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Taxing Extreme Wealth

inequality.org

1–10 of 26 posts

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#2
Raising money is one thing. Spending it is another. So much energy is spent on policies to do the former, and seeimingly very little on how to do the latter far more efficiently. This policy proposal makes for a fantastic soundbite, but how will the additional revenue be allocated in a way that actually leads to better outcomes?

Simply increasing the top of the funnel is not going to make all the downstream inefficiencies and inequalities go away.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#3
> An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year > An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty

So, the US govt printed an additional $2 Trillion last year. How many people did it lift out of poverty?

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#4
Why do we need to gather even more tax revenue when congress and the fed can just expand their balance sheets to infinity?

The government is terrible at managing money. More tax revenue != less poverty.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#5

> An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year > An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty So, the US govt printed an additional $2 Trillion last year. How many people did it lift out of poverty?

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/who-was-lifte... 11.7 million or so, for $400 billion accounted for. I'll leave others to track down the rest.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#6
post #4

Why do we need to gather even more tax revenue when congress and the fed can just expand their balance sheets to infinity? The government is terrible at managing money. More tax revenue != less poverty.

> Why do we need to gather even more tax revenue when congress and the fed can just expand their balance sheets to infinity?

Because printing money is an awkward and not very flexible way to raise money.

> The government is terrible at managing money. More tax revenue != less poverty.

We should also improve our government then, and get them to address poverty better.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#7

> An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year > An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty So, the US govt printed an additional $2 Trillion last year. How many people did it lift out of poverty?

>How many people did it lift out of poverty?

Well, that's a trick question without considering how many were or will be knocked down a notch or two in living standards at the same time, including many pushed into actual poverty themselves, only with lingering downward momentum that "keeps on giving" in ways that are opposite of those being "lifted".

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#8

Raising money is one thing. Spending it is another. So much energy is spent on policies to do the former, and seeimingly very little on how to do the latter far more efficiently. This policy proposal makes for a fantastic soundbite, but how will the additional revenue be allocated in a way that actually leads to better outcomes? Simply increasing the top of the funnel is not going to make all the downstream inefficie…

Well, if we can't solve every problem in one fell swoop, I guess we should just give up.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#9
Surely there's a way to allow for an increase in prosperity of the non-wealthy more effectively by taxing commerce/transfers-of-wealth alone.

I pity the fool who thinks that taxing people, income, or property can allow for any real move toward relief of the non-wealthy.

If it needs to be accomplished to the extreme, then concentrate on extreme commerce.

Re: Taxing Extreme Wealth

#10
post #5

> An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year > An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty So, the US govt printed an additional $2 Trillion last year. How many people did it lift out of poverty?

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/who-was-lifte... 11.7 million or so, for $400 billion accounted for. I'll leave others to track down the rest.

"if we give people more money, their reported income becomes higher"

I mean, sure.. but I'd want to see the flow on effects. (Health, education, jobs, etc).

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