• StayDoomed@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Bring back tax rates of 90% again for the obscenely rich - it was that way up until the late 1900s. Back when the US actually funded things that benefit most people not just tax breaks for already rich people.

    • 24_at_the_withers@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      You’re talking about income tax rates, and I agree that the top tax rates should be higher, but this won’t fix the problem because billionaires don’t make their money from salaries. Most of their money is theoretical and tied up in ownership of shares of a company.

      They can sell shares or earn dividends to make money, so capital gains should also be taxed at a much higher rate. But billionaires often choose not to sell shares either because they have a better option…

      They take out low interest rates loans using their shares as collateral. The interest rates they are charged are generally going to be far lower than the interest on their stocks that stay invested,. This is where most of their liquidity comes from, because loans aren’t taxed, and in some regard is almost an infinite money glitch for billionaires.

      I think we need to make it illegal to use financial holdings as collateral for loans, at least for starters.

      • SacralPlexus@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I think we need to make it illegal to use financial holdings as collateral for loans, at least for starters.

        And maybe a tax on assets over a set limit. Own more than $10M in assets? Time to start paying back society.

    • Zippy@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      You could tax them at 100% but it wouldn’t fix the problem. There are simply just not enough of them. While wealth inequality is a problem, this alone don’t fix it. It is just a crutch.

      • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        no, increasing taxes on the wealthy, while simultaneously funding the IRS to go after white collar tax cheats, would 100% fix the problem.

        • Zippy@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          And this would somehow cause a significant number of houses to be built? And if people have more money thru distribution of some sort, would they work harder to build more houses? If they don’t, how does this help?

          • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            after perusing your other comments, I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re a disingenuous right wing troll. I don’t care to educate you on something you’ll more than likely ignore.