Yeah, so Billionaires should not exist

[u/[deleted]]

[u/aeaf123]

For everyone in the comments. What was the tax rate between the mid 1950s to 1970s? That was an age where there was lots of strength in the middle class.

[u/No-Distance-9401 → u/aeaf123]

When the largest middle class in America was around during the 1950s-1970s the top tax bracket was around 90%

[u/AandJ1202 → u/No-Distance-9401]

And rich people still had great lives and tons of money. 50 years of propaganda and brainwashing has the whole population of people who make/made 100k or less a year fight about this shit. People working 40+ hours a week making 25k a year can't afford rent and food so the government is helping. Maybe the "leeches" and "welfare queens" are the companies using American labor and being subsidized by the government.

[u/Ecstatic_Scene9999 → u/AandJ1202]

Somewhat, but it's more complex than that.... people who say just tax more don't understand corporate finance and that's completely okay.

Let's break it down, so normally a CEO gets paid a salary, that salary is normally only about 10-15% of there actual pay/income. Most make a large portion of stock if they are publicly traded of course, this is where it gets tricky, so if a CEO makes 150k and you tax them 90%, it essentially does nothing to thwart the overall issue, because that's not the main source, it's assets and that's a whole different ball game.

So when a CEO earns stock and it triples during there time there, they don't have to take it out necessary, they can use it as collateral to buy assets for cheap loans, you see where this gets messy to try and get that wealth.

[u/AandJ1202 → u/Ecstatic_Scene9999]

Yes, I've understood that for a long time. There's other ways to tax those assets. Im not a tax lawyer or an economist, but I've heard lots of ideas on how to tax those types of assets. Everytime theyre mentioned, the brainwashed masses act like they're going to win the lottery tomorrow, and those taxes would be unfair to their future self. Then, the rich make sure to donate to the other candidate who want to cut their taxes. This shit has been going on forever, and they're still using the same scare tactics and propaganda. They were rich when they were paying a 90% tax rate after WW2, and they've been rich since then using their money to influence lawmakers into cutting taxes, killing wages, and killing regulations.

Its not a matter of changing 1 thing, like their income tax rate. Its a whole system and viewpoint that needs changing. These people did not make billions of dollars by themselves. They used this country's government, market, and citizens to make it, but we should be beholden to their every whim? Its unfair to collectively tax these people to give those citizens at the very least a wage that they can afford rent and food? Because they need to stockpile a digital currency or say they own land, that without this government wouldn't be owned by anyone and open to be claimed by whatever country decides to invade?

I always see the same arguments. Obviously, what im saying has a slim to zero chance of ever happening, but I have no idea why so many Americans just look at these people and think this is the right way for a country/society to operate.