As U.S. Hits Debt Ceiling, Millionaires Tell Davos Leaders: Raise Our Taxes

[applegrove]

As U.S. Hits Debt Ceiling, Millionaires Tell Davos Leaders: Raise Our Taxes

Abigail Disney ripped the World Economic Forum as a "farce" and demanded participants address "only thing that can make a difference: Taxing the rich."

By Mary Papenfuss
Jan 20, 2023, 02:18 AM EST
|
Updated Jan 20, 2023

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/davos-millionaires-tax-us-abigail-disney-wealth-inequality_n_63ca20eee4b04d4d18ddeace

"SNIP.........

More than 200 millionaires — many of them American — presented a manifesto to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to “tax the ultra-rich” — including themselves.

The call, issued in an open letter Wednesday titled “The Cost of Extreme Wealth,” comes as the U.S. hit its $34.1 trillion debt limit. The nonpartisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office has linked the Trump-era tax cuts — mostly benefiting the wealthy and corporations — to a $1 trillion deficit in 2020. Republicans are now talking about shaving Social Security and Medicare to save money, not raising taxes on the rich.

“Tax the ultra rich and do it now,” demands the letter to the Davos forum from the American and British organizations Patriotic Millionaires, TaxMeNow and Millionaires for Humanity.

Wealthy heir Abigail Disney blasted Davos in a statement as a “farce” for failing to address the issue.

.........SNIP"

[Chainfire]

1. Republicans think that they can accomplish the same goal by taxing the hell out of the poor.

Of course, you go where the money is....

[Caliman73]

5. No they don't

Republicans absolutely know that you CANNOT accomplish the goal by going after the poor. They simply do not care. They will say and do anything to avoid making the wealthiest people even the slightest bit uncomfortable, even if it means dooming the rest of the 7.85 billion of us to a gruesome death.

George H W Bush when he was running against Reagan for the primary in 1980 and Reagan was spouting off on Supply Side Economics, absolutely knew and called the concept what it has always been, "Voodoo Economics". Rich people knew that things were not going as well for them as they wanted in the 70's and Jimmy Carter had just put the question to the American People about what kind of country we wanted to be, an empty consumerism driven society, or a true leader of humanity. The richest people had a plan, to buy up media and frame the discussion into something that supported their world view. Reagan went after the Unions and used racialized language to convince half the poor to go after the other half. They started packing the bureaucracy and judicial system with right wingers, started TV and radio stations to get the message out, drummed up the "Evil Empire" nonsense, and went to work. Reagan slashed taxes on the wealthy and shifter the burden to the poor, and except around the margins, the tax rates from the 30's to the late 60's have never been seen again, because we don't want to punish the "job creators".

Liberals want to balance the budget by raising taxes on those who can pay more and by growing and diversifying the economy. We want to distribute the fruits of the economy equitably. Conservatives want to balance the budget by eliminating any assistance that government provides to people, so that the wealthy continue to live lavishly while the rest of us work to produce, then die off (as long as we reproduce more cogs for the machine before we die).

[MichMan]

2. People are always free to take no deductions and pay extra if they like

[applegrove]

3. Yeah then the evil oligarchs will have all the money to buy elections

and the like. It needs to be across the board.

[MichMan]

4. It just goes into the regular treasury like any other taxes; not to any one person in the government

Link to form attached below.

https://www.pay.gov/public/form/entry/101/23779454/

[Caliman73]

6. That isn't what applegrove is saying.

If the wealthy are not compelled to pay taxes, then only those wealthy people who actually want to help, will pay more and the rest will keep hoarding their money to buy politicians and policies.

Disney and the others of her ilk, absolutely know that no wealthy person is going to voluntarily contribute more, which is why they see the solution as compulsory taxation.

If charity was really the means to help more, as Conservatives love to argue, then the world's problems would be solved by the wealthiest, who can afford to give, giving enough to solve them. Elon Musk spent 44 billion dollars on a vanity project. A popular, but not the biggest, platform, and has proceeded to run it into the ground. If he wanted to improve humanity, he could have created a foundation to provide people with food, clean water, education, job training, etc...

Voluntary contributions will never work because most people who are as incredibly wealthy as Musk, Gates, etc... didn't get there by sharing and caring.

[MichMan]

7. While waiting for higher taxes to be imposed, they could pay as much as they desire in the meantime

One doesn't prevent the other from occurring. Since they want higher taxes, they should start paying them now.

Similar to paying employees more now, instead of waiting until minimum wage is raised and you are forced to.

[Caliman73]

8. Again. That is not what was being said.

What you are saying is accurate, but what applegrove and what I said in response, was that voluntarily paying more in taxes, is irrelevant and simply distracts from the conversation that needs to be had.

The wealthiest people have received the highest share of benefits from society, typically by taking advantage of, then actually rigging the system to keep them at an advantage. The Patriotic Millionaires are asking for that rigging to be taken down and to make the wealthiest people pay their fair share for the benefits they have received from society.

Certainly those advocating that position, can pay higher taxes, but there are very few ultra wealthy that would do that so it would mean very little. Those who oppose the idea, would simply laugh at the wealthy who paid higher taxes, calling them suckers and using their new advantage in wealth to take over assets of those wealthy people who are willing to give it up.

Anyway, we seem to be going in circles so unless there is something new, I will be heading for the door on this conversation.