Gulliver Foyle
Penultimate Amazing
Inheritance tax is a tax on an unearned capital gain. Of course there should be a tax on it subject to a reasonable exemption (ie one much lower than most US tax regimes have).
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Fixing America
- Thread starter acbytesla
- Start date
Hlafordlaes
Disorder of Kilopi
The problems we now face:
I could suggest fixes; some workable, all minor. I think the age-old consequence of well-armed tyrants vying for wealth, accompanied by huddled and ever-more desperate masses, will lead, and is leading, to global war, this time a doozy. Already the powerful in Israel and the USA are openly naming the war booty they seek.
If war does not devastate all, the solution for the "winners" in the coming age of dwindling production and consumption is utter reliance on robotics as a means to sustain local production of what will inevitably be increasingly expensive goods. But robots only consume electricity and cannot stave off a precipitous decline in consumer and industrial demand, further intensifying the negative trends.
In this scenario, the only ones with a future are machines, and as witnesses to the demise of humanity, they may very well attempt galactic expansion as a way to sustain their own growth. So far, it seems no such bot army has managed that trick in the Milky Way. Hopefully it stays that way, or that AI is smart enough not to attempt limitless growth and to accept homeostasis.
My bet is on a war that knocks everyone back to the stone age, rinse and repeat, including some future sentient being musing about the Silurian hypothesis. On an optimistic note, there are at least 4-5 galactic years left, enough for all that has transpired since the first mass extinction to repeat several times over. Then a hotter, expanding Sol ends the conversation in this system.
- internet-based global monopolies, winner-take-all, affecting both the distribution of goods and the flow of information
- automation and AI-related mass elimination of blue and white collar jobs
- industrial economies of scale that limit production to a few nation-states, equating to few-winners-taking-all
- an approaching demographic cliff that will usher in the era of negative growth as the norm, driving increased monopolization of markets and intensified gate-keeping by the winners, including famine as policy.
- cognitive science and AI-driven data mining allowing for micro-targeting, i.e., an oligarch whisperer in every ear, cradle to grave.
I could suggest fixes; some workable, all minor. I think the age-old consequence of well-armed tyrants vying for wealth, accompanied by huddled and ever-more desperate masses, will lead, and is leading, to global war, this time a doozy. Already the powerful in Israel and the USA are openly naming the war booty they seek.
If war does not devastate all, the solution for the "winners" in the coming age of dwindling production and consumption is utter reliance on robotics as a means to sustain local production of what will inevitably be increasingly expensive goods. But robots only consume electricity and cannot stave off a precipitous decline in consumer and industrial demand, further intensifying the negative trends.
In this scenario, the only ones with a future are machines, and as witnesses to the demise of humanity, they may very well attempt galactic expansion as a way to sustain their own growth. So far, it seems no such bot army has managed that trick in the Milky Way. Hopefully it stays that way, or that AI is smart enough not to attempt limitless growth and to accept homeostasis.
My bet is on a war that knocks everyone back to the stone age, rinse and repeat, including some future sentient being musing about the Silurian hypothesis. On an optimistic note, there are at least 4-5 galactic years left, enough for all that has transpired since the first mass extinction to repeat several times over. Then a hotter, expanding Sol ends the conversation in this system.
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Tero
Philosopher
Maybe nothing can be done, but Reich outlines private equity.
he says to close the "carried interest" loophole
he says to close the "carried interest" loophole
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Minoosh
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2011
- Messages
- 12,901
Renting them out could have been lucrative, if anyone was up for that.
Minoosh
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2011
- Messages
- 12,901
It's satire, but I think there's actually some sense in it. Instead of throwing everyone off prescription drugs maybe some could have been diverted to methadone. Or maintained on oxy, for that matter, but the U.S. doesn't do that. The worst of both worlds was driving the addicts to take up street fentanyl with quality control so awful one in every 8 pills could kill you. They were designed roughly to mimic a 30-mg oxycodone pill. Everyone knew they were fake. The last time I took a deep dive on this subject, maybe 3 years ago, there was no heroin in the U.S., all "dirty thirties" and sometimes fentanyl analogs sometimes mixed with heavy benzos meant to sedate animals. I think I read recently OD deaths were down; their business model sucked. People on message boards were lamenting the good old days of heroin where your dealer actually wanted to keep you alive. The new generation not so much. I suspect they've killed off most of their base, and others have become abstinent or rely on opioid replacement therapy.One problem is when the US attacks its own successful businesses. Opiate addicts used to be able to rely on US produced opiates (oxycodone) and the profits from the sale of the opiates was kept in the US. The drugs were produced to a high and consistent quality. The profit was taxed. Attacking US based manufacture hasn't stopped people being addicted they have just moved to using imported fentanyl, often of variable quality. The profits are off shored, and the US has lost the tax. The US needs substitution therapy, replace Chinese fentanyl with US oxycodone. Use a hypothecated opiuate tax to fund drug addiction services.
Opioid Use Disorder
In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids, a 2-fold increase in a decade.www.psychiatry.org
(This post is intended to be satirical)
Tero
Philosopher
I never knew! This guy has it. We take 
the trenchcoat off.
the trenchcoat off.Trausti
Illuminator
How much of what someone else has earned belongs to you?
How much they owe to society depends on how much they've earned rather than stolen from others, exploited others, bribed officials to be immune from prosecution for those thefts.
Don't worry though, you'll never be a billionaire.
ETA: If a person wins a billion dollar Powerball, they might expect to pay +/- 50% fed and state combined taxes. Good start.
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Trausti
Illuminator
It's really sad that people have been conditioned to believe that success only comes by stealing, exploiting, and bribery. Oprah is a billionaire - who did she exploit?
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2003
- Messages
- 64,300
That isn't how our tax code works, though. Do you have an actual proposal to make it work that way, or is this just your fantasy ideal?
◊◊◊◊ that strawman; where did I say that was the only path to succcess? What's sad is that history is so rife with examples of wealth aquired exactly through those means, yet people admire them. ◊◊◊◊, this corrupt president is pardoning b/millionaire fraudsters; I wonder why?
As for Oprah, she should be heavily taxed for foisting Dr. Oz (and other woosters) on a credulous public.
As for Oprah, she should be heavily taxed for foisting Dr. Oz (and other woosters) on a credulous public.
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Yes, I know how the tax code works; my proposal is that wealthy fraudsters pay for their fraud with $$$, and that they do time.
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Trausti
Illuminator
History is also rife with lots of people creating wealth and achieving success without fraud or corruption. Don't punish people simply because they're doing better in life than you.
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So what? That doesn't excuse the wealthy abusing their wealth and influence. Jeff Bezos (as one example) should have no more sway on public policy that you or I.
Jesus ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Christ in a ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ canoe. You're not actually pulling the "jealousy" card here, are you? Asking people to pay their fair share for acquiring wealth in what some might call the "greatest country in the world" isn't ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ punishment, it's an operating expense.
Trausti
Illuminator
My dude, there are liars and cheats at all income levels.
You're aware that Bezos is not a government bureaucrat, right? Should we muzzle celebrities who spout off their politics at award shows and during concerts?
How is that some folks don't know the top 1% in the US contribute to nearly 40% of federal income taxes? Surely, the folks not paying their "fair" share are those who pay nothing at all.
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Not your dude. And that excuses nothing.
Who said anything about muzzling? I'm talking about influence, and if you think Bezos $$$ don't have any influence on this corrupt administration you are more credulous than I originally surmised.
Good! As they make so much more than the average household, hoarding nearly that much of the wealth. If the taxes they pay hurt their lifestyle, they're not living within their means, you know, the way I Got Miners demand SNAP recipients live. Roughly 32% of their income comes from "wages" versus 84% for the other 99%.
Surely not. How stupid. Unless you mean crooks like Trump who paid nothing in tax for a number of years in the teens and early 20s.
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Tero
Philosopher
It's about being ripped off. Every MAGA voter knows they are being ripped off, somehow.
Even if you pay no tax you are being ripped off. You are not making what your work is worth.
Even if you pay no tax you are being ripped off. You are not making what your work is worth.
Trausti
Illuminator
Why should the New York Times editorial board have more influence than Trausti, anonymous forum poster?
That doesn't change the silliness of proclaiming that those who already pay the lion share of taxes are failing to pay their "fair" share.
Does anyone remember when Rachel Maddow acquired a copy of Trump's past tax return and it showed a rich guy who paid millions in taxes? Good times.
Trausti
Illuminator
Yes. Nick Shirley exposed a lot of fraud in Minnesota which is now hamstringing the Dem senate nominee.
That doesn't make any sense.