2y ago

Reps. Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman, and Rashida Tlaib Introduce OLIGARCH Act to Tax Extreme Wealth and Combat Aristocracy

lee.house.gov

Reps. Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman, and Rashida Tlaib Introduce OLIGARCH Act to Tax Extreme Wealth and Combat Aristocracy | Barbara Lee - Congresswoman for the 12th District of California

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The OLIGARCH Act specifically establishes four tax brackets:
· 2% for all wealth between 1,000 and 10,000 times median household wealth;
· 4% for all wealth between 10,000 and 100,000 times median household wealth;
· 6% for all wealth between 100,000 and 1,000,000 times median household wealth;
· 8% for all wealth over 1,000,000 times median household wealth
For reference, current median household wealth is around $120k: https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-net-worth-percentiles/
So a the current rate would be
· 2% for all wealth between $120 million and $1.2 billion
· 4% for all wealth between $1.2 billion and $12 billion
· 6% for all wealth between $12 billion and $120 billion
· 8% for all wealth over $120 billion
That top tax rate would apply to only two people, Bill Gates and Elon Musk, with a few more just barely below the $120 billion line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_Americans_by_net_worth
- 1 million times more wealth than the median, holy shit.
  
  And yet somehow taxing them at a whopping whole 8% is still somehow seen as not only progress, but "radical" progress at that.
  I feel bad or saying this, because I'm sure just that took a lot of doing, but wow is it pathetic when you look at the grand scheme of things.
  And before anyone "it's better than nothing" 's me - it's the equivalent of nothing, those with the means will easily find ways around it, and even if they did pay the whole 8%, they'll still be a million times richer than not even the rest of us, but the wealthy half of the rest of us.
  So yeah, pathetic.
  
  Obligatory:
  https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
- You meant to say that Elon Musk will transfer all his wealth to his friend Elonov Muskovski, a 100% pure bread Russian, if that comes to pass.
It's not nearly a high enough tax rate, but it's always good to take money away from billionaires.
- Problem is, this kind of shit that is far far far from enough is enough to placate centrists and liberals who see it as a win and are happy to leave the system that enabled the vast inequality that this is so feebly trying to fix, in the first place, chug on uninterrupted.
  This isn't even pocket money to those it is designed to impact, to think it would change their ways or the system in any way is absurd at best.
  
  Absolutely. Liberals will see "new tax on billionaires" and break out the confetti, but it's literally "between the couch cushions" money to them. I don't know about them, but the money taken through my effective tax rate genuinely could impact my life for the better. At the very least, there's a chance radlibs will see through this one. I know something like this would have put me past the line back in the day.
  The only one that's almost reasonable is the lowest tax bracket, which would be better at 4%. For the rest, I'd double it and add 2%. That's almost approaching something fair in the capitalist system
- Think of the tactics applied from the other side. It's seldom groundbreaking but often slow and gradual.
- It's a wealth tax, those are pretty aggressive rates.
This is something that really need to happen. Which means I can't see many of the geriatrics running Congress letting it pass.
- Oh, it has no chance in a Republican-controlled House, but that doesn't matter, because the Democratic leadership would never let it pass anyway.
This sounds like a great idea! I hope our oligarchs pass it!
This seems like a good thread to drop some Peter Singer.
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Won't elon just move to another country that's a tax haven if this happens?
- The US has worldwide taxation (so you can't just live somewhere else to avoid taxes) and an exit tax (so you can't just renounce your citizenship without paying up).
  The exit tax would probably need to be increased to not make it an attractive choice, but it does already exist. I believe the current tax is basically "pay a 23.8% capital gains tax as if you sold everything".

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