+ the pernicious falsehood that most wealth is aggregated in dynastic hoards. 2/3 of American billionaires are self-made & the vast majority of inheritances bleed out within 2-3 generations. Dynasties rely on gov to support them; they can’t usually fend for themselves in marketshttps://twitter.com/Crit_Rat/status/1091793895556550656 …
-
At the risk of alienating everyone I haven’t already, I think this is one of the better ways to fund gov — insofar as it trades off against taxes on income/capital paid by the people who earned it. But it’s still culturally toxic to frame it as a means of sticking it to the rich
That said, seizing property under any circumstances erodes extant norms that have served the US well. When you primarily tax transactions, people can price that in & come out better off in non-zero-sum trades while society retains the benefits of fairly strong property rights
-
-
There’s a sense in which gifts and inheritances are “transactions,” but I personally do think it’s a bit of a stretch to lump them in with most traditional economic activity
-
A "transaction" requires a VOLUNTARY transfer of property. NO ONE dies voluntarily. Even ppl who commit suicide would really prefer to live, they just have mental health problems and/or terrible stress.
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.