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> All of this is deep in the political psyche that wants to cut down the tall poppies. What you call "cut down tall poppies" others call "correcting thousands
by toyg 3y ago
> All of this is deep in the political psyche that wants to cut down the tall poppies.
What you call "cut down tall poppies" others call "correcting thousands of years of aristocracy-fuelled unfairness". European wealth has much older roots. In a few centuries, Americans will likely reach a similar political point.
- danjac 3y agoGiven actual vs perceived social mobility in the US compared to Europe, it could be argued that the US reached that point some time ago: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/02/14/americans-overestimate-social-mobility-in-their-country https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/02/14/american...
- dougmwne 3y agoSure, I am aware. And if you let the aristocracy go on for too long eventually they claim divine right. It is possible that some European countries have over corrected though.
- euroderf 3y ago> And if you let the aristocracy go on for too long eventually they claim divine right. Well, the US has become a bastion of neo-feudalism, so there's that.
- dougmwne 3y agoFancy term, but can you develop an argument to support it?
- alphager 3y agoDo the laws apply equally to everyone regardless of wealth or do the rich achieve better results? We don't even have to pick the extreme outliers where affluenca officially plays a role. Someone that can spend a million on lawyers in the US will get a better outcome.
- euroderf 3y agoI would say that certain managerial / bureaucratic classes also have sweeping criminal immunity. Sometimes based on legal resources, sometimes not.
- blitzar 3y agoWood drastically underestimates the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth, especially inherited wealth.
- sixstringtheory 3y agoHow 'bout them apples?!
- caskstrength 3y ago> What you call "cut down tall poppies" others call "correcting thousands of years of aristocracy-fuelled unfairness". European wealth has much older roots. What does taxing _income_ of upper-middle class high-earners (who are probably coming somewhere from Eastern Europe and are not related to Habsburgs or something) have to do we dealing with _generational_ wealth of old-money families? In fact, descendants of well-off parents seem to do just fine. If anything they basically becoming landed gentry considering how unattainable housing has become.
- pas 3y agoOP directly mentioned wealth tax though. also wealth generates income. plus taxing income is easier, less transaction costs. (no need to sell the house to pay wealth tax.) of course non of these invalidate your observation about landed gentry, absurd housing prices, etc.
- caskstrength 3y ago> also wealth generates income. So tax income types that tend to come from wealth instead. Compared with regular salary income that is heavily taxed in Europe those usually incur significantly lower tax rates (long-term capital gains tax, dividend tax, etc.). > plus taxing income is easier, less transaction costs. (no need to sell the house to pay wealth tax.) You are confused about how wealth taxes usually work. They are something you pay every year based on your total assets, not when you sell the assets (these are capital gains or property gains taxes). > of course non of these invalidate your observation about landed gentry Becoming a landed gentry is intentional end game of current asset owning classes in Europe. Let's take Sweden as a worst offender - locals sit on top of their multimillion+ property (that they either inherited with 0 inheritance tax or got with tax-deductible mortgage when prices were saner), don't pay any wealth taxes and would like immigrants to pay for their welfare state with crazy income taxes while simultaneously extracting exuberant rents from them indefinitely by making housing basically unobtainable through regular income. Mind you this isn't European-specific problem (prop 13 landed gentry says hello), but Europeans tend to have this annoying holier-then-thou attitude towards the US paired with complete lack of self-awareness.
- hellofelicia 3y agoEuropean old money is doing just fine. It's the middle class taxed to death on every additional 10 bucks yes still not rich enough for "tax optimization" that is being fucked over.