Progressive Politics

At this point? Literally just killing the mother fuckers (through the legal use of state punishment of course).

I really don't want my childrens children having to deal with this as we try to debate more liberal based policies that will inevitably be chipped away at again in the future. We can't leave the class structures in place that got us to this point again. If we do, we are absolutely failing future generations.

People talk about FDR like we need a "new new deal". Nah. Fuck that. We need a "burn it the fuck down and put the pedophile capitalist in a prison cell Deal"

The policies we need don't really have to do with taxation at all. And really what we need is beyond just policy changes too.

I suppose the main difference is philosophical, if it’s logical or fair to tax someone on unrealised gains. It problematic to me for a number of reasons. Mechanically, how and when do you assess that, and how can it be done fairly? Much more importantly though, is the political achievability, and I think you lose too many people off the bandwagon if you go down that route.

The same goal could be realised both more deterministically and in a way more palatable to the electorate by closing the loopholes you mention, thus forcing the realising of a gain (and a taxable event) as the only means of using one’s assets. In this way you don’t create a divisive wealth tax, rather you ensure that the existing taxes on capital are actually applied. This can be augmented by moving from a flat capital gains tax rate and instead taxing it progressively as income, another deterministic and more objectively fair approach.

I believe we could also implement a significantly higher inheritance tax rate, as it’s much easier to build consensus around punitive tax rates for wealth not personally generated. There are many people that will fight taxation of entrepreneurs, claiming they’ve earned their wealth. However, it’s much harder to argue that some rich guy’s descendants who did nothing more then be born deserve huge sums of money to do fuck all.

If you do both of those, you ensure that the very wealthy pay their fucking taxes, and that huge intergenerational wealth transfers instead become huge taxable events.

Land value taxes. Other forms of wealth can be moved. There are too many different countries to move to and take wealth with you and hide it. Land can’t be moved.

Land value taxes also put a heavy cost on the most egregious forms of economic rent-seeking: collecting rent on people’s shelter. Collecting such heavy rent on mom & pop restaurants that they keep going out of business in a never-ending cycle of turnover. Destroying all kinds of small stores and cafes and restaurants which would otherwise build character in a community.

If you tax income then the ultra wealthy can find some financial construction to ensure that they have zero income. Of course, this is also true for wealth (see: the Gates Foundation), so maybe there is no good solution. 😅