Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: poll

I think down this road leads a tautology because most classical definitions of consensus are such that taxing the wealthy more than the poor is considered a fair and equitable consensus. I don't like to leave assumptions and definitions unexamined so here's an analogy, most people who murdered steve don't believe that people who murdered steve should be punished for it - even though the majority of the population disagrees with that view we need to defend the minority of people that just murdered steve less their opinions be swept under by a tyrannical and unreasonable majority.

The majority absolutely can be tyrannical and the court of popular opinion is not considered the sole ethical decider - see philosophical discussions about whether certain historical events in the 1940s led to a society where some pretty extreme actions actually qualified as ethical. The society they occurred in publicly and openly approved of those actions but most of us would hesitate to call those actions ethical so there is merit in being hesitant to call the apparent ruling of the court of public opinion a consensus, but I think this particular case is more valid and self-reinforcing.

Interesting question though.

I don't think it's extreme at all. It only seems that way because we've all be conditioned to accept taxation as something normal. But there's no particular reason why that must be so. And, as Bastiat points out, the Law is nothing more than the collective extension to our individual rights, and so can have no legitimate authority beyond what an individual can do. I can't collect money from you under threat of use of violent force, no matter how noble my intentions for that money. Ergo, "the law" / "the state" / "society" likewise have no standing to do so, except "might makes right".

I tend to vote Republican, I don't oppose a more progressive tax. So long as the heavier taxes stay safely above middle class, I think it's a fair idea.

To get broad support, crafty lefties need only emphasize how much the taxes will affect Hollywood blowhards. That'll make the whole thing much more palatable to those on the right side of the aisle.

Here’s where things get tricky. The ultra wealthy have most of their wealth tied up in stocks/bonds.

Bill Gates and Bezos are the worlds richest because they have >1% ownership in their founding companies.

The rich get richer because the stock market and their companies are doing well. They own means of production.

Capital gains tax rate means if you hold stock for more than an year and sell it, you get taxed a bit less. There’s an incentive for longer term ownership.

Like property taxes, what if you taxed holding stock? Then that’s unfair as AMT crap. Holding stock is fake money. It could disappear in thin air when market crashes. Gains are only realized when you sell.

But when you sell, you still pay income tax.

So if a billionaire has ownership in his founding company but draws I’m all for higher tax percentages at higher incomes but all of it gets very murky.

America was built on the foundations of if you work hard and build something great and have a pie of ownership, you get to reap the rewards.

Removing this ^ incentive causes all sorts of issues in other parts.

I would love estate tax to have a higher tax rate. Transferring property to kids shouldn’t be cheap since they didn’t do the hard work.

I would also love taxes to be 0 below a certain income bracket.

I would also love some form of aid when unemployed/ on the streets. Some sort of buffer. Better affordable healthcare. Less middleman. More transparency.

A lot of this problems aren’t money related but more about refactoring the current way of things and making more efficient use of what’s currently already there.

My 2 cents. Would love to debate.