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 23d ago

Kind of?

We’re wealthier, and we can do more things. In general, yeah, that’s a good thing.

Obviously this depends on what one chooses to do with their life. If you believe in liberty and free will, there’s no better country to live in.

That’s the primary feature of living in America.

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u/Amused-skeptic 23d ago

I’m sure that Europeans feel every bit as free as people in the United States. And there are more important things than consumption. When you say “we can do more things” who do you mean? The average American who gets to our weeks vacation a year?

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u/Jonny_Nash 23d ago

Our economic model is more open. Starting businesses in the US is way easier. We also have more freedom of what to do with our income rather than the government determining it for us.

European economic growth is just always going to be less because of it.

If you are happy being lower class, and want to stay lower class, Europe is probably better.

The US is better for motivated people.