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Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

reuters.com

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Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#31

Post by munk-a »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #4

Alternative title: Majority of Americans are not rich, and therefore see no downside to taking from those who are I do think the inequality gap is becoming more of a problem, but simply asking the population if they want someone else to pay more is going to have the obvious result.

No, the majority of Americans believe that everyone should live a decent life rather than a few random people living stupid wealthy lives while others suffer in poverty.

I do agree that the sentiment is pretty deeply ingrained in American culture though, for a long time people have voted and advocated against their own interests because one day they might win the lottery and somehow make it through the insane taxes that come with that to qualify for a tax liability on their estate when they end up passing.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#32

Post by mech1234 »

The 2% wealth tax idea floated by Warren is an insanely high number. It sounds small because people don't understand finance.

A 4% withdrawal rate is about the most you can expect to indefinitely draw on a balanced portfolio without it disappearing in a relatively small number of years. A 2% wealth tax takes half of this.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#33

Post by ohazi »

I'm skeptical that most respondents understood the questions correctly.

Most people are familiar with income tax, because they know that money is removed from their paycheck every month. Many also file tax returns.

A wealth tax, where a fraction of your bank balance is removed every month, is a totally alien concept to most people. If you haven't thought about it before, it can take a minute or two to wrap your head around what it would actually mean.

In a survey context, all of these questions can be answered on autopilot by mistaking "wealth tax for rich people" with "higher taxes for rich people," which are definitely not the same thing.

Whether or not you think a wealth tax is a good idea, I don't think we should let politicians sneak this through unless we're confident that the public actually understands what is being proposed. As other comments mentioned, income taxes started out as "wealthy only" and have since trickled down to the working poor.

I don't think most Americans want a tax on their bank balance.

Edit: No, I'm not arguing that people are dumb, just that they tend to rush through surveys. When rushing, I think this would be an easy mistake to make.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#34

Post by sct202 »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #27
throwno wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why the wealth tax will fail to fix inequality. Eventually your parents shitty 250k house out in the sticks will qualify for wealth tax. Whatever stocks you have that aren't in a retirement account will be wealth taxed even though half their growth is just from inflation. It's going to suck.

In most places it already qualifies for a wealth tax in the form of a property tax...

Exactly! A huge portion of the middle class's wealth is tied up in property equity that is taxed every year. The ultra wealthy's wealth is primarily in business ownership or equity which is only taxed on gains when it's sold.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#35

Post by seneca »

munk-a wrote: post #31
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #4

Alternative title: Majority of Americans are not rich, and therefore see no downside to taking from those who are I do think the inequality gap is becoming more of a problem, but simply asking the population if they want someone else to pay more is going to have the obvious result.

No, the majority of Americans believe that everyone should live a decent life rather than a few random people living stupid wealthy lives while others suffer in poverty. I do agree that the sentiment is pretty deeply ingrained in American culture though, for a long time people have voted and advocated against their own interests because one day they might win the lottery and somehow make it through the insane taxes t…

> Ha, oh... oh my, that's rich.

Please don't post this kind of low quality snark here. This isn't reddit.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#36

Post by nostromo »

throwno wrote: post #17
nostromo wrote: post #6

It's worth noting that the income tax also started out as a tax on the very rich. Once established, taxes have a way of finding their way from the rich, to the middle-class, and then even to the working poor.

This is why the wealth tax will fail to fix inequality. Eventually your parents shitty 250k house out in the sticks will qualify for wealth tax. Whatever stocks you have that aren't in a retirement account will be wealth taxed even though half their growth is just from inflation. It's going to suck.

Making the rich poorer, but not actually doing anything to make the poor richer seems like a shitty way to fix inequality.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#37

Post by throwawaysea »

Almost every country that has enacted a wealth tax has repealed it. And the version that Elizabeth Warren is proposing is fairly extreme - her 3% wealth tax rate would be double the 1.5% rate that France ended up repealing (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-11-14/france...). Personally I can’t get behind this idea because it just feels like it is taking away something you’ve already earned and own outright for whatever purpose you want. It waters down the concept of private ownership, which is a gateway for other erosions of individual rights.

I also just can’t see the government putting a large general fund to good use. This image shows what various billionaires would have been left with if a wealth tax were in place since 1982 (https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5d7a63377d7e360008bd5fbe/...). Bill Gates would have only $36b left - and he’s donated around that much to his foundation. Clearly if he felt the government was good at allocating and efficiently spending large funds, he would have given the government a bigger payment (https://fiscal.treasury.gov/public/gifts-to-government.html) rather than starting his own foundation. This is why I don’t buy his recently claimed support for a wealth tax.

Re: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

#38

Post by keanzu »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #4

Alternative title: Majority of Americans are not rich, and therefore see no downside to taking from those who are I do think the inequality gap is becoming more of a problem, but simply asking the population if they want someone else to pay more is going to have the obvious result.

The tyranny of the majority is a weakness inherent to majority rule in which the majority of an electorate pursues exclusively its own interests at the expense of those in the minority. This results in oppression of minority groups comparable to that of a tyrant or despot.
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