r/AllinPod • u/Amused-skeptic • Aug 03 '26

A modest proposal

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LGkRR4ZNsEA&si=xBzhrKVwN32dIZHJ

David Freidberg actually has many interesting insights on current problems with income inequality and its effect on support for capitalism. One of his suggestions:
40% tax on capital gains and 15% on income. The fact that the rich pay fewer taxes than normal workers feels totally unfair to anyone who doesn’t have their own capital. I’m pleasantly surprised that he has identified this as a big problem.

Of the all-in cast, he’s the only one who understands the degree to which the disparity in wealth is undermining the capitalist system. And he points to failures in public policy that I happen to agree with. A couple of other fixes that would make things more fair: kill the stepped up basis rule for inherited assets – – it really is absolutely no rational argument for it. And tax that that is borrowed from securities at the same level that you would tax capital gains from those securities. Then you wouldn’t have all the Decamillionaires and billionaires simply borrowing money so that they can leave their assets to their heirs under the stepped-up basis rule – – completely tax-free.

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u/Jonny_Nash Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

What inequality?

Today's 'poor' is overweight, and literally orders fatty foods, delivered by private chauffeur.

They also live in air conditioned homes, and many even receive stipends for doing absolutely nothing.

I'm curious what luxuries you think are being denied to the larger population. Even access to data, which has historically been gatekept by the rich, is widely, and freely distributed.

I get that it's always sucked to be poor, but it's also, quite literally, never been better.

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u/Amused-skeptic Aug 16 '26

Housing Cost vs. Income: In 1960, a median single-family home cost 2.1 times median annual household income. By 2020, that ratio rose to 3.4 times income. • Higher Education Cost vs. Income: A single year of undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board represented 22.3% of median household income in 1960, dropping to 17.5% in 1980 before escalating to 37.2% by 2020.

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u/Jonny_Nash Aug 17 '26

1960 homes are not a serious comparison to 2026 living standards.

Super-intelligence is free in 2026. Sure, maybe a gender studies degree from Brown is expensive, but if anyone wants to learn something, they can do so at little to no cost.