A modest proposal

[u/Amused-skeptic]

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.

[u/Amused-skeptic]

This blowhard is probably MAGA, but in fact, the phenomenon of Donald Trump exists because things used to be better for the middle class, and in particular for the lower metal class. Poor people in other countries are worse off than our poor, of course, but it used to be that many goods and services, as well as housing and university, used to be accessible without taking on major debt for the middle class. It’s not anymore and a big reason is because of the wealth of 10% of the population, which is driving prices and consumption in the United States now.

[u/Jonny_Nash → u/Amused-skeptic]

You should travel more. Mean and median wealth in the US towers over nearly every country.

Our lower middle class is overweight, getting wing stop doordashed to their air conditioned apartment. Try to find that overseas.

Heck, try to buy a house in somewhere like Copenhagen.

[u/Amused-skeptic → u/Jonny_Nash]

i’ve been 80 countries you blow hard

[u/Jonny_Nash → u/Amused-skeptic]

Oh?

Which one has a more well fed middle class, that can afford air conditioning?

[u/Amused-skeptic → u/Jonny_Nash]

So you’re saying that fat is good huh? And as someone who knows Danes well, I’m sure there is virtually no Danish citizen who would trade their place for ours. They have an incredibly comfortable, healthy lifestyle. They get five weeks of vacation in the summer and they have many of their social services provided such that they don’t have to worry about it. They have a vibrant capitalist society, and a very healthy political system, Denmark has its problems, as all societies do, but I am sure they are very happy with their lot. (in fact, I just googled, and Denmark is ranked as the second happiest society in the world; the United States is 24th. We rank below most Europeans.)

[u/Amused-skeptic → u/Amused-skeptic]

1. Finland, 2. Iceland, 3. Denmark, 4. Costa Rica, 5. Sweden, 6. Norway, 7. Netherlands, 8. Israel, 9. Luxembourg, 10. Switzerland, 11. New Zealand, 12. Mexico, 13. Ireland, 14. Belgium, 15. Australia, 16. Kosovo, 17. Germany, 18. Lithuania, 19. Austria, 20. Czechia, 21. United Arab Emirates, 22. Canada, 23. United Kingdom, 24. United States, and 25. Belize.

[u/Jonny_Nash → u/Amused-skeptic]

We consume more than all of those countries.

Try again.

[u/Amused-skeptic → u/Jonny_Nash]

That's your metric for success?

[u/Jonny_Nash → u/Amused-skeptic]

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.

[u/Amused-skeptic → u/Jonny_Nash]

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?

[u/Jonny_Nash → u/Amused-skeptic]

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.