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Just Be Rich (2021)

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Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#201

Post by nojvek »

bko wrote: post #175
TrackerFF wrote: post #56

I live in a country with wealth tax (Norway), and I'm a bit conflicted on it. On one side, it is effectively the only real tax a many in the "ownership class" are paying - relative to their wealth. On the other side, it is a really problematic tax for entrepreneurs. It is downright horrible for startups and scaleups - critical funds that should be used to grow your company, has to be given out in dividends to founder…

A lot of people think wealth is just a large Scrooge-McDuck pile of money sitting in someone's vault and a wealth tax means just sharing some of that money with others. But most wealth is owning and running extremely valuable companies. So taxing someone like Elon 2% or whatever of his 'wealth' per year, would mean some random Blackrock bozo passive investors running the companies after a few years. You're basically…

We get rich in the sense of consumption when money moves around.

The question in any economy is what balance between private and public is best at allocating capital.

With high taxes, the govt is trusted with allocating capital. With low taxes, corporations are trusted with allocating capital.

What usually happens is that Govt is a natural monopoly so they end up being ineffective at allocating capital to drive higher efficiencies. And if corporations have a mono/duo poly hold on market, they end up being effective.

The best $ spent by govt is:

- building common infrastructure to make goods and services move around faster, cheaper and safer. Then let corporations compete on what goods and services to move around based on demand and supply.

- enforce transparent pricing and certain safety bars are enforced.

- enforce competition in market with anti-trust.

- Create new players by injecting investment in new industries. China is really good at creating new industries (Solar, steel, infrastructure, cars, electronics)

Essentially govt collects tax to build a safe efficient competitive market. Ensure Corporations compete in that market.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#202

Post by WalterBright »

TrackerFF wrote: post #56

I live in a country with wealth tax (Norway), and I'm a bit conflicted on it. On one side, it is effectively the only real tax a many in the "ownership class" are paying - relative to their wealth. On the other side, it is a really problematic tax for entrepreneurs. It is downright horrible for startups and scaleups - critical funds that should be used to grow your company, has to be given out in dividends to founder…

The WSJ has a good article today on France's experience with wealth taxes:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/france-elections-wealth-tax-new...

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#204

Post by RhysU »

eigart wrote: post #110
WalterBright wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden, France, California, Washington state and NYC have discovered once again that taxing the heck out of rich people causes them to leave. And when they leave, they take their spend/invest/hire money with them.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. To me it looks like a race to the bottom. We have a very nice society, and most people are happy to pay taxes. We also don’t tax rich people more in relative terms, it’s just that it creates a threshold level of wealth where you can choose to move.

> most people are happy to pay taxes

Source? I hate paying taxes.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#205

Post by AlOwain »

eigart wrote: post #36
chr1 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many people who win lottery tickets become wealthy? Most of them squander the money they win, so your point about simply being lucky is not true. As for your question lottery winner having the power proportional to his money, is much better than bureaucrats having power to take anyone's money.

Obtaining excessive wealth is the same as winning the lottery (the billionaire founder class). Edit: Q: If you downvote this comment, do you believe someone like Zuckerberg was predestined to be a billionaire?

He was certainly not predestined, but his inclinations and temperaments did distinguish him. True some luck is involved; it is a necessary part, but individuals are often what induces the procuring of wealth.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#206

Post by marcianx »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #5
xrd wrote: post #4

Noahopinion has a very recent interesting article on wealth and taxation. It makes me mad because it contradicts a lot of cherished ideas I have about the rich and taxation, but probably makes sense in this conversation: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/theres-not-that-much-wealth-in...

Wealth is unelected power, a bug. It’s reasonable to say there should be limits on wealth, considering most wealthy people were lucky (either by birth or “right place right time”) but attempt to post rationalize it as anything else. Would you want someone who won a lottery ticket to have power over your life at scale? Because that’s what excess wealth is, a power dynamic powered by a suboptimal system masquerading as…

How would you impose these limits on wealth? Where would the extra money go? To the government? If so, would you be okay with the government saying that _all_ future earnings if yours went straight to them because you have too much money already? Would you give anyone that power?

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#207

Post by webnrrd2k »

In addition to wealth taxes, inheritance taxes are also important to get right. The US, historically, had fairly high inheritance taxes because it was thought to prevent dynastic families from taking over. Over the last few decades, inheritance taxes have been reduced, and it seems to correspond with a large concentration of wealth in the upper classes.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#208

Post by soared »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #156
soared wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luck that their grandpa built the duplex. I am unlucky that my grandpa did not build a duplex. Luck that their parents held the assets and did not sell it.

This is not luck. Your grandfather chose your grandmother and so too did your parents. Your parents deciding to do something is not luck either. I want my children to have an inheritance, the actions I take to ensure that are ongoing deliberate choices to build wealth over having fun.

Yes, so it’s completely out of your children’s control whether or not you chose those decisions. Therefore, they are lucky you are doing that. They have zero impact on whether or not the actions of their grandparents resulted in generational wealth.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#209

Post by arrosenberg »

WalterBright wrote: post #194
arrosenberg wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse to believe the Rust Belt existed before 1995. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

> The Rust Belt experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_Belt

And? Amazon is still an avatar for the neoliberalism that killed the Rust Belt. They didn't start the fire, they just pour gas on it every day.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#210

Post by arrosenberg »

WalterBright wrote: post #191
arrosenberg wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California is the 4th highest state in income per capita, which supports my statement. Thanks :)

Its tax collections are going down despite increasing taxes. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/QTAXTOTALQTAXCAT3CANO

That line is trending upward. Collections are down because the economy cooled after Q2 2022 due to the end of zero-percent interest rates. Again, something beyond the control of the state government.
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