First we need to get the ‘ Right ( meaning ‘ Left’ ) people in government. What needs be done is for the public to finally, in mass, understand that the Super Rich do damage to us all with their obscene wealth and influence. Obviously, the best recourse is to legislate laws to help lower the standard this phony ‘ Free Market’ created. My plan is both fair and necessary to save our economy from those predators who suck away our very breath. Ridiculous how struggling families can live a few miles away from some Fat Cat. No, let’s do my 50% Flat Surtax ( With Zero Deductions) that sends 50% of someone’s yearly income of over $ 2 million right to our treasury. I am sure all those hedge fund billionaires , corporate mega millionaires , the entire professional sports industry ( players, coaches, owners and sports media celebrities) and of course Wall Street and Hollywood can survive on millions of dollars TAX FREE. Think of how much money for our terribly insufficient ‘ Safety Net’ this revenue would support? Perhaps ‘ Medicare/Medicaid For All ( with dental included) to help to stop the bleeding so many poor and working stiffs have been struggling with forever.
If we find that our fraction of 1% of our fellow Americans start to really get pissed at losing those extra mega millions ( Some people are just never satisfied) then let’s take this one step further. When a family member got arrested for a non violent offence, they made he and all the other inmates wear those orange pants and tops. Honestly, it is so humiliating for the arrestee and his or her loved ones when visiting them to experience this. OK, once we get to pull some of the levers of government, I want to see the Super Rich made to wear a badge on their shirt or blouse, whenever in public, that says ‘ Super Rich Being Made to Share’ . If any of them gets annoyed at all of this, then perhaps they need to have their pants pulled down occasionally.
PA Farruggio
May, 2024
Unfortunately, there is an easy out for any super-wealthy person to an income tax. Don’t receive any income. For example, if one has billions, then with some effort it’s possible to arrange life so that they never have any “realized” income. For example, if all of this person’s wealth was in the stock market and annually they saw their portfolio increase 5%, unless some stock is sold–resulting in income in the form of under-taxed capital gains–they would owe no income tax. In fact, they could borrow against their assets for the entirety of their lives and be completely free of any income tax. Thomas Piketty’s (and later Elizabeth Warren’s) prescription for reigning in the power of the super wealthy is a 5% property tax on all of their wealth. In the example about, imposing this kind of property tax would mean that a million-dollar donation to a political cause would be out of the principal–thus reducing their wealth. That last is inherently distasteful to the asset-addicted super-wealthy.
Is there such a thing as a ‘poor’ politician in either Senate or House of Representatives? Corruption on a grand scale…