Excerpt: America’s top 1% enjoy a fifth of the economy’s income and pay nearly a third of its federal taxes. Many politicians think they should cough up much more. Zohran Mamdani, New York’s mayor, wants a new 2% city levy on incomes over $1m. Virginia, Rhode Island and Washington state are weighing up similar measures; Californians are likely this year to vote on a “one time” 5% levy on billionaires’ wealth. In Europe, too, there is a similar clamour to target the wealthy. France has seen a popular campaign for a wealth tax. And with Sir Keir Starmer weakened or doomed as prime minister, the left wing of Britain’s Labour Party may implement one of its own. The “Robin Hood” state, which takes from the rich to give to the poor, has obvious appeal. Governments across the developed world are strapped for cash. Budgets are burdened by legacy debts, ageing populations and the need to spend more on defence. But few politicians will countenance raising broad-based taxes at a time when voters, scarred by the high inflation of the early 2020s, are worried about affordability. Booming stockmarkets, meanwhile, have reinforced the idea that inequality is too high. And it always sounds good to say someone else will foot the bill.
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Fuck the economist
Wealth caps, now! Nobody should be worth over 1 million
You clearly don’t understand what it costs to fund even a modest retirement.
Cap wealth at a level that, if annuitized, will generate a revenue stream that’s a small multiple of median earnings. And make inheritance tax steeply progressive. That’ll prevent people from hoarding money to the point at which they can distort the political process, and will also reduce unearned wealth that comes to people because of who their parents happened to be.
I fully understand what a retirement cost NOW in the current system.
I’m basically saying “keep the system, cap wealth at 1 million” and with that, governments will have so much income that anyone can retire normally and have a normal pension.
You talking about retiring being expensive completely misses the point where it shouldn’t have any cost to begin with. Nobody should have to save up for retiring as a government can so that for everyone hands down if not all the wealth was locked away with a few extremely rich.
If nobody could own more than a million worth, and the rest going to taxes 100%, governments would have more than enough to feed, clothe house, etc. anyone in retirement
Useful idiot consumerist detected.
You’re part of the problem.