yeah, but the 0.1% also own the politicians. There is no legal way to engage it without something approaching a civil war, or more appropriately, a peasant uprising.
> New research suggests that the superrich are hiding their money at alarming rates. A study by economists Annette Alstadsaeter, Niels Johannesen and Gabriel Zucman reports that households with wealth over $40 million evade 25 to 30 percent of personal income and wealth taxes.
From what I've read of Zucman's work about modern-day tax evasion, he talks mainly about European families, for whom many quasi-legal options exist to hide and/or shelter income from taxes. This is a real problem in Europe, not just because it deprives them of tax revenue, but because it threatens to expose a corrosive moral hypocrisy: do as I say, not as I do (the European upper class says to the European working class).
For Americans, there really aren't any remaining methods to avoid paying income tax. Unless you're willing to commit felony tax evasion. At that point, you'd be much better off simply expatriating to a no or low tax juridiction, as Eduardo Saverin famously did prior to Facebook's IPO.
Threatens to expose is a bit generous a description. The hypocrisy is on full display every day. "Threatens to break through into the daily discourse" maybe.
When you're rich due to inheritance, both financially and in network contacts, yet don't invent anything, buy whatever you want, and tell the poor to work for just a sliver of the luck you had, the hypocrisy on full display.
And that's exactly who every mega-wealthy person is. Expropriated others work and property over the generations for their benefit. Often through violence. It's hereditary rule not based upon divine right, but because of dubious claims to the wealth of the collective.
Socialism for the elite. Roman colosseum for the proles.
I'll never believe the Koch brothers are so valuable to humanity they should have the power they do. The same with Buffet or Bill Gates. Their importance is due to celebrity worship of the accumulation of obscene levels of material wealth. None of them have accomplished much with their own two hands that is worth that amount of boot licking they are bestowed.
It's silly to talk about a "nation's" wealth in the age of neoliberalism.
I had a friend from a very wealthy family in high school. The guy had like a dozen passports. He was a citizen of canada, britain, israel, US, and a bunch of other nations I forgot. His father was a lawyer who had business all over the place where he could shield income from other nations. Apparently, some countries don't report your earnings to the US and vice versa. Not only that, he was born in NY, went to high school in new york and yet his family rented a house in long island and owned a home in florida. Apparently, you get legal protection of your homes in florida that you don't in NY.
In other words, nations belong to the wealthy. The wealthy do not belong to nations. And the wealthy make the rules.
4 comments
[ 84.1 ms ] story [ 24.5 ms ] threadFrom what I've read of Zucman's work about modern-day tax evasion, he talks mainly about European families, for whom many quasi-legal options exist to hide and/or shelter income from taxes. This is a real problem in Europe, not just because it deprives them of tax revenue, but because it threatens to expose a corrosive moral hypocrisy: do as I say, not as I do (the European upper class says to the European working class).
For Americans, there really aren't any remaining methods to avoid paying income tax. Unless you're willing to commit felony tax evasion. At that point, you'd be much better off simply expatriating to a no or low tax juridiction, as Eduardo Saverin famously did prior to Facebook's IPO.
When you're rich due to inheritance, both financially and in network contacts, yet don't invent anything, buy whatever you want, and tell the poor to work for just a sliver of the luck you had, the hypocrisy on full display.
And that's exactly who every mega-wealthy person is. Expropriated others work and property over the generations for their benefit. Often through violence. It's hereditary rule not based upon divine right, but because of dubious claims to the wealth of the collective.
Socialism for the elite. Roman colosseum for the proles.
I'll never believe the Koch brothers are so valuable to humanity they should have the power they do. The same with Buffet or Bill Gates. Their importance is due to celebrity worship of the accumulation of obscene levels of material wealth. None of them have accomplished much with their own two hands that is worth that amount of boot licking they are bestowed.
I had a friend from a very wealthy family in high school. The guy had like a dozen passports. He was a citizen of canada, britain, israel, US, and a bunch of other nations I forgot. His father was a lawyer who had business all over the place where he could shield income from other nations. Apparently, some countries don't report your earnings to the US and vice versa. Not only that, he was born in NY, went to high school in new york and yet his family rented a house in long island and owned a home in florida. Apparently, you get legal protection of your homes in florida that you don't in NY.
In other words, nations belong to the wealthy. The wealthy do not belong to nations. And the wealthy make the rules.