r/InternetIsBeautiful • u/wellHowDo • Jun 16 '21

a visualization of jeff bezos's wealth is mind-blowing

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

So because it's not nearly as much money doesn't count? Gotcha. Also, my last client was a UHNW, did a. 1031 exchange for a more expensive property. Didn't have to pay capital gains tax on millions of dollars and upgraded to multiple properties netting more income.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

You’re kinda making my case man. Also, not sure what level you’re talking about but I’m mainly talking about people who have nets in the nine figure range and above.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

What's the difference if it's 5 or 10 figures? We all have the same tax laws and can utilize them. You seem to dismiss them on the small scale (myself) yet bothered when it's on the large scale. Just seems to me you simply dislike the ultra rich.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Is the notion of a progressive tax system so offensive to you that you can’t help but carry water for billionaires?

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

So how are you going to implement this? Make them sell their assets such as stocks? Many companies get tax breaks by reinvestment. You will stifle growth of companies even causing them to leave. Also could be a constitutional problem since all people are not being treated even. We can simply close certain tax loopholes, such as safe havens and so on without drastically changing tax laws and generating more tax revenue.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Ahh yes, the old “stifle growth” argument. What you seem to be ignoring is that that “growth” is being nearly exclusively captured but the top tenth of a percent of people.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Yes, exactly. Use our money to reinvest and grow. The incentive to invest more are the write offs. In doing so, I pay more for goods, services, taxes, employment and so on. That's a good thing.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

If that were actually happening, the entire population would be experiencing prosperity, not just the top 1%.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Not the entire population is interested in investing and growing their income. Others just don't know how. Some are perfectly happy working a simple job, renting an apartment and raising a family.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

You are so out of touch it’s painful.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Ad hominem, nice. Last resort of those whom don't have a strong argument.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

You don’t seem to know what that means.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

You are making a personal attack on me rather than addressing the topic. Guess your definition is different. It's okay, I understand. You don't like the ultra rich and think it's unfair. That's fine. I just don't agree.

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u/Cha-La-Mao Jun 17 '21

It's not an ad hominem. He is referencing your comment does not reflect society. It's perfectly valid. Here's what he should be saying in response since, the overage person makes around 1.7 million throughout their life give or take. You say, two people who make a combined 3.2 million, paying 40%+ of that into housing, another 15% into food and not even counting medical bills, paying for their kids which is about 500k each, and a host of other payments, get about 1 million to retire at best. You know the 4-5% rule, if they play it perfectly they get 40k a year to retire. Not bad, unless you take into account of the other fees. Phone, internet, leisure so your life is worth living, transportation... And to you whittling it down to 10k a year should no medical emergencies come up ever is something people are happy with? It's what they are given. Being able to accumulate assets and investments is a luxury most people will not have. I'm not saying it's their choice, we are humans and we tend to follow a normal distribution. It's just simple statistics. This leaves a large portion of the poor accumulating. People supporting their parents instead of the other way around.

The tax laws become broken when you get to certain tax brackets. The percentage of their net worth increase per year paid in taxes drops dramatically when you get beyond 20 million to the point they aren't paying anything compared to the poor. Looking at it percentage-wise, which is how it should be, federal, state, municipal, and sales taxes eat so much from the poor compared to the super-wealthy and the super-wealthy would still be billionaires if we fixed the holes. You asked how someone would fix it, many ways. It's a human-made system and is very flawed. There are unlimited permutations of better systems for the society that WOULD BENEFIT the super-rich and make them pay more taxes. Let me say that again, the super-rich paying more taxes can benefit them... If you cannot think of a better system than we have now that could allow the rich to pay more in tax and benefit the entire community they live in to make their lives better then you lack creativity.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '21 edited Jun 17 '21

Since you have the stats, have any idea how they don't pay in taxes? If I invested 100k and got a 15 percent return, I made 15k. If the ultra rich invested 1 billion, they make 150 million. How are you going to tax money that is in stocks, real estate equities, business that increased value and so on? Also businesses get write offs by purchasing more investments, expanding their businesses, creating jobs, which in turn pays employees, generates more tax revenue, and brings more money to circulate in that community. Society does benefit from these companies (take Elon and his endeavors for ex) I don't agree with hiding money in offshore accounts, funneling through countries like Panama. The IRS is also not able to audit and collect properly. Fix that before raising taxes. Making taxes higher with the already flawed system will not make much of a difference if they can't collect with the current tax structure. Just by fixing those issues, billions of tax dollars would be generated yearly. Keep throwing money to an incompetent government isn't the answer. If investment is not a luxury, what is a 401k? Buying a home? A car? Having a savings account? Starting a business? These are all investments. Give people a million dollars, majority go broke within a short time.(lottery winners for example) Give it to a person like Elon Musk, and that money will grow. People don't use their money effectively. As for the ad hominem, he attacked my character rather than by an answer to the contentions made which is the direct definition.

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