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I'm glad someone here is thinking about the lives of the billionaires.

sdf131 5y ago
This isn’t about the billionaires. What is an immense amount of money for individuals (100 billions) really isn’t that significant for a Western government like the United States. Seizing Bezos/Gates wealth would have very little impact on the overall health of the country, the government is working with trillions already
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > Seizing Bezos/Gates wealth would have very little impact on the overall health of the country Why on earth would one build the next Tesla or SpaceX or Amazon here if this is the attitude the people will take?
  - AlexandrB 5y ago
    At some point during the 20th century financial success became the primary mechanism of measuring achievement. This isn't necessarily the natural state of things - see counterexamples like Jonas Salk or Grigori Perelman. So my question to you would be: why do we only count innovation that results in someone getting fabulously rich as valuable? Why are we worried about losing the next Tesla or SpaceX to taxation instead of worrying about losing the next Hawking to a fatally flawed healthcare and education system?
robswc 5y ago
Why is this fallacy used EVERY single time someone points out the absurdity of liquidating every billionaire. I would make the same claim. I'm not rich. I just don't want people with "good intentions" creating "bad consequences" because they don't understand fundamentals.
- pydry 5y ago
  The bad economic consequences you vaguely alluded to would presumably apply to the 1950s when the US and its middle classes grew the fastest and top rates of tax were ~98%.
  - robswc 5y ago
    No. But I'm glad you seem to be familiar with this. So its funny you left out the countless proposed, failed and later repealed attempts at wealth taxes in Europe. If you want a very simple example, just look at how Sweden killed their markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_... Countless business lost, lives damaged and millions lost, just because someone wanted to introduce a "tax" with "good intentions" without thinking.
    - pydry 5y ago
      >So its funny you left out the countless proposed, failed and later repealed attempts at wealth taxes in Europe. I do remember when news media outlets owned by the very wealthy claimed the French wealth tax failed because Gerard Depardieu left. >If you want a very simple example, just look at how Sweden killed their markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_... A simple example of what? This was not a wealth tax it was a transaction tax on securities.
      - robswc 5y ago
        >I do remember when news media outlets owned by the very wealthy claimed the French wealth tax failed because Gerard Depardieu left. Why are you listening to news media outlets? You just have to look at the reality of the situation. Wealth taxes failed. They had consequences that outweighed the benefits. >A simple example of what? A "simple" tax that had popular support and planning but failed miserably. If you want an example of a wealth tax that didn't work, just throw a dart at Europe and google when it was repealed in that country. >This was not a wealth tax it was a transaction tax on securities. Sure. Its comically the same exact tax (down to the %) that Bernie Sanders (a serious politician) is proposing though... but I suppose we're getting a bit off topic with that one.

This isn’t about the billionaires. What is an immense amount of money for individuals (100 billions) really isn’t that significant for a Western government like the United States. Seizing Bezos/Gates wealth would have very little impact on the overall health of the country, the government is working with trillions already

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> Seizing Bezos/Gates wealth would have very little impact on the overall health of the country Why on earth would one build the next Tesla or SpaceX or Amazon here if this is the attitude the people will take?
- AlexandrB 5y ago
  At some point during the 20th century financial success became the primary mechanism of measuring achievement. This isn't necessarily the natural state of things - see counterexamples like Jonas Salk or Grigori Perelman. So my question to you would be: why do we only count innovation that results in someone getting fabulously rich as valuable? Why are we worried about losing the next Tesla or SpaceX to taxation instead of worrying about losing the next Hawking to a fatally flawed healthcare and education system?

robswc 5y ago

Why is this fallacy used EVERY single time someone points out the absurdity of liquidating every billionaire. I would make the same claim. I'm not rich. I just don't want people with "good intentions" creating "bad consequences" because they don't understand fundamentals.

pydry 5y ago
The bad economic consequences you vaguely alluded to would presumably apply to the 1950s when the US and its middle classes grew the fastest and top rates of tax were ~98%.
- robswc 5y ago
  No. But I'm glad you seem to be familiar with this. So its funny you left out the countless proposed, failed and later repealed attempts at wealth taxes in Europe. If you want a very simple example, just look at how Sweden killed their markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_... Countless business lost, lives damaged and millions lost, just because someone wanted to introduce a "tax" with "good intentions" without thinking.
  - pydry 5y ago
    >So its funny you left out the countless proposed, failed and later repealed attempts at wealth taxes in Europe. I do remember when news media outlets owned by the very wealthy claimed the French wealth tax failed because Gerard Depardieu left. >If you want a very simple example, just look at how Sweden killed their markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_financial_transaction_... A simple example of what? This was not a wealth tax it was a transaction tax on securities.
    - robswc 5y ago
      >I do remember when news media outlets owned by the very wealthy claimed the French wealth tax failed because Gerard Depardieu left. Why are you listening to news media outlets? You just have to look at the reality of the situation. Wealth taxes failed. They had consequences that outweighed the benefits. >A simple example of what? A "simple" tax that had popular support and planning but failed miserably. If you want an example of a wealth tax that didn't work, just throw a dart at Europe and google when it was repealed in that country. >This was not a wealth tax it was a transaction tax on securities. Sure. Its comically the same exact tax (down to the %) that Bernie Sanders (a serious politician) is proposing though... but I suppose we're getting a bit off topic with that one.