4 ms·

its possible that what's bad for the billionaire is good for the rest of us. They could just maintain these backups in to evade something like a wealth tax.

junofan 4y ago
I’m not aware of any time when capital flight was a good thing for the people left behind.
- leishman 4y ago
  Exactly. Was about to say the same exact thing.
- skippyboxedhero 4y ago
  Capital flight makes no difference. Argentina's government has defaulted 9 times, capital has always come back and always will. The reason why people invest in the US is: legal system, the educated workforce, etc. I think people get it completely twisted about why investors invest (ironically, this notion of a "capitalist's strike" is just pure bait from right-wing people who don't understand how investing works). There is always an excess of capital because economic advantage is not evenly distributed, you are always chasing the limited number of good opportunities. And there is no competitive advantage in money (in theory, not totally true in practice): $100 from X is as good as $100 from Y. If you believe capital flight exists, you believe that humans don't like money. The advantage the US has is strengthening and compounding. There is nowhere like it in the world, I don't think anyone is even close.
  - Out_of_Characte 4y ago
    >Capital flight makes no difference. Argentina's government has defaulted 9 times, capital has always come back and always will. How does Argentina prove your point that capital flight makes no difference? Defaulting on loans doesn't even represent capital flight. It just means people who have already invested will not get their return for a very long time, if at all. >If you believe capital flight exists, you believe that humans don't like money. >If I believe X then I must believe Y. Not really, If I had a lot of Turkish Lira and lived in turkey then I would call moving my ass before the collapse capital flight. And I would have been better off doing so. Same with Venezuela and many other countries that clearly weren't too big to fail.
- ptsneves 4y ago
  Indeed. Look at China and Taiwan. The Chinese that fled to Taiwan at the end of their Civil War loaded boats with gold and wealth. They also were generally well educated. A small island that stood and still stands.
  - endisneigh 4y ago
    If it weren’t for the rest of the world couldn’t China easily crush Taiwan? Seems like a strange example. Wouldn’t a good example be one where the people who left basically ended up doing very poorly in the end?
    - CapricornNoble 4y ago
      >>>If it weren’t for the rest of the world couldn’t China easily crush Taiwan? Short answer: not easily.
      - endisneigh 4y ago
        China would literally just nuke Taiwan and it's over. What do you mean not easily?
        mschuster91 4y ago
        What would anyone want with a place that's been nuked to hell and back? Too much issues with fallout and the risk the rest of the world sanctions you into submission, and if you'd bomb it to pieces with conventional weaponry you would have to bomb down so much stuff that there isn't anything left worth invading. Even without the security agreements that Taiwan has, it's ridiculously hard to invade and take over if one does not want to bomb it to pieces: it being an island means it's extremely hard to land troops and supplies for them (Ukraine has shown that even without a navy, it is possible to sink ships or that it's perfectly possible to run an air force even after almost all infrastructure has been destroyed), and a highly motivated population can and will put up a fight. China is definitely looking at Ukraine - not just on how the Western world reacts at this clear break with any and all international rules on war, but also how a country under siege and its population behaves.
- HWR_14 4y ago
  Do you think we should institute capital controls? I'm not sure that's a good idea, but I've heard people talk about it a little. I'm willing to listen (to either side) as I really don't have a strong instinct on why it should or should not be done.

junofan 4y ago

I’m not aware of any time when capital flight was a good thing for the people left behind.

leishman 4y ago
Exactly. Was about to say the same exact thing.
skippyboxedhero 4y ago
Capital flight makes no difference. Argentina's government has defaulted 9 times, capital has always come back and always will. The reason why people invest in the US is: legal system, the educated workforce, etc. I think people get it completely twisted about why investors invest (ironically, this notion of a "capitalist's strike" is just pure bait from right-wing people who don't understand how investing works). There is always an excess of capital because economic advantage is not evenly distributed, you are always chasing the limited number of good opportunities. And there is no competitive advantage in money (in theory, not totally true in practice): $100 from X is as good as $100 from Y. If you believe capital flight exists, you believe that humans don't like money. The advantage the US has is strengthening and compounding. There is nowhere like it in the world, I don't think anyone is even close.
- Out_of_Characte 4y ago
  >Capital flight makes no difference. Argentina's government has defaulted 9 times, capital has always come back and always will. How does Argentina prove your point that capital flight makes no difference? Defaulting on loans doesn't even represent capital flight. It just means people who have already invested will not get their return for a very long time, if at all. >If you believe capital flight exists, you believe that humans don't like money. >If I believe X then I must believe Y. Not really, If I had a lot of Turkish Lira and lived in turkey then I would call moving my ass before the collapse capital flight. And I would have been better off doing so. Same with Venezuela and many other countries that clearly weren't too big to fail.
ptsneves 4y ago
Indeed. Look at China and Taiwan. The Chinese that fled to Taiwan at the end of their Civil War loaded boats with gold and wealth. They also were generally well educated. A small island that stood and still stands.
- endisneigh 4y ago
  If it weren’t for the rest of the world couldn’t China easily crush Taiwan? Seems like a strange example. Wouldn’t a good example be one where the people who left basically ended up doing very poorly in the end?
  - CapricornNoble 4y ago
    >>>If it weren’t for the rest of the world couldn’t China easily crush Taiwan? Short answer: not easily.
    - endisneigh 4y ago
      China would literally just nuke Taiwan and it's over. What do you mean not easily?
      - mschuster91 4y ago
        What would anyone want with a place that's been nuked to hell and back? Too much issues with fallout and the risk the rest of the world sanctions you into submission, and if you'd bomb it to pieces with conventional weaponry you would have to bomb down so much stuff that there isn't anything left worth invading. Even without the security agreements that Taiwan has, it's ridiculously hard to invade and take over if one does not want to bomb it to pieces: it being an island means it's extremely hard to land troops and supplies for them (Ukraine has shown that even without a navy, it is possible to sink ships or that it's perfectly possible to run an air force even after almost all infrastructure has been destroyed), and a highly motivated population can and will put up a fight. China is definitely looking at Ukraine - not just on how the Western world reacts at this clear break with any and all international rules on war, but also how a country under siege and its population behaves.
HWR_14 4y ago
Do you think we should institute capital controls? I'm not sure that's a good idea, but I've heard people talk about it a little. I'm willing to listen (to either side) as I really don't have a strong instinct on why it should or should not be done.