5 ms·

this is a classic case of tyranny of the majority. Majority of Americans favor stealing wealth from others.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
spamizbad 7y ago
They're trying to recapture their economic contributions. Companies won't pay more, so they're doing it via other means. When salaries were rising such actions were not popular.
- mech1234 7y ago
  Salaries are rising now, though. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N/
akhilcacharya 7y ago
Nearly everyone pays a form of wealth taxes in the form of property taxes. I see no reason why it should be different for the Rembrandts and the diamonds (if, of course, they could somehow be assessed at a level that exceeds ~$32 million to $50 million and more).
the2and7 7y ago
not really. From wikipedia: The scenarios in which tyranny perception occurs are very specific, involving a sort of distortion of democracy preconditions: - Centralization: when federation makes a decision that should be local. => NOT THE CASE. - Abandonment of rationality: when a decision "which bases its claim to rule upon numbers, not upon rightness or excellence" Unless you argue taxing is irrational.
skitout 7y ago
My feeling is rich are "stealing" from others, and feel that we are in an oligopoly... :)
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
foolrush 7y ago
You are not a billionaire and will never be one. Calm down.
- pb7 7y ago
  You don’t need to be a billionaire to think in a rational and unbiased way.
munk-a 7y ago
I really don't think that it becomes stealing until the wealthy are pulled down below the poor - and that isn't anywhere near being on the table, most of the wealth tax options would just shrink the band between the super rich and the rich. It's not clear if this survey laid out a starting point but Warren's proposal is to only tax excess wealth above 50mil and such a tax would almost certainly be graduated (so a 51M person would pay tax on 1M and a 52M would pay tax on 2M (probably double?)) either way the worst that happens is that unearning trustfunders are slowly reduced to 50M in assets over time which is more than enough money for anyone... and I'd hope that as inflation/cost of living rose that level would be adjusted - being a millionaire today is hardly rare with most people who own a house in a metro area easily falling in that range.
uep 7y ago
This is grossly simplified, but I feel like I'm responding in kind. The fundamental nature of a non-co-op business is that the company gets more value per person than it costs to employ that person. Companies have been "stealing" wealth from employees since they've existed.
SkyBelow 7y ago
Do you see existing yearly property and car taxes as theft? In general, where does one draw the line between theft and taxes?
akdetrick 7y ago
The average worker is 5x more productive than they were 30 years ago, but wages have been basically flat. In the last 10 years, the federal minimum wage has not risen, effectively reducing the minimum wage by about $1 due to inflation. The richest 500 people in the world grew their wealth by $1.2 trillion in 2019, a 25% increase over a period of one year. The minority build their wealth on the labor and taxes of the majority, but sure, adjusting the tax code is "stealing".
- DuskStar 7y ago
  If workers are 5x more productive and wages are flat after inflation, why are profits also flat (after inflation and population growth)? This isn't a case of the corporate oligarchs taking a larger share, this is the pie not growing as fast as that 5x productivity improvement would imply.
- sdinsn 7y ago
  > The average worker is 5x more productive Productivity isn't due to workers alone. Most productivity has been gained through technological advances.
  - skitout 7y ago
    Sure, but how do we used to share the increase in productivity ? How do we share it now ? How should we share it ? ; My feeling is workers had been the "loser" those last 30 years in how are shared the productivity gain. Ethically I find it wrong. Economically this did not seemed to offer more growth or positive outcome...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

They're trying to recapture their economic contributions. Companies won't pay more, so they're doing it via other means. When salaries were rising such actions were not popular.

mech1234 7y ago
Salaries are rising now, though. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N/

akhilcacharya 7y ago

Nearly everyone pays a form of wealth taxes in the form of property taxes. I see no reason why it should be different for the Rembrandts and the diamonds (if, of course, they could somehow be assessed at a level that exceeds ~$32 million to $50 million and more).

the2and7 7y ago

not really. From wikipedia: The scenarios in which tyranny perception occurs are very specific, involving a sort of distortion of democracy preconditions: - Centralization: when federation makes a decision that should be local. => NOT THE CASE. - Abandonment of rationality: when a decision "which bases its claim to rule upon numbers, not upon rightness or excellence" Unless you argue taxing is irrational.

skitout 7y ago

My feeling is rich are "stealing" from others, and feel that we are in an oligopoly... :)

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

foolrush 7y ago

You are not a billionaire and will never be one. Calm down.

pb7 7y ago
You don’t need to be a billionaire to think in a rational and unbiased way.

munk-a 7y ago

I really don't think that it becomes stealing until the wealthy are pulled down below the poor - and that isn't anywhere near being on the table, most of the wealth tax options would just shrink the band between the super rich and the rich. It's not clear if this survey laid out a starting point but Warren's proposal is to only tax excess wealth above 50mil and such a tax would almost certainly be graduated (so a 51M person would pay tax on 1M and a 52M would pay tax on 2M (probably double?)) either way the worst that happens is that unearning trustfunders are slowly reduced to 50M in assets over time which is more than enough money for anyone... and I'd hope that as inflation/cost of living rose that level would be adjusted - being a millionaire today is hardly rare with most people who own a house in a metro area easily falling in that range.

uep 7y ago

This is grossly simplified, but I feel like I'm responding in kind. The fundamental nature of a non-co-op business is that the company gets more value per person than it costs to employ that person. Companies have been "stealing" wealth from employees since they've existed.

SkyBelow 7y ago

Do you see existing yearly property and car taxes as theft? In general, where does one draw the line between theft and taxes?

akdetrick 7y ago

The average worker is 5x more productive than they were 30 years ago, but wages have been basically flat. In the last 10 years, the federal minimum wage has not risen, effectively reducing the minimum wage by about $1 due to inflation. The richest 500 people in the world grew their wealth by $1.2 trillion in 2019, a 25% increase over a period of one year. The minority build their wealth on the labor and taxes of the majority, but sure, adjusting the tax code is "stealing".

DuskStar 7y ago
If workers are 5x more productive and wages are flat after inflation, why are profits also flat (after inflation and population growth)? This isn't a case of the corporate oligarchs taking a larger share, this is the pie not growing as fast as that 5x productivity improvement would imply.
sdinsn 7y ago
> The average worker is 5x more productive Productivity isn't due to workers alone. Most productivity has been gained through technological advances.
- skitout 7y ago
  Sure, but how do we used to share the increase in productivity ? How do we share it now ? How should we share it ? ; My feeling is workers had been the "loser" those last 30 years in how are shared the productivity gain. Ethically I find it wrong. Economically this did not seemed to offer more growth or positive outcome...