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Sure, let’s lower everyone’s standards of living - except for the richest people who won’t change their behavior at all. That’s so politically toxic that its ef
by bglazer 3y ago
Sure, let’s lower everyone’s standards of living - except for the richest people who won’t change their behavior at all. That’s so politically toxic that its effectively a fantasy.
That’s the problem with these tax and prices based economic nudges. They’re effectively punishments, and everyone fucking hates unjust punishments. Think about the person who has to fly to visit a sick family member. Now they’re still flying the same amount, but they’re just a lot poorer. Well that’s an edge case! Of course, it’s also going to be the lead story on conservative media for a news cycle, followed by another and another and another story just like it.
- hotpotamus 3y agoWhat's funny is that any time I've suggested increasing taxes on the rich, I hear how I'm jealous and really I should be thankful for the incredible standard of living that I have as a modern human (as I struggle to maintain employment, housing, and health insurance while nursing some health issues). And yet any time I see suggestions of collective sacrifice to literally save the world, I'm told it's impossible because people are too jealous of how rich people will bend the rules for themselves (as though they don't already live beyond any kind of rules in our current arrangement anyway). It really seems like heads the planet is fucked, tails the planet is fucked. And for some reason it's a mystery why people have stopped having children.
- shafyy 3y agoEating meat, flying a lot and driving a car does not equal a high standard of living. I'm not doing any of these things, but I would say that I have a very high standard of living - probably even higher than people who are stuck in a car in traffic for 2 hours a day and eat cheap meat until they get a heart attack.