Just Be Rich • Hacker News Board

Re: Just Be Rich

#751

Post by refurb » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:34 PM UTC

Tepix wrote: post #542

refurb wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, isn’t that exactly what Singapore did to attract talent and capital? And it worked? And didn’t one of the Facebook founders give up his US citizenship and move there? Sure it’s one case, but it’s evidence at least some are motivated by taxes. Sure, not every founder will make that choice and not right away, but you could see a slow shift over decades to more tax friendly locations.

You may be right. A small number of startups may be founded elsewhere. But the large income from a wealth tax likely provides a greater benefit. We've had a wealth tax in the past. It worked. The only reason why it got removed was because the super rich used their vast influence. It's not something that's in the public's best interest.

You do realize that most European countries that has a wealth tax abandoned it and the recent ones never actually collected anything close to what was forecasted because it’s not that hard to move wealth around.

Re: Just Be Rich

#752

Post by ihyfhgyfhth » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:35 PM UTC

piva00 wrote: post #290

marvin wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes - GP is right. When they say regulation, they mean preventing market forces from building as much prices allow. This NIMBYism is a global phenomenon and the root cause. All the other factors certainly contribute , but cheap credit only affects how much the most desperate buyer is able to pay. This becomes the limiting factor almost everywhere, meaning that prices would be equally unaffordable if credit wasn’t che…

> cheap credit only affects how much the most desperate buyer is able to pay I disagree with this statement, cheap credit allows banks to offer longer term mortgages and buyers able to afford a larger principal with the same per-month cost, pushing the prices upwards due to keeping payments low on a per-month basis, due to low interests and longer term plans. This definitely pushes the price of all market upwards. It…

I agree with you.

The interest rate is the "price" of money. Central banks controlling the interest rate effectively practice price controls for debt. Much has been written about price controls, but fundamentally they create inefficiencies. Unfathomable amounts of debt have been completely misallocated in pursuit of whatever the goal of interest rate control has been.

Re: Just Be Rich

#753

Post by ameister14 » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:35 PM UTC

xbpx wrote: post #488

refurb wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It not a matter of a founder not starting a company, it doing it somewhere else than the US. Didn’t some study show a majority of founders are foreigners? They choose to come to the US. They can choose not to in the future.

Because of a tiny wealth tax that is already lower than in many other countries? You think a relatively well off individual from a less wealthy country facing many systemic problems for business will pass up the opportunity to migrate to the US because they may need to pay a couple percent if they strike gold?

What countries currently have a wealth tax that is higher than the proposed wealth tax combined with existing property taxes?

Re: Just Be Rich

#754

Post by refurb » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:35 PM UTC

Agenttin wrote: post #720

refurb wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It not a matter of a founder not starting a company, it doing it somewhere else than the US. Didn’t some study show a majority of founders are foreigners? They choose to come to the US. They can choose not to in the future.

Then go. If the price of having them here is that they get to not pay their fair share while taking advantage of our infrastructure and workforce, they can pound sand.

I keep hearing about a “fair share” which is vague. What is the exact percentage that is a “fair share” for say someone with $10M?

Maybe if we can all agree on a number then we can figure out how best to collect it.

Re: Just Be Rich

#755

Post by golergka » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

titzer wrote: post #724

Personally, I think anyone who amasses oh, say, 100 lifetimes of wealth and can't stop trying to get more has a mental illness. And I don't mean that for laughs. They have a sickness and are not well. If you've got a $300 million fortune, why can't you just go enjoy life already? It's not like enjoying your life by spending your money isn't going to also create jobs for other people. You don't need to be "a job creat…

It's not about having nice things, it's about having the power to change the world according to your values.

Re: Just Be Rich

#756

Post by nostromo » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

Agenttin wrote: post #708

px43 wrote: post #664

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brilliant* idea to solve the real estate problem is to tax the hell out of properties that are sitting empty. Something like a 2x or 3x multiplier on property taxes or something, especially in densely populated areas, and especially in areas where there is rampant housing insecurity. The tax needs to be greater than the potential gamble of waiting for occupants. This should be both for residential and commercial u…

I've often thought this about those dark strip malls and grocery stores. They need to be incentivized to either lower the prices so low that someone will move in, or to demolish the building. Just marking it off as a loss every year while it slowly decays destroys the property values nearby.

That’s a zoning / central planning failure.

We have too much retail space in America and too little housing, but zoning has often made it impossible to repurpose the land.

Re: Just Be Rich

#757

Post by knubie » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

titzer wrote: post #724

Personally, I think anyone who amasses oh, say, 100 lifetimes of wealth and can't stop trying to get more has a mental illness. And I don't mean that for laughs. They have a sickness and are not well. If you've got a $300 million fortune, why can't you just go enjoy life already? It's not like enjoying your life by spending your money isn't going to also create jobs for other people. You don't need to be "a job creat…

I think for a lot of people that attain that level of wealth, work is their life. In the Documentary film “American Factory” the billionaire founder of Fuyao said something to the affect of “work is life” which to me means “ my life would be meaningless without work.”

Re: Just Be Rich

#758

Post by rjmunro » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #685

Mauricebranagh wrote: post #667

Earlier quoted context omitted.

cough Grenfell Tower fire. Lots of tiny Jerry built flats in tower blocks are not the answer - even more so when the rise of WFH is taken into account.

The answer is to update codes to require new buildings have sprinkler systems, and not to put extremely flammable cladding on the side of a damned building. We absolutely need to be able to build more medium density housing more easily.

New buildings do have to have sprinkler systems - it's the older ones that are the problem. You can add cladding to a 1970s building without having to update it to the latest fire safety rules.

Also it is illegal to put extremely flammable cladding on the side of a building. The problem was that if someone sells you "non-flammable cladding" and they are lying, nobody properly checks.

Re: Just Be Rich

#759

Post by Wolfenstein98k » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

This is terrible and wrong. The middle class haven't gotten "poorer" for forty years, they've just grown less quickly than the richest - based on the phenomenon Paul pointed out.

What's happened is the uber-rich are becoming hyper-rich due to tech, and in RELATIVE terms everyone else is growing less quickly.

But that's literally exactly what you'd expect and it doesn't harm them one iota - the cheaper and more plentiful tech, however, helps them.

Re: Just Be Rich

#760

Post by scottious » Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 2:41 PM UTC

rychco wrote: post #663

chrisseaton wrote: post #549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Owning a house is becoming more and more a thing for the upper classes Something like 60% of US people own a home. 30% even own their home completely outright, with no mortgage. Obviously 30%, let alone 60%, of the population cannot be considered 'upper class', and 'middle class' is probably even a stretch. The home ownership rate seems broadly stable since the 60s to me, with gentle ups and downs with the economy,…

As someone in their mid 20’s with a tech job, it blows my mind that 60% of people own a home. I can’t imagine having enough money to own a home in a major city.

Sure, maybe right now when the real estate market is really hot, but imagine people in the market around 2009-2012 getting a really good deal on real estate.

Once you're in the market, it's easier to STAY in the market. If house prices go up, you'll have to pay more to move to a new house but this is an easier pill to swallow because your current house has increased in value.