Post
by moda0306 » Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:45 am
Is a "wealth tax" inherently socialist?
To me, the idea of imports... or income... or "sales"... or wealth... being the "right" tax base is an interesting debate, and obviously class does become part of the calculation, but if the government is going to collect $XXX Billion on an annual basis, either way that's dollars out of SOMEONE's pockets. I don't find a tax on wealth as inherently more "socialist" than a tax on consumption sales.
And considering how heavily the FICA/Medicare taxes respectively handle our two big federal "welfarish" expenditures (and how regressive these taxes tend to be compared to the federal income tax), that leaves a TON of what's left over as military expenditures, which (IMO) are essentially a protector of foreign trade and the most direct benefit to the owners of global corporate capital. To me, the best way to pay for the military would be a wealth tax. Let's be honest... the military ain't protecting the lives and liberties of ordinary Americans. They're protecting the investment right and profits of global corporations.
And none of that is to mention that sweat income is taxes far-more oppressively than capital income. When I see my doctor acquaintances with $250k of student loan debt being taxed at ordinary tax rates plus fica/medicare vs what someone with a portfolio of dividend, business income, muni interest, cap gains, etc. would pay (being able to deduct their basis in their investments, unlike the tuition of the doctor), I see capital getting a huge pass while simultaneously receiving the lions share of the "benefit" of our massive military spending...