Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
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Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
1–10 of 34 posts
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#2Keep dreaming, we are in hyper capitalism mode, ebshitification, etc. They just spent weeks of government time state and national worrying about people on food stamps buying candy or coke, to save pennies, they watch the poor like a damn hawk but let millionaires rape children in the biggest pedo ring in history.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#3Keep dreaming, we are in hyper capitalism mode, ebshitification, etc. They just spent weeks of government time state and national worrying about people on food stamps buying candy or coke, to save pennies, they watch the poor like a damn hawk but let millionaires rape children in the biggest pedo ring in history.
That's a very sad outlook.
This problem is hard because it's hard to spot, but the fix is actually surprisingly easy (at least in the short term).
The scale is on the order of climate change. If the academic base of economists were to unify behind this theory, change could happen. Only a few countries need to adopt this to show merit to the idea (although, that will take like a decade to truly show). Unlike climate change though this isn't fighting growth, it can recover it, and it's much, much easier to implement. That's why I think it can be truly bipartisan.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#4> Why VAT?
> This is a little harder but not too hard: Because it’s the mirror of UBI. The UBI will fund consumption, VAT taxes consumption.
This is dumb; there's literally no other way to put it!
VAT is a tax exemption on the rich; that's all it is.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#5We're not going to get economic change until the people revolt. This doesn't need to be a revolt with guns and bombs, it could just be a refusal to pay taxes and to purchase things. The US has shown that it's extremely vulnerable to economic warfare given how little slack there is in the system for absorbing shocks, so it's the perfect avenue for asymmetric warfare.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#6> Why VAT? > This is a little harder but not too hard: Because it’s the mirror of UBI. The UBI will fund consumption, VAT taxes consumption. This is dumb; there's literally no other way to put it! VAT is a tax exemption on the rich; that's all it is.
100%, VAT is a regressive tax. Poor people use a large portion of their wealth on products and services. Rich people use a much, much smaller portion of their wealth on those things.
Plus rich people all have companies pay for a lot of their stuff. Need a new laptop? Buy it through your company. Internet and cellular plan? Company. New cell phone? Company. Many even have their cars paid by an compaby. All those purchases through your company are VAT exempt. Poor people buy their own laptops and their own cell phones and have their own Internet subscription and cell plan and car. They pay the VAT.
I'm in Norway, where the standard VAT rate is at 25%. I don't understand how such a vast regressive tax is so uncontroversial here. Get rid of it and replace it with a larger wealth and capital gains tax.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#7What is needed are enforceable laws that force companies to pay a living wage. The wage paid is based upon the cost of living in various US metro regions. The wage must be updated every 6 months. And we need a single payer health system.
Plus a type of tax that forces the ultra-rich to pay, if needed, a wealth tax that some countries are enabling.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#8Isn't VAT generally a regressive tax so does the exact opposite of what the author thinks it does? The rich spend less versus their income than other demographics. I guess the UBI is to offset that but that just doesn't seem like a stable system.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
#9What is needed are enforceable laws that force companies to pay a living wage. The wage paid is based upon the cost of living in various US metro regions. The wage must be updated every 6 months. And we need a single payer health system. Plus a type of tax that forces the ultra-rich to pay, if needed, a wealth tax that some countries are enabling.
That works only as long as people are employed and there are enough jobs to employ people. Simplest solution for a company is to outsource or automate jobs away as much as possible. After a couple years customers will adjust to the new norm even if it's a worse experience for them.
Re: Labor Is a Market Distortion, we need VAT and UBI
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