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It’s about a high enough number to get agreement. Day to day citizens won’t care and would probably get behind it because its easy to point at bad billionaires

It’s about a high enough number to get agreement. Day to day citizens won’t care and would probably get behind it because its easy to point at bad billionaires who only did bad stuff because they had billions to do those things with. And tax revenue would help their lives so great … tax the rich … easy sell. The millionaires are basically just upper middle class these days, they might think differently but it’s not hard to construct arguments based on their real life and use things they care about to get them to agree. The multimillionaires are the toughest sell, but i think it’s probably doable. They aren’t yet detached from reality, they have causes they care about they can’t single handily bankroll. they haven’t gotten rich enough the tenth generation of their families may never need to work, they can be reasoned with. The hundred million plus will probably on average hate the idea as they are probably in general looking at the continuation of their net worth growth and considering themselves as likely be eventually billionaires themselves… on average. Some will be on board, maybe even a significant percentage but I think the majority wont. The thing is about critical mass. With even a modest percentage of these people and all the rest… With that aggregate group you can use democracy to make things happen even with the billionaires trying to buy the system. There are rich people on board to pay for counter media propaganda and the voting class do matter to their elected representatives as those people worry about getting votes next time. A wealth tax at say a hundred million is so much harder to sell than at a billion. And that’s all before you’d get into how it was structured. It would be almost impossible for the world to stop billionaires hoarding wealth in some foxhole full of gold and diamonds and valuable art and so on… but even just capping personal wealth at a billion and forcing the rest of their wealth into trusts and companies would likely be a net good as the army of money managers and businessmen would spread that money further around the economy than a single billionaire ever could.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> Day to day citizens won’t care and would probably get behind it In coastal cities, sure. Beyond that, most people understand the cost of a Prohibition-style war on private wealth.
- igorkraw 4y ago
  I did not realize the 18th amendment only banned the possession and consumption of alcohol for the top 0.1% of drinkers, which is what a hard cap at about a billion would introduce. 99% of private wealth is closer to 0 than to a billion. Calling policy aimed at ensuring billionaires don't exist a war on private wealth is ridiculous and like calling the state monopoly on violence a "war on justice"
bambax 4y ago
> It’s about a high enough number to get agreement. But don't you think it's a little too easy to select the number so that there are so few people impacted that their opinion on the matter won't count either way? And so that you personal won't be impacted either?
- techdragon 4y ago
  Thats sort of the point of democracy. When most of us agree something a small number of us are doing… is undesirable in the view of the majority. We are empowered by democracy to change things so the minority are no longer allowed to do the thing we consider undesirable. This isn’t about who’s allowed to marry or what religious beliefs you can have… it’s should you be entitled to make more money in interest than the average citizen can earn in their entire lifetime. At some point surely you think there’s enough money and they don’t need more? Perhaps you think it should be ten or a hundred billion? For me I think it’s a billion in today’s money (roughly, since money is obviously fluctuating) and I say that even though I grew up with the hustle and grind startup mentality as my ideal and dreaming of striking it rich with a startup and becoming a billionaire based on some crazy smart idea and tons of hard work… I’ve wizened with age and I think a billion is more than enough. 20 year old me might not have but 20 year old me was also burning out my mind overworking myself trying to find a way to make myself rich… to be honest 20 year old me was an idiot for not seeing how the system of global finance works and thinking a tech startup was the path to riches. Should have gone for fame and smart financial management of the short term fame related income followed by careful fostering of a lifestyle brand focused on licensing out the perceived reputation.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> Day to day citizens won’t care and would probably get behind it In coastal cities, sure. Beyond that, most people understand the cost of a Prohibition-style war on private wealth.

igorkraw 4y ago
I did not realize the 18th amendment only banned the possession and consumption of alcohol for the top 0.1% of drinkers, which is what a hard cap at about a billion would introduce. 99% of private wealth is closer to 0 than to a billion. Calling policy aimed at ensuring billionaires don't exist a war on private wealth is ridiculous and like calling the state monopoly on violence a "war on justice"

bambax 4y ago

> It’s about a high enough number to get agreement. But don't you think it's a little too easy to select the number so that there are so few people impacted that their opinion on the matter won't count either way? And so that you personal won't be impacted either?

techdragon 4y ago
Thats sort of the point of democracy. When most of us agree something a small number of us are doing… is undesirable in the view of the majority. We are empowered by democracy to change things so the minority are no longer allowed to do the thing we consider undesirable. This isn’t about who’s allowed to marry or what religious beliefs you can have… it’s should you be entitled to make more money in interest than the average citizen can earn in their entire lifetime. At some point surely you think there’s enough money and they don’t need more? Perhaps you think it should be ten or a hundred billion? For me I think it’s a billion in today’s money (roughly, since money is obviously fluctuating) and I say that even though I grew up with the hustle and grind startup mentality as my ideal and dreaming of striking it rich with a startup and becoming a billionaire based on some crazy smart idea and tons of hard work… I’ve wizened with age and I think a billion is more than enough. 20 year old me might not have but 20 year old me was also burning out my mind overworking myself trying to find a way to make myself rich… to be honest 20 year old me was an idiot for not seeing how the system of global finance works and thinking a tech startup was the path to riches. Should have gone for fame and smart financial management of the short term fame related income followed by careful fostering of a lifestyle brand focused on licensing out the perceived reputation.