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Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

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Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#41

Post by ben_w »

david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

I wonder how many have e.g. $1bn in cash, rather than in the form of owning shares they have no interest in selling in businesses that other people reckon they could squeeze that much out of? It isn’t zero, but the same reasoning that put a previous boss of mine on a rich list would (falsely!) turn me into a millionaire if I turned myself into a privately traded corporation.

The other question is: why $20 million? Looking at the rates on teleport.org, software developers in Nairobi look at the average Silicon Valley software engineer’s pay the same way the latter looks at someone who can earn $1-2 million per year, and I can’t think of any reason why the USA might care to limit its own salaries while other countries catch up.

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#42

Post by bigyikes »

david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

Policies like this will cause the rich, who have extreme mobility, to leave your country. Maybe to some people this sounds nice, but generally it will lead to worse companies and less innovation.

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#44

Post by ksdakfasdf »

jonfw wrote: post #24
david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

Let's say I start a Saas company and it does really well. Somebody offers to invest at a valuation of 25$ million bucks. By most standards of evaluation net worth- I'm worth $25 million bucks now. who seizes ownership of my company? What's to stop me from offering you $10 bucks for .0001% of your company and making you illegally rich? Taxes on net worth won't work because net worth is abstract

It's abstract until it isn't. Is the offer to invest 25$ million abstract?

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#45

Post by yayr »

This may be unpopular, but the hard thing in this discussion is to differentiate between consumption and investment. It does not help much to take wealth in terms of equity paper money away from people who know how to invest it efficiently and distribute it. On the other hand, there are minimum basic needs for consumption of food, health services, shelter, education etc. I agree that the system to finance those services is broken. But then fix the system and don't only focus on punishing people when they build economically viable organisations that even help to support the economy in such a crisis.

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#46

Post by throwaway739 »

rvnx wrote: post #28
david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

Such weird logic; we should level down everyone. I don't live in a nice house, so everyone should be stuck like me in an old flat until everyone can get nice house. I'm not happy -> Everybody should be unhappy

So you need a $20 million house to feel like you live in a "nice house"? Can you explain to me why your logic is less "weird" than the one you are replying to?

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#48

Post by OscarCunningham »

david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

That would incent people to spend on consumption when their wealth approached the cap, while not actually paying any of the tax. Thus more of the world's productive capabilities would be redirected towards rich people consuming luxuries that they otherwise wouldn't have bothered with.

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#49

Post by endisneigh »

I have no problem with billionaires personally. I do have a problem with people being billionaires if the "value" they've created is negative (obviously this is my opinion).

Consider two billionaries:

- One creates a cold nuclear fusion device the size of a 10" x 10" x 10" cube. You can plug anything to this device and it will power it, indefinitely.

- Another gets little boys and girls addicted to some sort of super candy, irresistible for those under 13.

Surely one of these people is more valuable

Re: Millionaires call for an emergency tax on billionaires

#50

Post by arrosenberg »

bigyikes wrote: post #42
david927 wrote: post #3

Until there's a wealth floor -- until everyone is fed, sheltered and has access to education, there needs to be a wealth cap. We, as a collective humanity, should not allow anyone to have more than, say, $20 million, until the basic needs of others have been met.

Policies like this will cause the rich, who have extreme mobility, to leave your country. Maybe to some people this sounds nice, but generally it will lead to worse companies and less innovation.

Does it though? It seems to me that if the rich fled, the vacuum would probably be filled by smarter, more ambitious people who were being suppressed by incumbent wealth.
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