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Anti-trust is just so 19th century. We need something far more simple, proactive, and predictable. Citizen's dividend paid with windfall taxes. Like how Canad

Anti-trust is just so 19th century. We need something far more simple, proactive, and predictable. Citizen's dividend paid with windfall taxes. Like how Canada's new carbon tax works. Call it "universal basic income" if you want to be edgy. Let's say the first 30% goes to shareholders. Anything over 30% is a windfall profit. If corporations can't figure out how to increase spending to keep margins below 30%, too bad. Use it or lose it. I humbly suggest increasing wages and R&D. This also allows us to simplify the tax code. No more loop holes, breaks, carve outs, whatever. If you can figure how to spend your revenue, you get to keep it.

jrsj 5y ago
This would invite all sorts of workarounds. If accounting tricks and passing money between subsidiaries isn’t enough, then the last resort would be to buy the closest thing to liquid assets they could get away with. I guess this kind of law would be good for accountants and lawyers but I don’t think it would have much impact beyond that.
anamax 5y ago
Now find a company that has 30% profits (= revenue - money that they spend). Grocery stores run on <2%.
- OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
  Microsoft. From their last 10-Q, Page 3. 20.5B in net income on 45.3B in revenue. https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/2dcc3079-9cbd-40e0-b2b7-547a3878f051 https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/2dcc3079-9cbd-40e... Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. From their last 10-Q, Page 5. 8.1B in net income on 24B in revenue. https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000078003/59601e36-2c51-4a0c-b81d-1ede52dd94a6.pd https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000078003/59601e3... Most retail has pretty low margins because you would go out of business pretty quickly otherwise. It's pretty easy to setup a storefront and buy goods from a distributor, low barrier to entry means you can't charge high prices because it's easy to undercut you. Setting up a datacenter or building a competing OS is really difficult and expensive. High barrier to entry gives you high margins because it's difficult to undercut you.

jrsj 5y ago

This would invite all sorts of workarounds. If accounting tricks and passing money between subsidiaries isn’t enough, then the last resort would be to buy the closest thing to liquid assets they could get away with. I guess this kind of law would be good for accountants and lawyers but I don’t think it would have much impact beyond that.

anamax 5y ago

Now find a company that has 30% profits (= revenue - money that they spend). Grocery stores run on <2%.

OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
Microsoft. From their last 10-Q, Page 3. 20.5B in net income on 45.3B in revenue. https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/2dcc3079-9cbd-40e0-b2b7-547a3878f051 https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/2dcc3079-9cbd-40e... Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. From their last 10-Q, Page 5. 8.1B in net income on 24B in revenue. https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000078003/59601e36-2c51-4a0c-b81d-1ede52dd94a6.pd https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000078003/59601e3... Most retail has pretty low margins because you would go out of business pretty quickly otherwise. It's pretty easy to setup a storefront and buy goods from a distributor, low barrier to entry means you can't charge high prices because it's easy to undercut you. Setting up a datacenter or building a competing OS is really difficult and expensive. High barrier to entry gives you high margins because it's difficult to undercut you.