First of all, we are not as concerned with their wealth. they will have some of it invested here generating more wealth but this is the true area where theft needs to be avoided. If they've already earned it fair and square, we shouldnt take just take it.
New income is an area to look at and raising a rate on just the highest .01% of earners is reasonable. 70% seems much. This isnt theft. It can be justified in one way by considering all economic output as a derived and composite consumption. In a snapshot, only so much to go around, so those grabbing 10-20% of it need to pay accordingly for costs that facilitated that pie slice. Idk what that would be, but my hunch is that it's more than the capital gains or income tax the higher it goes. Negative externalities of business need to be paid for by those winning the windfall, rather than becoming distributed cost elsewhere shouldered by others.
If you think about it, there shouldn't be windfall profits except for in high high stakes risk taking. It's a sign that something is broken or someone is cheating. So, Laws should be enforced. Tax dodgers should be pursued. Competition and other free market concepts need to be emphasized. Anti trust, particularly for these mega tech giants needs to be enforced. Competition should be tight enough that profits are in check for the less risky endeavors.
This is all I have right now. going to bed.
Taxes are not meant to be a punishment, but when you look at the rhetoric from people like Cortez whos only experience in the real working world has been a waitress, it's not hard to understand why they would have such a simplistic view.
She claims to not be a Communist, not a Socialist but a Democratic socialist. She makes it clear she is all for the little guy and that the rich are getting more than their fair share. Her solution? take 70 % of the wealth government determines to be excess .... and give it back to the government to redistribute to someone else.
Her sentiments towards the rich are coming from a place where she looks at them as being immoral...They had that same type of thinking in Cambodia. It was all about right and wrong, the haves vs the halve nots and immorality of the rich.... we can all see now that was bullshit, right? because the solution of the righteous- 'for the people' crowd in Cambodia morphed itself into something else more hideous.
Obviously you cant compare the Democrats to the fascists who killed millions in Cambodia. But they seem to have the same mental disorder when it comes to where it all starts.
Again, taxes IMHO are not meant to be a punishment, but in a Communist or socialist system, or when you just let your government tell you how much you are allowed to make before you become immoral, thats what it becomes.
Do you think Cortez is factoring in charitable acts by these billionaires she sees as immoral? You know that much of that would all end if she had her way. Figure this. When the government goes to do something "charitable" It happens extremely ineficiently...and the money has to pass through different hands and most of the time only a small portion goes where it was intended because with them so many criteria have to be met.
Look at the richest 400 billionaires in the US and you can see they have donated tens, and hundreds of million and even donated billions of dollars towards charity.
Not to mention, wealthy people like this buy houses, cars, boats , planes,... they hire people to maintain their residences, and vehicles., their money gets spread right back into the economy supporting secondary industries... they in reality are a healthy thing for the economy.
Now you take someone from Washington who doesn't live in the real world, or someone like Cortez straight out of college and what do you think they see? all they can see is Billionaires make all this money that they wish they had their hands on. Because in their minds they THINK they know what can be better done with it.
Well how did that all work out with the billions sent to Haiti that just up and disappeared?
The problem with government people is they don't really need to be accountable for all that money because they didn't earn it