Why the morbidly rich need to be seriously taxed

[JoeWeber 2,299]

Okay, McRaven was the head of the Seals when Bin Laden was taken out. Good. Eve Longoria was on a housewives show? That's worth $50 Million each for whatever good works they can imagine? And how ever did Bezos's girlfriend get her job? The morbidly rich need to be seriously taxed.

[kallend 1,625]

The folks who write the tax laws constitute the best government money can buy.

[tkhayes 126]

3 hours ago, kallend said:

The folks who write the tax laws constitute the best government money can buy.

yup - try calling your senators.  The best I have gotten in the past 3 years is an answering machine.   I am willing to bet that Bezos (et al) have all the senators phone numbers and I bet they answer when he calls.

[Faicon9493 114]

On 3/15/2024 at 8:22 AM, tkhayes said:

yup - try calling your senators.  The best I have gotten in the past 3 years is an answering machine.   I am willing to bet that Bezos (et al) have all the senators phone numbers and I bet they answer when he calls.

I have emailed Marco Rubio numerous times and all I've ever received is word salad so late in coming that I forgot what questions I asked him.

[JoeWeber 2,299]

9 minutes ago, Faicon9493 said:

I have emailed Marco Rubio numerous times and all I've ever received is word salad so late in coming that I forgot what questions I asked him.

That sucks. Maybe next time tell him that your sister was chased by tattooed Guatemalan rapists. 

[Phil1111 911]

There is an argument that the seriously rich will just move, or move their assets to a lower tax jurisdiction. Thus avoid taxes altogether. That most of their money is owned by corporations controlled by them and not by themselves personally. So they would move their corporations to a low tax jurisdiction.

Sweden, Norway and other similar high tax countries have shown that is not the case. But as long as republicans can sell these arguments to the masses. As long as Rupert Murdoch can peddle those ideas unrestricted the masses will keep these ideas as gospel.

Nothing will change because every 2-3 terms republicans will give the rich massive tax giveaways. BTY the US ranks #27th in income equality, China #28, South Africa #87. The aforementioned Sweden is #2 and Norway #1.

[brenthutch 384]

en·vy

/ˈenvē/

noun

 

1. a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

   "she felt a twinge of envy for the people on board"

    

   Similar:

   jealousy

    

    

    

[SkyDekker 1,123]

5 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

en·vy

/ˈenvē/

 

noun

 

1. a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

   "she felt a twinge of envy for the people on board"

    

   Similar:

   jealousy

    

    

    

What's your point? Or did you just want to let us know you learned a new word today?

 

[brenthutch 384]

8 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

What's your point? Or did you just want to let us know you learned a new word today?

 

“Envy is one of the most potent causes of unhappiness, bringing sorrow to committers of envy, while giving them the urge to inflict pain upon others”

Bertrand Russell

Yet another reason why Lefties are a miserable lot.

[wmw999 2,123]

3 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

Yet another reason why Lefties are a miserable lot.

Interesting. I have plenty, and I don't envy richer people. I'm happy -- and yet I'd bet you'd classify me as a lefty.

I just don't think the world is perfect because I'm OK (that's fuck you I got mine syndrome). I think that inherent advantages of birth and financial circumstance count as unearned, and make for unfair competition. So basing the entire notion of success on financial success, when some people get a running start, is, well, tacky.

Wendy P.

[SkyDekker 1,123]

47 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

“Envy is one of the most potent causes of unhappiness, bringing sorrow to committers of envy, while giving them the urge to inflict pain upon others”

Bertrand Russell

Yet another reason why Lefties are a miserable lot.

And you think everyone wants to be like you or like Elon Musk? What exactly is one envious of when you advocate for some food or healthcare for a fellow man or woman?

[brenthutch 384]

21 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

And you think everyone wants to be like you or like Elon Musk? What exactly is one envious of when you advocate for some food or healthcare for a fellow man or woman?

In all of the previous posts, not one mention of food or healthcare only taking from those who have.

[jakee 1,255]

3 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

In all of the previous posts, not one mention of food or healthcare only taking from those who have.

There’s a general assumption that normal people understand what taxes are for.

Edited April 5 by jakee

[SkyDekker 1,123]

35 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

In all of the previous posts, not one mention of food or healthcare only taking from those who have.

I thought maybe the concept of taxation would have been covered in your MBA. 

[brenthutch 384]

11 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

I thought maybe the concept of taxation would have been covered in your MBA. 

We just learned about avoiding them as much as possible 

[SkyDekker 1,123]

3 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

We just learned about avoiding them as much as possible 

Because you were envious of the super rich who can avoid taxes?

 

 

Edited April 5 by SkyDekker

[brenthutch 384]

13 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Because you were envious of the super rich who can avoid taxes?

 

 

Because anyone who pays more than they are required is an idiot 

[jakee 1,255]

17 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

Because anyone who pays more than they are required is an idiot 

Or maybe they just care about providing healthcare and helping the poor, like you... do? Don't? I don;t know anymore. Do we have to open the box and collapse the waveform to find out which position you're taking in any given 30 second block right now?

[SkyDekker 1,123]

16 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

Because anyone who pays more than they are required is an idiot 

Sure, pretty much nobody is going to pay extra from the goodness of their heart. Hence, asking for a proper taxation structure that allows for a vibrant and healthy society is not really envy.

 

Do you really think Jeff Bezos would not have built Amazon if he had ended up with only $150 billion?

[jakee 1,255]

1 hour ago, SkyDekker said:

Do you really think Jeff Bezos would not have built Amazon if he had ended up with only $150 billion?

You are talking to the man who once advised against raising tax rates on the ultra rich because they might not be able to afford to eat out at nice restaurants anymore.

So really, asking Jeff Bezos to settle for maybe having to choose between going to the moon and building a yacht so big it needs bridges to be demolished really is going too far. What are we, Marxists?

[JoeWeber 2,299]

3 hours ago, brenthutch said:

We just learned about avoiding them as much as possible 

You had the BEST professors. Actually, I don't believe that was course material. Now, it may be what Mrs. Hutchings young son took away: gaming the system for personal advantage and to holy hell with everyone else. That, I'll buy.

[brenthutch 384]

6 hours ago, SkyDekker said:

Sure, pretty much nobody is going to pay extra from the goodness of their heart. Hence, asking for a proper taxation structure that allows for a vibrant and healthy society is not really envy.

 

Do you really think Jeff Bezos would not have built Amazon if he had ended up with only $150 billion?

Do you think Bezos would have built Amazon if he ended up with $1.5 million? 

[JoeWeber 2,299]

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

Do you think Bezos would have built Amazon if he ended up with $1.5 million? 

Who knows? But if it wasn’t what he was hoping for I think the off ramp would have been a fair bit north of that number. Frankly, until you can show even that level of profit from a business you started you ought not to be making judgments.

[brenthutch 384]

FWIW

ProPublica's report showed that between 2014 and 2018, Bezos paid $972 million in total taxes. 

Edited April 6 by brenthutch

[jakee 1,255]

50 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

FWIW

ProPublica's report showed that between 2014 and 2018, Bezos paid $972 million in total taxes. 

So what’s that, a 10% tax rate or even less? Yeah, he couldn’t possibly be expected to contribute more, there wouldn’t even be any point left in being rich. What are we, Marxists? 
 

It’s also probably fairly similar to what he spent on a toy boat, once you factor in a few years of support costs and bridge rebuilding. If we want just a smidge of context.