Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The point is that you have to go back 90 years to the Gilded Age to find a better time to be rich. You get to keep more of your money now than ever. You can move your money or yourself anywhere in the world. Capital has beaten down labour and is now curb-stopping it while puffing on a cigar. And few people even suggest this isn't the best way to run the world, let alone incite violent revolutions to overthrow the system and confiscate the property of the rich. So please, let's not pretend the mega-rich are having tough times or are being treated unfairly. Tough times were back when even friendly governments took 70-90 per cent of their income, and powerful political forces called for the violent confiscation of all their property.
“this fear of growing to resemble Europe was part of the reason why the United States in 1910–1920 pioneered a very progressive estate tax on large fortunes, which were deemed to be incompatible with US values, as well as a progressive income tax on incomes thought to be excessive. Perceptions of inequality, redistribution, and national identity changed a great deal over the course of the twentieth century, to put it mildly.”
― Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
What happens when tax avoidance filters down to the professional classes? We end up like Greece, where half of people don't pay any taxes, and eventually public finances crumble like a sugar cube dipped in water. Probably unavoidable though [shrug].
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Put simply though, especially in reference to the chart you displayed: It doesnt matter.
Now isnt then. We have to deal with the realities of now.
Yes, I understand what you're saying but it essentially boils down to current values.
Take Edwards for example. If you plunked him down in 1910 his ability to move is much more limited, his costs of labour are also a lot lower in relation to his other costs.
But now someone, somewhere is going to make him a better deal, and he might be inclined to take it.
You are talking about shifting values for higher earners to have more of a social conscience, and thats something I fundamentally agree with.
But show me a way to do that that doesnt involve:
- Duct Tape
- Toothpicks
- Audio/Visual Equipment
- A folding chair with a hole in the bottom
- A ball gag
- Length of rope
Put short, I dont know how to change the social conscience of higher income earners in a truly global society, what I do know is that as that conscience changes we're going to have to take care of ourselves.
And we cant keep doing that by 'just raising taxes.'
And further, we cannot keep doing it if we're not all doing it together. This 'Public vs. Private vs. First Nations vs. Francophone vs. Provinces vs. Federal Parties' war has to stop.
I am a big proponent of two things: 'growing taxes' rather than just 'paying taxes' and prudent spending.
By that I mean grow your tax base and keep Government spending in check.
We need to be the first Country ruled by Accountants rather than Lawyers or Teachers.