rich to pass money to their children makes everyone else’s children less likely to succeed, because people’s ability to succeed dependent primarily on absolute resources (once you get beyond the most abject poverty).

Grim-444 5y ago

How does making it cheap and easy to pass money to your children make them less likely to succeed?

happytoexplain 5y ago
I'm a layman, so correct me if I'm misunderstanding, but I thought inheritance tax only occurs north of ten million dollars, so nobody in a "rags" position is being helped by a lower inheritance tax. If you believe financial success is largely a zero-sum game, then a low inheritance tax hurts the poor. Alternatively, even if you don't believe that, a low inheritance tax still doesn't help the poor.
- ac29 5y ago
  A low inheritance tax can't possibly be worse for building intergenerational wealth than a high one. I'm not sure what your point is.
  - happytoexplain 5y ago
    In general, of course. I was disagreeing that it helps the poor, specifically. Is what I said untrue?
  - dragonwriter 5y ago
    > A low inheritance tax can't possibly be worse for building intergenerational wealth than a high one. It absolutely can for the people who wouldn't, in either scenario, pay inheritance tax in the first place, since for them a low inheritance tax means only less wealth distributed out from those who already have enormous generational wealth from which they might build intergenerational wealth, but not any advantage in passing the wealth they do acquire.
dragonwriter 5y ago
Making it easier for the super-rich to pass money to their children makes everyone else’s children less likely to succeed, because people’s ability to succeed dependent primarily on absolute resources (once you get beyond the most abject poverty).