Bloomberg reported yesterday that if Sen. Sanders implemented his highly progressive tax plan, billionaires could face an effective tax rate of up to 97.5%. This will be met with complete apoplexy amongst the ruling-class, but, apart from the fact that it is entirely correct that governments use punitive tax regimes to discourage socially destructive behaviour such as ruthless exploitation and wealth hoarding, let’s put it in perspective.
If Jeff Bezos was hit by a 97.5% wealth tax, he would still be a billionaire. His fortune currently stands at roughly $108,200,000,000. After a Sanders wealth tax, he would still sit atop a hoard of almost $3.75bn. The tax from he alone would enable the federal government to wipe the debt of a million students (c. $50bn), to train half a million new grad nurses (c. $25bn), to pay the entire education budget of the five lowest spending states for a year (Utah + Idaho + Arizona + Oklahoma + Mississippi = c. $24bn) - and still, still have enough spare change to double federal spending on energy efficiency and renewable energy ($4bn).
And that’s just one big fish.
Put in that sort of context there is simply no moral justification for any individual to have the private enjoyment of the sort of wealth that could seriously adjust the social outcomes of a entire nation’s working-class.
Pitchforks are an extremely moderate and conservative reaction.
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