Tax increases on the 1% can eliminate the deficit, pay for social programs

[Gheld]

The rich need to realize that all they have is a great big pile of paper that is only worth anything at all because the government puts a gun to my head at their behest and tells me it's worth something.

Those who hoard money are just as bad as communists.

[Daelak]

Fucking traitors can leave the country then.

This always seems to be the conservative counter response (not calling you a Republican, just highlighting your point). What the fuck happened to patriotism?

Republicans want everyone to be patriots except the rich. We have to pamper and swaddle them like babies for fear that they leave.

Call their bluff, it is an empty platitude. If it wasn't for the stability and freedom of the US, including our strong central government, they wouldn't have the wealth they have.

[Fugus]

Fuck no, no reason to punish people for being smart and successful. As flat tax is what we need.

There is a reason why a flat tax is laughed by virtually every economist worth their salt.

[Daelak]

They are totally deserving of that money they worked for that money. They got smart and made it big. Trump is actually pretty intelligent. Certainly more so than a bunch of gamers on a gaming website. They're smart cause they know how to maintain that wealth.

If it wasn't for our stability and our infrastructure (strong central government, regulation, law and order) they wouldn't have any wealth at all.

[Fang7986]

The US could have marked increases in income and corporate, capital and dividends taxes and the rich would have to swallow it. There is nowhere else on Earth where you can get as wealthy and protected as the US.

yes there is, there are entire countries who thrive on being money havens that's why nearly every big corp has offices in countries like Ireland

[Nadiru]

Tax increases on the 1% simply cause the weakest of the 1% to fall out of the 1%. The real fuckers you want to ding are the 0.01% or 0.001%, who can afford to legally protect their money offshore or through loopholes. But those ~4,000 folk or so probably won't ever give up their wealth unless it is forcibly taken from them, and by this I mean pretty much at gunpoint.

[Daelak]

It is punishment the price to live in a free country doesn't mean pay more then your fellow man.

Which is why the wealthy should pay a larger percentage of their wealth in order to keep enriching themselves from this prosperous and free country.

[Kujako]

Call their bluff, it is an empty platitude.

Bill O'Reilly already reneged on his promise to move to Costa Rica if we passed Obamacare.

[tj119]

I put every penny I make back into my businesses in some way, higher taxes just means I'll have to start firing employees for no good reason other than some dipshit wants to freeload off what I make. No skin off my back, raise taxes I'll get my money back one way or another.

[Gheld]

Tax increases on the 1% simply cause the weakest of the 1% to fall out of the 1%. The real fuckers you want to ding are the 0.01% or 0.001%, who can afford to legally protect their money offshore or through loopholes. But those ~4,000 folk or so probably won't ever give up their wealth unless it is forcibly taken from them, and by this I mean pretty much at gunpoint.

I'm sure if some of them started turning up eviscerated and dangling by their neck the ones who remained would suddenly learn the true meaning of Christmas.

[Daelak]

yes there is, there are entire countries who thrive on being money havens that's why nearly every big corp has offices in countries like Ireland

Lol, the wealthy know that they are taking advantage of these free prosperous countries by paying pitiful tax rates. Call their bluff, make them pay into the society that made them wealthy.

[Kujako]

I put every penny I make back into my businesses in some way, higher taxes just means I'll have to start firing employees for no good reason other than some dipshit wants to freeload off what I make. No skin off my back, raise taxes I'll get my money back one way or another.

Either you don't do what you're claiming, or you're bad at taxes and don't know how business expenses work.

[Rennadrel]

Maybe they should look at raiding off shore bank accounts for all that unpaid money owed in taxes, and actually audit tax dodgers and people who owe tax revenue. People need to honestly ask themselves how much money do they really need, and when 1% of the world's population holds 100% of the wealth, there is something really fucked up about that statistic. Federal governments the world over need to start raiding the bank accounts of the rich. Maybe if we could solve the world's debt problems in 10-15 years, we can lower taxes for everyone. The problem is that we keep paying down debt for debt that is already owed, which is stupid. Get the money out of the pockets of the wealthy and get our countries back up and running properly.

[Daelak]

Tax increases on the 1% simply cause the weakest of the 1% to fall out of the 1%. The real fuckers you want to ding are the 0.01% or 0.001%, who can afford to legally protect their money offshore or through loopholes. But those ~4,000 folk or so probably won't ever give up their wealth unless it is forcibly taken from them, and by this I mean pretty much at gunpoint.

Yea and the article goes into that as well. No, they will pay it because there is no country on Earth that protects and enables their wealth to grow even larger than the US.

[Nadiru]

I'm sure if some of them started turning up eviscerated and dangling by their neck the ones who remained would suddenly learn the true meaning of Christmas.

If you want to be that vigilante, go nuts. But you haven't got the gall to, because things haven't gotten truly desperate for you, even when you were flat fucked you still had a support system you could go to, and so many of those systems are engineered by the rich, precisely to regulate the poor.

[Fugus]

Actually it does. They are just people like you and me. Yet they contribute way more to society (in absolute values). They already contribute more than you, why should they contribute more as a percentage?
Some people are just better and smarter. And that's a good thing. They create jobs, they make innovation happen, they are the reason our country is as great as it is. They should be freed from having to pay taxes because their mere existence helps us as a society. But instead they pay heavy taxes and besides creating jobs and innovation and wealth for millions of people they also contribute more to financing the country than everyone else.
And you still want to take more from them.
One word: Ungrateful.

Actually it doesn't. The amount of free money between them is huge and the way things are setup, the more money you have, the more you benefit from this nation and its infrastructure. Especially so when you are running a company that is profiting from it.

They contribute more as a percentage because a greater portion of their money isn't needed for necessities and is more for luxury compared to those with less. And there is a reason why a flat tax is considered regressive.

Three words: Entitled Rich Boy

[Nadiru]

Yea and the article goes into that as well. No, they will pay it because there is no country on Earth that protects and enables their wealth to grow even larger than the US.

If their tax rates go up and they are no longer enabled to grow their wealth at the same rate, by definition they are losing that singular reason to stay in the US.

[PC2]

The rich need to realize that all they have is a great big pile of paper that is only worth anything at all because the government puts a gun to my head at their behest and tells me it's worth something.

The majority of all rich people keep the majority of their money in businesses(functional capital) and real estate. Paper money and highly liquid assets are typically a minority of wealthy peoples net worth.

[Daelak]

If their tax rates go up and they are no longer enabled to grow their wealth at the same rate, by definition they are losing that singular reason to stay in the US.

But their increased taxation would be offset by the higher GDP growth rates in their portfolios and VC options.

[Fugus]

They are totally deserving of that money they worked for that money. They got smart and made it big. Trump is actually pretty intelligent. Certainly more so than Bernie Sanders; his solutions are better period. They're smart cause they know how to maintain that wealth.

Actually, trump is a horrible example of that.

He inherited his fortune he started with and the ONLY reason he is as big as he is now is because he had enough of a fortune that he could keep messing up over and over and over again till he got it right. Something that the vast majority of the nation doesn't have as they will typically only get MAYBE 1 shot if that much.

Same with Bill Gates, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth with a rich family and schooling and business contacts that would make anyone jealous and managed to turn that silver spoon into platinum