Do you support a 1% Federal Wealth Tax to pay down the $39T National Debt? (Poll)

[M14 Shooter]

Depends how its set up.
A financial transaction tax could work just as well.
Unrealized gains is income if you need to pay tax on it.

Amendment XVI:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

A financial transaction tax is an excise on transactions, and does not tax wealth.
Unrealized gains aren't income.

So... No.

 

[kyzr]

Any law that congress passes can be removed by a future congress. To work, that needs a Constitutional Amendment that the politician won't pass.

Ideally yes, but Amendments are hard to do.
There is a Convention of States in the works, but they are working on the easy stuff.

Convention of States Action

Article V offers the only constitutional solution as big as the problem. Together, we can end federal overreach.

conventionofstates.com

Our legislation calls for a Convention of States “limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress."

 

[BackAgain]

Actual fairness? Perish the thought.

While it is true that “progressive” income taxation schemes tax the less affluent at a lower rate than it taxes wealthier folks, evidently on the theory that it is fairer to the less affluent*, it is also true that a flat tax does take more money from the wealthier.

That’s why I say that ts fairer to reject any “wealth tax.” Unless we amend the Constitution, it’s also not an available option to tax anything but income.

—————
* compared to a flat tax. That is: 10% of a taxpayer’s $250,000.oo is more money than 10% of some guy making $60,000.oo, but the higher earning taxpayer can afford $25k better than the lower taxpayer can afford $6k.

 

[kyzr]

Amendment XVI:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

A financial transaction tax is an excise on transactions, and does not tax wealth.
Unrealized gains aren't income. So... No.

Supreme Court Rulings​

The Supreme Court has indicated that taxes on investments, including unrealized gains, can be constitutional. In the case of Moore v. U.S., the Court ruled that Congress has broad power to impose taxes, including on income that has not been realized through the sale of assets. This decision suggests that a wealth tax could be permissible under current interpretations of the Constitution.

Arguments For and Against​

• For: Proponents argue that a wealth tax can address income inequality and raise necessary revenue. They believe that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to enact such taxes without strict apportionment requirements.
• Against: Opponents claim that a wealth tax violates the Constitution's apportionment rule and could lead to significant legal challenges. They also raise concerns about valuation and liquidity issues for taxpayers.

 

[Mashmont]

Another way to start paying down the debt is to stop sending $Billions in aid to foreign beggars and another way is to stop starting wars. All that money could be used to fix America's infrastructure and to pay down the debt. But just try to convince rich pedo lovers of that. It's next to impossible.

So wat do you do with the $39T debt and $1.2T annual interest payment? when the dollar collapses you'll see who is asinine.

Here's an idea. Cut spending. But the left opposes it every time. We saw how they reacted when DOGE went to work. Lawsuit after lawsuit.

 

[SaxonJackson]

Here's an idea. Cut spending. But the left opposes it every time. We saw how they reacted when DOGE went to work. Lawsuit after lawsuit.

Trump dissolved DOGE. And Trump signed a $2.25 Trillion spending bill last year (drawn up by a Republican Congress). If the same bill had been passed by Biden you'd be crying about how obscene it was that the Democrats are wasting money. You cultists are such hypocrites.

 

[Mashmont]

Trump dissolved DOGE. And Trump signed a $2.25 Trillion spending bill last year (drawn up by a Republican Congress). If the same bill had been passed by Biden you'd be crying about how obscene it was that the Democrats are wasting money. You cultists are such hypocrites.

Biden added $8.4 trillion to the debt in four years, and you're complaining about an estimate of Trump adding a quarter of that over TEN years? Leftwingers need math remediation classes.

And this didn't figure in the massive tariff revenue. $289 billion last year. A lot more to come.

 

[kyzr]

Here's an idea. Cut spending. But the left opposes it every time. We saw how they reacted when DOGE went to work. Lawsuit after lawsuit.

Easier said than done. Even if you cut $50b USAID, Dept of ED, all foreign aid, all corporate subsidies, its nothing.
Entitlements are the 3rd rail. So what do you cut? The social safety net? Welfare, Medicaid, SNAP?

https://www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table/2026

 

[leftwinger]

You cant cut money you already spent. I have a thread around here pointing out how the Boomer Generation raked us over the coals but whoever you blame.... its spent AND we are spending way more than we are collecting. We need to do both:

• Stop spending on wars
• Cut military budget in half
• Means test SS and Medicare
• Raise taxes on those who have money to pay it (wealthy and corps)
• Nationalize Healthcare
• Eliminate al tax deductions and just go to straight percentages withheld up front based on prior year

Military cost $1T to sit and drink coffee or $1T to go kill bad guys.

Weapons, Bombs & equipment probably have shelf life and training costs. If you use them up, you replace them. If they expire you also have to replace them with newer better.

 

[leftwinger]

You cant cut money you already spent. I have a thread around here pointing out how the Boomer Generation raked us over the coals but whoever you blame.... its spent AND we are spending way more than we are collecting. We need to do both:

• Stop spending on wars
• Cut military budget in half
• Means test SS and Medicare
• Raise taxes on those who have money to pay it (wealthy and corps)
• Nationalize Healthcare
• Eliminate al tax deductions and just go to straight percentages withheld up front based on prior year

Everything but fix the fraud, theft, lost and wasted you dumb OX.

 

[SaxonJackson]

Biden added $8.4 trillion to the debt in four years, and you're complaining about an estimate of Trump adding a quarter of that over TEN years? Leftwingers need math remediation classes.

At the rate he's going ... Trump should be able to top that no probleemo! But let's be clear ... the Swamp continues to add to the national debt. They all belong to the same club.

A $Million is added to the national debt approximately every 17 seconds. Biden is not the current President!!

Debt Clock:

https://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

[kyzr]

Trump dissolved DOGE. And Trump signed a $2.25 Trillion spending bill last year (drawn up by a Republican Congress). If the same bill had been passed by Biden you'd be crying about how obscene it was that the Democrats are wasting money. You cultists are such hypocrites.

The CBO scored the BBB as having a $2.4T deficit over 10-years.

H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Dynamic Estimate)

As passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025

www.cbo.gov

The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) previously reported that H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, would increase the primary deficit by $2.4 trillion over the 2025-2034 period

If congress passes the $213b DOGE savings, and if tariff income of $250b a year is realized, and if the GDP exceeds the 1.8% the CBO assumed, and if the Fed lowers interest rates, the deficit would be lower if not a small surplus.

 

[citygator]

Everyone should have skin in the taxation game. Rich, middle class, poor, I don't give a damn. Get $800.00 in welfare benefits, pay eighty dollars in income tax. Get $100,000.00 in wages, pay $10,000.00 in taxes, make $10,000,000.00 pay $1,000,000.00 in taxes. WITH a constitutional amendment forbidding congress from raising taxes above that ten percent mark except in a declared war and mandating a balanced budget. NO MORE DEFIT SPENDING except in a declared war.

Your plan is shit. Why would you want to tax a grandma living in abject in poverty? Plus 10% would raise a little less than two-thirds of today's $5T in taxes AND you are spending $7T. You need to spend $6T and raise $6T in my opinion and not off poor people.

 

[leftwinger]

No thoughts on a FED consumption tax on all? Oh that's right. The poor can't pay 5% more on their 40s' and pork rinds.

Consumption tax on only the wealthy? Too hard?

A FED property tax on luxury or 2nd homes or luxury items?

 

[Mashmont]

Easier said than done. Even if you cut $50b USAID, Dept of ED, all foreign aid, all corporate subsidies, its nothing.
Entitlements are the 3rd rail. So what do you cut? The social safety net? Welfare, Medicaid, SNAP?

https://www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table/2026

Yes. Cut the hell out of welfare, Medicaid, and snap.

Stop insuring morbidly obese people until they lose weight.
Stop paying for soft drinks and Little Debbies with SNAP.
Stop insuring smokers.
Stop insuring drug users.
Stop paying for abortion and birth control.
Stop paying for trans garbage.
Stop paying for birth control.
Stop insuring alcohol abusers.
Turn welfare over to private enterprises based on the model of Samaritan Ministries health co-op.

 

[EdwinAMartin]

Actually, 300 billion a year would put a pretty good dent in the deficit. But that is a two percent wealth tax on net worth above 50 million with an additional one percent surcharge on net worth over a billion.

And come on, even at the three percent level for billionaires, there is no way anyone can convince me that would somehow be a burden on those billionaires, that it would force them to sell assets.

They don't have billions in cash laying around, so you're not going to get '$300 billion'. Being worth $q58 billion like Musk in no way means you have billions in cash lying around, and it's certainly not liquid. If he were to dump it on the markets it would drop in value like a rock.
'.

 

[leftwinger]

The CBO scored the BBB as having a $2.4T deficit over 10-years.

H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Dynamic Estimate)

As passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025

www.cbo.gov

The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) previously reported that H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, would increase the primary deficit by $2.4 trillion over the 2025-2034 period

Easily covered if Interest rates were Obiden levels (zero) and growth in GDP revenue + Tariffs collected under Trump.

 

[BlindBoo]

Balanced Budget Amendment with a plan to decrease the debt by an increase in the inheritance tax.

 

[kyzr]

At the rate he's going ... Trump should be able to top that no probleemo! But let's be clear ... the Swamp continues to add to the national debt. They all belong to the same club.
A $Million is added to the national debt approximately every 17 seconds. Biden is not the current President!!
Debt Clock:

We're still under Biden's budget. Trump's appropriations bills are just being passed.
The DHS budget is causing a fight/shutdown.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Your plan is shit. Why would you want to tax a grandma living in abject in poverty? Plus 10% would raise a little less than two-thirds of today's $5T in taxes AND you are spending $7T. You need to spend $6T and raise $6T in my opinion and not off poor people.

If everybody paid taxes, there would be far fewer idiots like you advocating for ever larger amounts of "free" stuff paid for by taxpayers.