There is a moral case against all taxation. The problem is that too many people drive income from monopoly privilege in the form of Ricardian rents. Rent is a value that accrues to a location or natural asset with in inelastic supply, such as a frequency of the broadcast spectrum. These values are not produced by individuals; they occur as population increase and demand results in scarcity. This was explained in the writings of all the political economists from Adam Smith to Henry George and even Karl Marx. Rents are the appropriate and legitimate source of public revenue. Economists who have studied the role rents play in economies estimate the aggregate rent fund at around one-third of Gross Domestic Product, perhaps more. Only a fraction of this rent fund is today captured to pay for public goods and services. Mason Gaffney, emeritus professor of economics at the University of California has written extensively on this subject and identifies a long list of sources of rent that are privately appropriated when they should be publicly captured. Thus, by failing to capture rents, taxes are imposed on those who actually produce goods and provide services.

Changing the way government at all levels collects public revenue has actually gone in a 180 degree wrong direction, worsened by a dramatic reduction in the gains on the sale of financial assets, gains that are misrepresented as "capital gains." Actual capital goods (i.e., buildings machinery, technologies) never increase in resale value; they are depreciating assets. The gains on financial instruments result from speculation in the casino markets for corporate shares and bonds issued by businesses and governments.

Absent the direct taxation of rents, the best alternatives are a progressive individual income tax and a progressive estate tax (measures embraced by Thomas Paine in his remarkable paper "Agrarian Justice").

If we are to tax individual income, the key is to distinguish between income earned as wages or salaries producing goods or providing services, and income DERIVED from passive and speculative investment. Tax efficiency, tax equity and simplification of compliance and administration can be achieved by a structure that exempts all individual incomes up to some amount (e.g., the national median income), eliminating all other exemptions or deductions. Above the exempt amount, ranges of income would be taxed at an increasing rate of taxation, the ranges and rates determined as part of the legislative process to achieve a balanced budget. The assertion here is that incomes at the highest ranges can be taxed at a very high rate of taxation without materially impacting individual consumption, and that this level of income is largely rent-derived from speculative activity in financial instruments and land.

A similar structure is aguably appropriate for estates. We can exempt all estates up to the national median, then impose an increasing rate of taxation on higher ranges of inherited wealth.

Edward J. Dodson, Director

School of Cooperative Individualism

www.cooperative-individualism.org

Pretending to understand what you are saying, there seems to be a piece (95% per Thom) of tax policy missing. It seems that you are looking at taxation as source of revenue (5%). The pieces consist of the carrot and the stick (I like the the ice cream and the whip).

I would like you to address the interesting number that when Reagan lowered the top tax rate from 78%(?) to 35%(?), the top earners paid 3 times as much in taxes

They are the equlivent of yesteryears Pharos. And they like it like that.

They have more money and assets than many countries, if they commit any crimes their money should be confiscated and used for public services.

And the laws should prevent it from being used to lobby or construct in any way laws of the USA.

#1 - Of the belief and on the basis that accountant guilds and lobbyists prefer tax to be complex... so thus ensure it remains just so

And, for obvious reasons... self interest

Suggest abolishing all tax with exception of that upon expenditure

With necessary exemption for the like of disabled, retired, unemployed et al

Most people do not see how the 1% live. Behind secured gates. They travel in private jets. They own several homes. They have property managers that shop for them. They socialize in private clubs. They dine in private clubs.

"Tax the rich, feed the poor"
"Til there are no rich no more"...

Alvin Lee and Ten Years After.
"I'd Love to Change the World"
Circa: 1971.

Billionaires get their wealth from the rise in the value of an asset; stock. Not income.

Jeff Bezo's salary is $81,000.

Rick Steve,

Everything Gumball and kend gave as examples was fact and you know it, you are becoming more and more unhinged and obsessed with other peoples money every day. Watching you implode is a sad thing. I can't imagine anyone living like that. I wish you well.

The peasants have spoken in defense of their King.

One more link for the trolls to ignore. They will reply with factless Foxmerized opinion.

https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-has-grown-90-times-faster-than-t...

As predicted factless opinion response. What that chart represents is "Trickle Down Economics" and its end results. And then a complete change of subject. Average pension plan in USA is 80% coverage. Government insures them to a fairly high level.

How many fuckn " millions" does it really actually.. take to really actually live.. in the "lap of luxury"? Two? Three? Five?... Ten?!?...
Come on, lets be honest here!

It sure as fuckn hell doesn't take 1000 "millions"!!!
And for these "special" few..thats not even enough!
In fact, for most of them..there's never enough..
Hell... Any sane person knows it doesn't even take 100 "millions"...
Or even 10 "millions"...

And these special "gilded" few at the "apex"..
At the "pinnacle"..
Of all mankind.

Are in reality..

Nothing more than sociopaths!
Psychopaths!!
With little or no empathy for their fellow humans!!
For all their smarts..
They truly have no concept, that we're ALL in this together..
We truly are one messed up (fucked up) animal!!!

Thank you Thom for the story and for including words from FDR.

I also appreciate Mr. Dodson's contribution in the comments.

The Five Stages of Collapse
Dmitry Orlov

Financial Collapse. Faith in "business as usual" is lost.

Commercial Collapse. Faith that "the market shall provide" is lost.

Political Collapse. Faith that "the government will take care of you" is lost.

Social Collapse. Faith that "your people will take care of you" is lost.

Cultural Collapse. Faith in the goodness of humanity is lost.

Rules of Disinformation
via Proparanoid

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

Become incredulous and indignant

Create rumor mongers

Use a straw man

Sidetrack opponents with name calling, ridicule

Hit and Run

Question motives

Invoke authority

Play Dumb

Associate opponent charges with old news

Establish and rely upon fall-back positions

Enigmas have no solution

Alice in Wonderland Logic

Demand complete solutions

Fit the facts to alternate conclusions

Vanish evidence and witnesses

Change the subject

Emotionalize, antagonize, and goad

Ignore facts, demand impossible proofs

False evidence

Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor

Manufacture a new truth

Create bigger distractions

Silence critics

Vanish

Remus's antidote: tell the truth as plainly as you can. Humor helps.

Risk, Of Two Minds - There is nothing natural about the stability of the past 9 years. The bullish trends in risk assets are artificial constructs of central bank/state policies. As these policies are reduced or lose their effectiveness, the era of artificial stability is coming to a close. Market participants have become accustomed to an implicit entitlement: that investors / speculators will earn consistently positive returns on their capital, as central banks and governments have both the power and the mandate to "save" participants from losses and generate phantom wealth. This entitlement is ending, as the central banks'/states' power to maintain a permanent bull market in stocks and bonds is eroding.

Legend

source for #29 Of two minds

#27 Proparanoid

# 26 Norman Davies

and Remus's antidote:

as was posted with each comment

In fact.. Hed probably just give up on all his endeavors...
Obviously there would no longer be any "incentive" for him to even try...
LOL!!

Neo-Feudalism is Fascism plain and simple! ....and yes indeed if the Kochs get their constitutional convention, it's game over for the hope of ever restoring representative government. November will be the tipping point. What many fail to realize is that the Kochs are every bit as dangerous as Putin in their hatred of democracy. Sure we can all continue to pretend fascism is just a bombastic term being tossed around by antifascists like myself....well good fffnnn luck with that attitude.

Trump was installed by propaganda and election fraud. Putin played a large role in planting the Trump chaos bomb and thus turning our country into a house of cards. His nuclear bluff is welcomed by our military industrial spy complex...sure why the hell not, more job security for that sector, but with economic collapse closely to follow.

I have an idea in reply to Thom's comment about the impending constitutional convention. How about we rewrite the first amendment......congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of the morbidly rich.????

2950

Since you seem to see almost everyone as a fascist....what do you consider yourself to be politicaly?

The bible written by men..states new rules after the coming of Jesus. Jesus said as written by men" love your neighbor as your self ". Don't see why that makes you so angry?

Are you a self interested person?

Do Greek writings make you angry?

Plato?

Also everything we know about history was written by men.

Everything I know about you was written by you.

So far you seem as red with rage as your avatar.

@#37

HotCoffee, I have questioned the same. Leftie hate radio is in full bloom but one interesting discovery while going way back through the archives here, their hatred and rage goes way back a very long time including the years they had a full control in the WH, house, and senate.

I have come to the conclusion there are some people that get their “happiness” by projecting their bitterness and discontent with literally everything regardless of who is in political power. Their mission is to suck the life out of any room they enter and you will see the same negativity when they are successful in a future election cycle. All sides gloat when they win, but these malcontents tend to thrive on complaining.

Think about the fact that all radio talking bobbleheads never base their shows on positives so what is to be expected from those with a tendency to be malleable and slightly off bubble? Hence……

Ref. ME

#39. Another factless Foxmerized opinion post by Diane and totally off base.

There is a huge right wing conspiracy to buy up all of the radio stations and put left wing hate radio fomats on them.

@#40 Go back and re-read my post. Here, I will highlight part of it in bold to make it easy for you,

“Think about the fact that all radio talking bobbleheads never base their shows on positives so what is to be expected from those with a tendency to be malleable and slightly off bubble? Hence……

Ref. me

@#41 Rick Steve, If anybody actually listened to leftie/socialist radio stations they would be very profitable. Owners, regardless of political views, live for profit $$$$. You do the math. Oh God, I forgot and used the leftie/socialist's most hated word "profit" and that brings to topic other peoples money which will wind you up even tighter.

Ref. Me

@#42

Gumball,

He would deny it but in my opinion, Thom is a full on closet communist.

Huge democrat party supporter, Jeff BezosIs the number-one shareholder in Amazon, with approximately 78.89 million shares as of March 2018. Someday Rick Steve may grasp the difference between asset and stock holdings vs. cash in hand.

Ref. Me & Wall Street

Reynolds...ditto...give us all and example of leftie hate radio and while your at it, give us an example of alt right love radio.

When the sht hits the fan you'll finally realize what many of us have been warning you about.

From Wikipedia:

Executive compensation or executive pay is composed of the financial compensation and other non-financial awards received by an executive from their firm for their service to the organization. It is typically a mixture of salary, bonuses, shares of or call options on the company stock, benefits, and perquisites, ideally configured to take into account government regulations, tax law, the desires of the organization and the executive, and rewards for performance.[1]

The three decades starting with the 1980s saw a dramatic rise in executive pay relative to that of an average worker's wage in the United States,[2] and to a lesser extent in a number of other countries. Observers differ as to whether this rise is a natural and beneficial result of competition for scarce business talent that can add greatly to stockholder value in large companies, or a socially harmful phenomenon brought about by social and political changes that have given executives greater control over their own pay.[3][4] Recent studies have indicated that executive compensation should be better aligned with social goals[5] (e.g. public health goals [6]). Executive pay is an important part of corporate governance, and is often determined by a company's board of directors.

It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO), and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft