Matthew Cobb
Robert ReichBy the way, a tax of up to 5% on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise $1.7 trillion/year.
That would be enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty and fund a global plan to end hunger.
We can't afford NOT to tax the rich.
Lingua Franca@rbreich That amount of money could save millions of lives, for the price of annoying a few.
Rickd6@rbreich and all they would lose is a few shiny trinkets.
Mister Wanko@rbreich the only way they'd comply is to imprison some of them.
BeardlyDavid 
I agree, if by “imprison” you mean “yeet into the sun”
@BeardlyDavid @rbreich I edited my original reply heavily but I assure you, dropping them into the Hudson Canyon is a preferred ending personally.
Knut Branson
cjmReally recommend the little book by @scottsantens called Let There Be Money
Angela_@rbreich It is certainly a great idea to tax the rich in order to help those who are less fortunate. I think it could really make a huge difference and provide much needed relief for many people around the world.
@@rbreich I really, really don't understand how fearful and greedy the ultra rich are. Seriously, if I could do that and make like so much better for others? Why is it even a question?
athe52@rbreich but (e.g.) they'd only have 9.5 billion and not 10 billion and cause capitalism we can't have that!
Jokes aside, tax the rich.
Mike GaruccioI mean, sure? But that’s a single-digit increase in global tax revenue, and less in global gov spending. Assuming the idea here is those billionaires give money to the governments of the world, why would slightly more cash on hand meaningfully change their goals and priorities? Wouldn’t the more likely outcome be more tanks and fossil fuel subsidies?
teledyn 𓂀Bucky Fuller's Worldgame Institute (now GENI) found that a mere 3% tax on the PROFITS of the world's Insurance industry would give adequate shelter, security, water, nutrition, healthcare, education and leisure facilities TO EVERY HUMAN ON THE PLANET.
Three percent. On the profits. No one would miss it. It would take a quarter of the world's combined military budgets to do the same.
30 years later, still no one talks about this.
Richservo 
@rbreich except none of it would towards helping anyone in need.
Stygian Lizard@rbreich "But what if I become a billionaire one day? How will I afford my own Supreme Court justice if I get 5% of that taxed?"
-Republican chum everywhere, probably
-Republican chum everywhere, probably
Sasyecat@rbreich but then how will Elon Musk offer a horse in exchange for a happy ending to every woman he gets alone? #TaxTheRich
Herefordrob@rbreich I agree but the financial system is global whilst tax is a national entity. No thing can be taken in isolation. The two have combined, the monetary sytem having evolved & combined with politics whilst politics has remained static in its methodology.
#Patriarchy & #capitalism r inseparable, they restrict development of #Education #Equality #Equity #Justice true #Peace therefore evolution of humanity & its aim of #Unity. #WeThePeoples need #patriarchalcapitalism to end.
#Patriarchy & #capitalism r inseparable, they restrict development of #Education #Equality #Equity #Justice true #Peace therefore evolution of humanity & its aim of #Unity. #WeThePeoples need #patriarchalcapitalism to end.
JoshTaj@rbreich beyond the 40% they already pay? Why not just steal all of their money, we could give everyone millions of dollars. You want a govt once run by Donald Trump to have MORE money?
Ben Evans
MemphisDaPlaya 🎲🎲@rbreich
Why not go for 60%? Eisenhower taxed them higher than that to finance the interstate highway system and other infrastructure projects that benefited *everybody*. Reagan's failed trickle down policy is the biggest scam ever.
Why not go for 60%? Eisenhower taxed them higher than that to finance the interstate highway system and other infrastructure projects that benefited *everybody*. Reagan's failed trickle down policy is the biggest scam ever.
TheFatCyclist@rbreich sadly "the rich" don't agree with "bubble up economics".....
"It's all ours and you can see us being wonderfully aspirational on FB or Twitter or tiktok etc. Etc."
Sad really
@rbreich that would be truly great, and I know this is more of a philosophical thought than something that could be done, but is there a break down of who these people are somewhere, so we could see how feasible it really would be if by chance some governments agreed to do this?
Jim 
@rbreich Numbers like that are just absurd and hard to grasp
Steffen Christensen@rbreich You know that 5% per year is losing half your assets from taxation in 13.5 years, yeah?
You'll have better luck with a 1% rate; that'd erode half the value over 69 years.
Paul L. Arvidson@rbreich 100pc this. I think they know how close to the tipping point we are too, since some of them are asking to be taxed.
ex or current IDF unwelcome@rbreich Are there enough tax havens for them to escape to because rather than share an extra penny they'll run
I propose a wealth tax of 1% on everything.
Then for every additional million dollars of wealth, you add 0.01% to the rate.
Then you eliminate every other tax.
Piatun@rbreich But it could have various negative outputs for the markets. Also as the saying goes...
"IF YOU DISTRIBUTE MONEY EQUALLY AMONG EVERYONE, AFTER A WHILE, ALL WILL BE GETTING BACK IN THE SAME HANDS."
There needs to be a much more profound approach to this but the thought is well appreciated 👏.
@rbreich Don’t be confusing people with facts, especially Republicans. But thanks for this info.
🍸Pooka🥕Boo🍸@rbreich Agree with taxing the wealthy, but we also need a country forfeiture penalty. This is where they think they will move to some other tax-free location in the world to avoid taxes. I say they automatically lose their citizenship as well as pay a penalty.
Karl k@rbreich Billionaires are not the solution to poverty, they are the cause of it. If taxing them could end so much poverty, then the natural conclusion is that poverty only exists due to wealth hoarding. We all know this, yet we continue to allow it to happen.
I say we make it 50%
“Oh no I won’t be able to buy the worlds biggest yacht anymore” isn’t a compelling argument against that.
Or even the lower “Oh no I won’t be able to buy a new Porsche every year” boohoo
CallMeEOnly@rbreich Now, get everyone to agree on what is, "rich".
OGJester has moved@rbreich taxing 100% of all personal wealth that exceeds one billion dollars would erase a third of the nation’s debt - ten trillion dollars - overnight... and all those billionaires would still be billionaires.
No one person should have more than a billion dollars.
@JohnLoader6 @rbreich the thing is, they can’t take their land/property with them. They can’t escape expatriation taxes (which are huge when you have that much money). They can’t liquidate stocks or bonds without paying taxes on them. We could solve a lot of societal problems if we got past the myth that we can’t tax these people.
@JohnLoader6 @rbreich I guess if we elect people who allow that to happen, then we kind of deserve it.
Dave Volek@rbreich
"Fund a global plan to end hunger" is great. But it seems we need a different system of governance to accomplish that.
Cheri@rbreich Unfortunately that will never happen because the rich control the laws
Pip@rbreich they'll just hide their wealth in offshore accounts etc.
𝓓 𝓑 𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓻@rbreich You have to wonder what those billionaires actually do with all that money.
Do they take it out of the country where they made the money so they don’t have to pay tax on it and squirrel it away in an off-shore tax haven where it earns enough interest to to pay off a small nation’s debt?
Do they then put the interest ‘earned’ into a different off-shore tax haven so they don’t have to pay any tax on it? And so on ad infinitum… 👀
Do they take it out of the country where they made the money so they don’t have to pay tax on it and squirrel it away in an off-shore tax haven where it earns enough interest to to pay off a small nation’s debt?
Do they then put the interest ‘earned’ into a different off-shore tax haven so they don’t have to pay any tax on it? And so on ad infinitum… 👀
ecsdScrew "5%". All that EXCESS wealth is NOT EARNED except via garbage laws.
Try AT LEAST 50%. Are the taxed then "suffering" in any sense? No? Then maybe more than 50%. They are, after all, supposed be be laws that WE THE PEOPLE passed.
Old Hippie Ⓥ@rbreich The amazing thing is that the really rich people would hardly notice a 5% additional tax. #TaxTheRich #SocialJustice
Indy Richard 🏴@rbreich Here is thing to realise about those with vast wealth. They can be taxed this 5% yet they would not notice any difference in their standard of living. They won't suddenly be forced to use food banks or have to turn heating off or sell their helicopters or flash cars.
Their wealth would benefit billions of people yet nobody loses.
I don't understand why anyone would appose more tax for those who can easily afford it.
#Wealthinequality
#Socialism
Their wealth would benefit billions of people yet nobody loses.
I don't understand why anyone would appose more tax for those who can easily afford it.
#Wealthinequality
#Socialism