1582
The rich convinced us that taxing them is too complicated but everyday people can be taxed pretty easily
(discuss.online)
this post was submitted on 24 May 2026
1582 points (99.1% liked)
Work Reform
16408 readers
261 users here now
A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
That's actually the point: use taxes to force rich people to make high risk investments.
If you can't figure out how to turn enough profit on your farm to pay the property taxes, then you sell your farm to pay the taxes and someone else gets to put the capital to better use.
If you can't figure out how to turn enough profit on your $10B company to pay the wealth tax, then you have to sell enough of it to pay the tax, and someone else gets more say in how the company runs.
Wealth tax encourages people with ungodly fortunes to make bigger, more risky bets, because they have to overcome the constant drain of wealth tax. Ultra-wealthy shouldn't just coast along on the low returns of super-safe investments, because those are the people who can afford to lose part of their fortune.
Instead, we have the guy with $1000 YOLOing his life savings on GME options, because the $80 he can get from an index fund isn't going to get him to retirement, while Berkshire Hathaway is sitting of $300B of US treasuries.
I see your point, but disagree with the approach as a long term policy. We can limit the accumulation by taxing the profits. If we can't do that, then the wealth tax won't be any more successful as they will hide that, too.
What's actually more likely to happen is executives would take a higher salary to pay the taxes and pay their employees less, because the last thing they want to do is be forced to sell shares which is the same as giving up ownership and control of their company at that level.
So yes there might be more taxes, but itd be at the disadvantage of the employees, and the government will give it all to DND anyway and you'll never see a dime of it.
Edit: and if they were forced to sell shares, its going to be other mega corps, private equity or hedge funds buying it, they'll still treat the company terribly, probably more so than the people who built it and cared about it, with an eventual hostile takeover as they accumulate more and more.
Edit: to be clear, I think this is a bad idea, but I do support taxing usage of unrealized gains. Thats pretty much how existing taxes work minus the gaping loophole that let's them not pay until they die, where they then get tax advantages.