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Yes, it isn't fair that some people are taller than others, or more talented. The way we account for that is is not by outlawing behaviors. Rather, we levy pro
by tylerhou 3y ago
Yes, it isn't fair that some people are taller than others, or more talented.
The way we account for that is is not by outlawing behaviors. Rather, we levy progressive income taxes so that people who are lucky can help people who are less lucky. The most talented basketball players pay a large income tax that helps provide services to those who were not born lucky.
I don't see why estate taxes are any different. It is not fair that some people are born into rich families while others are born into poor families. Nobody is suggesting we outlaw inheritance. But levying an appropriate tax on inheritance and preventing tax avoidance schemes is one way to compensate the unlucky.
Vonnegut was also a socialist (according to Wikipedia).
- Patxitxi 3y agoAgree
- Turing_Machine 3y agoSorry, you're dodging. Most professional musicians (and other artists) are far from wealthy. Should they have to pay high taxes as well, for "fairness"?
- Turing_Machine 3y agoMaybe instead we could, e.g., force streaming services to play an equal number of songs from every musician (or imagined musician), regardless of talent. Want to listen to Bach? Okay, but you have to listen to five hundred songs from untalented randos before hearing a Bach piece. That would be "fair", yes?
- tylerhou 3y agoYou’re strawmanning me. It would be better to let people stream songs by whatever artist they want. Then the fair thing to do is to levy progressively higher taxes on more popular/profitable artists to redistribute money to those who were not born as talented or motivated.