4 ms·

This is missing a lot of history. There was a lot of Anarchist violence in the 30s that led to things like the Inheritance Tax, now repealed. Up until Reagan

This is missing a lot of history. There was a lot of Anarchist violence in the 30s that led to things like the Inheritance Tax, now repealed. Up until Reagan it was possible to live reasonably well and even raise a family on a minimum wage. Now even middle class people can barely make it and are vulnerable to large medical bills. The past was not impossible. It actually happened. And we should be able to use that experience to craft something better if we really care to. Getting distracted with "Not within this system" talk is useless. The system can be changed and honed so let's do that.

nunez 4y ago
> Up until Reagan it was possible to live reasonably well and even raise a family on a minimum wage. Now even middle class people can barely make it and are vulnerable to large medical bills. This feels like an oft-repeated trope to me. Do you have books or stats that back this up?
eternalban 4y ago
There is another bit of history that possibly informs the change. ~Up until Reagan, US needed to present an alternative to communist and socialist systems. Post USSR collapse, 'history ended', and that's when the neo-liberal genie was let out of the bottle. This is a somewhat cynical view, but imo not an unreasonable speculation.
refurb 4y ago
Up until Reagan it was possible to live reasonably well and even raise a family on a minimum wage At least according my grandparent's that's an absolute falsehood. Unless you assume "live well" in a 600 sq. ft. house doing manual labour in the sun and having your spouse take care of grandma who is dying of cancer for which there is no treatment.
- m0llusk 4y ago
  That's exactly what I mean. You can't do that on minimum wage anywhere in America now.
areyousure 4y ago
In case anyone is curious, there have been a variety of different estate taxes at a federal level in the United States from 1797 through the present. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf The "modern" estate tax was enacted in 1916. It was repealed for a single year -- 2010 -- but returned the following year and is currently in force. The exclusion amount has grown considerably over time.

nunez 4y ago

> Up until Reagan it was possible to live reasonably well and even raise a family on a minimum wage. Now even middle class people can barely make it and are vulnerable to large medical bills. This feels like an oft-repeated trope to me. Do you have books or stats that back this up?

eternalban 4y ago

There is another bit of history that possibly informs the change. ~Up until Reagan, US needed to present an alternative to communist and socialist systems. Post USSR collapse, 'history ended', and that's when the neo-liberal genie was let out of the bottle. This is a somewhat cynical view, but imo not an unreasonable speculation.

refurb 4y ago

Up until Reagan it was possible to live reasonably well and even raise a family on a minimum wage At least according my grandparent's that's an absolute falsehood. Unless you assume "live well" in a 600 sq. ft. house doing manual labour in the sun and having your spouse take care of grandma who is dying of cancer for which there is no treatment.

m0llusk 4y ago
That's exactly what I mean. You can't do that on minimum wage anywhere in America now.

areyousure 4y ago

In case anyone is curious, there have been a variety of different estate taxes at a federal level in the United States from 1797 through the present. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf The "modern" estate tax was enacted in 1916. It was repealed for a single year -- 2010 -- but returned the following year and is currently in force. The exclusion amount has grown considerably over time.