Because we tax income, rather than wealth? This is true for most of the OECD. None of this has changed, and it's true for any ultra-wealthy person who wishes to

Because we tax income, rather than wealth? This is true for most of the OECD. None of this has changed, and it's true for any ultra-wealthy person who wishes to actually consume against their wealth. By definition, the ultra-wealthy defer their consumption for the sake of investment. If they never ever choose to liquidate their wealth, then it's little more than a life high score. One can certainly consume right now by taking on a collateralized loan against their wealth, but even if one were to do that, the loan would need to eventually be repaid. For this to happen, some gain would have to be realized somewhere. That money isn't free. No matter what, that wealth is eventually taxed. A relevant response to an earlier ProPublica piece: https://savingjournalism.substack.com/p/propublicas-bombshell-bullshit-tax https://savingjournalism.substack.com/p/propublicas-bombshel... As for the Roth IRA, the whole point was to extend the power of deferred consumption to the ordinary person (response to this specific ProPublica piece: https://twitter.com/cundillcapital/status/1408090682401693705 https://twitter.com/cundillcapital/status/140809068240169370...) And just a side note: generally assume that I'm being serious. I try to be as earnest as possible on this forum. Going in with this assumption for anyone on here is best for its general health.