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Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

fair.org

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Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#152
post #108
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not contributing fairly to the society that allowed one to accrue a large volume of wealth is also "unfair."

"contributing fairly" sounds good but is meaningless. There are too many competing definitions of "fair."

"Contributing fairly" has meaning when compared to "no contribution" or "negative contributions".

We can argue about what fair is all day but it hard to say that someone who accrued $1B has contributed fairly. Warren Buffet acknowledges as much in his famous quote about his secretary paying more in taxes than he does.

Let's not let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to equitable contribution.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#153
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like the way the incentive is supposed to work no? Motivate the economy by furthering investment back into it.

If we tax wealth, people will be incentivized to generate non-wealth things. Why buy a stock if Biden will take 1% of it annually? May as well just buy rapidly depreciating status symbols instead.

Why work as an average american is the government will take 22% of it?

Probably because trading stocks will still leave you with a lot more money than if you threw a tantrum, took your toys home and hid your money under your mattress - no plan that I've seen has investors paying capital gains at the level of their equivalent income - investment is still heavily subsidized.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#154
post #127

Near 50% of American pay zero federal tax. The top 10% of all Americans pay 69% of all federal taxes currently. This is a point 'left out' of current discussions. Instead of increasing entitlements or adding yet more taxes - we lower the size of the government spending UNTIL it matches where most people pay for the services received in a more scaled manner. Source: https://taxfoundation.org/summary-latest-federal-inc…

Nearly 50% of Americans are children, students, and retirees.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#155

As a business owner, when taxes are low, I see that as an incentive to pocket profits. But when taxes are high, I see that as an incentive to hide the profits by investing in the future. I know this isn't always the case with everyone. And especially investors have a case that higher corporate taxes reduce the value of their investments, possibly to the point of not making them. But this incentive is so blatantly obv…

It’s very clear that you are a small business owner and don’t really understand how taxes work in a large company.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#156

I'm neither wealthy nor the media and I believe that wealth taxes are a bad idea, too.

Any chance your opinion was formed based on news/studies funded by wealthy individuals?

I'm not the person you responded to but this kind of comment really bugs me. Why assume someone didn't form their own opinion?

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#157
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like the way the incentive is supposed to work no? Motivate the economy by furthering investment back into it.

If we tax wealth, people will be incentivized to generate non-wealth things. Why buy a stock if Biden will take 1% of it annually? May as well just buy rapidly depreciating status symbols instead.

Interesting thought. It also means that there is a continued pressure to sell stocks/buy less. So stock values will be negatively affected.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#158
post #38

fair.org? Ha! Confiscating others money is hardly "fair" but here we are.

FAIR stands for "FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING" Meaning they're attempting to be a reporting watchdog

Yeah sure, and 'USA PATRIOT Act' stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#159
post #89

What frustrates me about this whole argument over wealth taxes is that the arguments aren't grounded in facts. The reality is that we "pay" for inequality with reduced productivity. A great example of this is "single family home neighborhoods" in urban areas. They have no societal benefit, they are essentially subsidized land use patterns for the well off, and it makes it harder for less well of folks to move to area…

> A great example of this is "single family home neighborhoods" in urban areas. They have no societal benefit, they are essentially subsidized land use patterns for the well off, and it makes it harder for less well of folks to move to areas where they can get a better job/improve their lot in life and grow the economy. I've seen this talking point twice now this week. What's the alternative? We all live in crowded m…

If the wealthy want to live in a big detached house that's cool, but those types of lots/structures shouldn't be in dense space-limited urban areas. They want to have both the big house and the proximity to urban centers.

Re: Media Owned by Wealthy Are Quick to Tell You Wealth Taxes Are a Bad Idea

#160
post #127

Near 50% of American pay zero federal tax. The top 10% of all Americans pay 69% of all federal taxes currently. This is a point 'left out' of current discussions. Instead of increasing entitlements or adding yet more taxes - we lower the size of the government spending UNTIL it matches where most people pay for the services received in a more scaled manner. Source: https://taxfoundation.org/summary-latest-federal-inc…

> Near 50% of American pay zero federal tax. The top 10% of all Americans pay 69% of all federal taxes currently. This is a point 'left out' of current discussions.

Nearly 50% pay no federal income tax. It's worth making that statement precise in this case, because saying they pay no federal tax is just a lie.

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