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> you can just consume your wealth instead of investing it A rich person who does this quickly stops being rich. Few rational rich people will do that. Raisi
by mleonhard 5y ago
> you can just consume your wealth instead of investing it
A rich person who does this quickly stops being rich. Few rational rich people will do that. Raising capital gains tax will have the opposite effect: rich peoples' income will go down and they will spend less.
- xyzzyz 5y ago> A rich person who does this quickly stops being rich. No, that depends on how fast you're consuming it. For example, instead of investing most of your excess revenues, you can invest only half of it, and consume the other half. Or, if you are wealthy enough, you can keep consuming without investing for a long time. Lastly, you don't have to stay rich forever, as you can't take your wealth with you to the other side. > Raising capital gains tax will have the opposite effect: rich peoples' income will go down and they will spend less. Unlikely: the rich already spend only rather small fraction of their incomes, and it is the prospects of making more money in future that is keeping them from spending more.