3 ms·

What seems worse to me is the rich seem to just sit on most of their money rather than putting it to work. I guess taxes are supposed to deal with this

Izkata 2y ago
Most of their wealth isn't money, it's investments. It's not sitting idle, it's being used by whatever they invested in.
canucker2016 2y ago
Where's the data to back up your assertion about the rich "sit on most of their money"? I think many of the top tech billionaires have their wealth in company stock (in the case of Jeff Bezos and Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates has diversified away from just MSFT stock, Elon Musk is mostly TSLA and SpaceX) If the rich actually sit on most of their wealth (all cash - 0% interest, no income, no interest-bearing instruments/bonds, no selling stocks) then they'd pay no taxes on their wealth in the USA. But inflation would hit them hard, especially in the past couple of years.
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  > I think many of the top tech billionaires have their wealth in company stock... That would be sitting on it, yes.
  - Jensson 2y ago
    What do you think happens with the money when they do something with it? They turn it into a company, and now it is company stock.
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      That really isn’t how the stock market works. Bezos hasn’t given $200B in cash over to Amazon. Amazon gets money when they sell new shares in a public offering. Subsequent exchanges don’t affect their cash on hand.
chrismcb 2y ago
The rich aren't Scrooge McDuck or Smaug. They didn't have swimming pools full of cash and gold. They are wealthy because the vast majority of their wealth are investments. They own large portions of companies. Sure they may have an expensive estate or three and a yacht and private jet, but that is s small portion of their wealth. This is actually one of the reasons I dislike a wealth tax.

3 ms·

What seems worse to me is the rich seem to just sit on most of their money rather than putting it to work. I guess taxes are supposed to deal with this

by fnord77 2y ago

Izkata 2y ago
Most of their wealth isn't money, it's investments. It's not sitting idle, it's being used by whatever they invested in.
canucker2016 2y ago
Where's the data to back up your assertion about the rich "sit on most of their money"? I think many of the top tech billionaires have their wealth in company stock (in the case of Jeff Bezos and Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates has diversified away from just MSFT stock, Elon Musk is mostly TSLA and SpaceX) If the rich actually sit on most of their wealth (all cash - 0% interest, no income, no interest-bearing instruments/bonds, no selling stocks) then they'd pay no taxes on their wealth in the USA. But inflation would hit them hard, especially in the past couple of years.
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  > I think many of the top tech billionaires have their wealth in company stock... That would be sitting on it, yes.
  - Jensson 2y ago
    What do you think happens with the money when they do something with it? They turn it into a company, and now it is company stock.
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      That really isn’t how the stock market works. Bezos hasn’t given $200B in cash over to Amazon. Amazon gets money when they sell new shares in a public offering. Subsequent exchanges don’t affect their cash on hand.
chrismcb 2y ago
The rich aren't Scrooge McDuck or Smaug. They didn't have swimming pools full of cash and gold. They are wealthy because the vast majority of their wealth are investments. They own large portions of companies. Sure they may have an expensive estate or three and a yacht and private jet, but that is s small portion of their wealth. This is actually one of the reasons I dislike a wealth tax.