Manoj Menon
Robert ReichIn the past 40 years, CEO pay has risen by 1,460 percent.
Don’t tell me that we can’t afford a wealth tax.
Nick's world@rbreich What would be the point in working for making wealth if we're just going to be punished for it?
@gocu54 @rbreich the point is the workers wages remained stagnant… the Uber rich use Pubic streets, sidewalks, streetlights, etc paid for by everyday Americans and pay Zero taxes. Then they gouge at every opportunity, cry about paying a livable wage with decent benefits.
We had the most robust economy in the 90’s which had a minimum tax for the wealthy of 10%.
Trickle down doesn’t work except to enrich those already Uber wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
We had the most robust economy in the 90’s which had a minimum tax for the wealthy of 10%.
Trickle down doesn’t work except to enrich those already Uber wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
@Srhoades @rbreich have you actually read the tax code? Do you know about things like alternative minimum tax? do you know about the tax formula over $100000? Do you know how corperations are actually taxed, not just what the media tells you but reading actual tax law? you'd be surprised how much wealthy people do end up paying in taxes. I took a tax class and I learned that being wealthy does have its drawbacks and taxes is definitely one of them.
Eohippa@gocu54 @Srhoades @rbreich
Are you seriously asking Secretary Reich whether he understands the tax code?
Your questions would have more weight if they spelled the villains' titles correctly: corporations, as in corporal, actual bodies.
Your "tax class" teacher sounds as if he or she was on the take.
I'm taking a wild guess that you don't know the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire in any kind or explicable way.
Please, do tell us how hard-done-by the wealthy are. I'll be right here.
So, I'm confused. Your intro says you're a college student interested in tech projects. This makes it tough for me to believe that you don't know how to read and respond to a forum response well enough to know who will see your messages?
My point is, most people can't easily imagine the difference between a million and a billion.
One way is to use time.
How many days is a million seconds?
How many years is a billion seconds?
Seriously, where did you take your "tax class." Who taught it? An accountant? College professor?
Also, here's a hint about who gets a notification when you reply to a post. Because I imagine Secretary Reich is not interested in this line of conversation, I removed his @ddress from this reply. You left it in, so it appeared that you were questioning his understanding of the tax code.
@Eohippa Tech projects? Nah, I'm a business major. Hold, let me check my bio.
@gocu54
Ah, my mistake.
I thought your top post was yours. It was a boost. Sorry.
Okay, if you're a business major, it's even more important to understand the chasm between billionaires and the rest of humanity.
Sure, millions are not the same as they used to be, but they still multiply faster than any boring ol' thousands and hundreds.
@Eohippa Yeah, I can understand that but let me ask you this. Let's just say I may 100 million dollars, will I automatically be hated by the rest of society because I have that kind of cash? Let's just say I secretly help causes without anybody knowing. Does that change my status? What if some people who just happen to be billionaires do end up helping society but being so quiet about it that people think they do nothing? Does that change your views? Point is, having lots of money doesn't automatically make someone evil. It just amplifies a person's choices and I'm not trying to be confrontational but rich people don't owe the world anything.
Though, like you, I have no interest in being confrontational, your last sentence reveals your lack of understanding.
Rich people owe the world everything. No one gains significant wealth w/o the tacit support of others. Whether it's generous inheritance law, unpaid or underpaid labor, destruction of natural resources, leveraged government subsidy, or tax-supported infrastructure, all wealth is built on the backs of others who do not benefit at remotely the same rate.
In fact, there's a word in economics: externalized costs. Industrialization has depended on these costs that rely on the poverty and desperation of others for more than a century. The chickens are coming home to roost.
Only progressive taxes, sustaining wages, and strong environmental regulations can claw back some of what many rich people take for free, you know, steal.
Why would you "secretly help causes"? Not-for-profit tax documents are public.
A bit dated, still relevant:
The Story of Stuff
BigD
chef 😎
Daniel Freysinger@rbreich It is pretty hard to believe CEO's are working 1460 percent more than they were 40 years ago. Also of note, the top tax bracket was 50% in 1983.
@rbreich As Chris Rock noted, we have a minimum wage because they want to pay us less than that.
Toxteth O'Grady@rbreich More to the point, this kind of increase is inflationary, so a wealth tax is necessary to cool this kind of inflation...
PJT North@rbreich They certainly can afford a wealth tax, but they won't.
@rbreich Say it LOUDER!!!
Red Faster@rbreich we need UBI paid by consumption because corpos, churches, and wealth managers will always find a way out. Reconsider Fair Tax
@rbreich
So surely the working class will also profit, right?
What's that? It's not trickling down after all?
Now who'd have thought that capitalists only aim to get richer and don't care about others.
Tax the f*ckin' rich!