Unfortunately that is the new mantra of our ever growing Socialist (A.K.A. Communist) Gubberment(s) and comes in the form of “DEI”, “ESG”, etc.
Isn’t redistribution of wealth what social security, medicare, workmens compensation, sales taxes, corporate taxes, personal income taxes, and so forth are all about?? There is also the unfair side; tax deductions or credits that primarily the wealthy can take advantage of, excessive tax levels of the middle class, a minimum wage that is not a living wage… Do we have any obligation at all to those less wealthy/less fortunate? What kind of obligation do we have to the common good; roads, education, research, public safety, public health, government, defense?? Humans are social animals, and that is what brought us from family hunter/gatherer groups to modern societies. We each should pay our fair share based on our wealth, so we all can benefit as a society. Call it socialism, call it the common good, call it cooperation: it’s part of living in an organized social group.
People will only tolerate it for so long…and then they will migrate their money. New populists ideas include an even more massive inheritance theft ring. When you disincentivize wealth, then it will naturally go away. We are witnessing it now at the state level, and in Canada on a national level.
Here is far leftist Cuomo seeing the light and sounding like a conservative just a few years ago. He was prophetic.
“I don’t believe raising taxes on the rich,” Cuomo said. “That would be the worst thing to do. You would just expand the shortfall. God forbid if the rich leave.”
He’s absolutely correct, though he’ll no doubt get royally roasted by the far-left of the New York Democratic Party. The state already has a steeply progressive tax code. The top 1% of earners pay 46% of all the income taxes. That’s punitive.
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/cuomos-budget-rich-high-taxes/
Proof
And then when you witness the “State” of a “free country” do this to their political rivals, you will see even more wealth evaporate. (of course this freeze extended well beyond the actual truckers, but also to businesses and people who donated)
“If your truck is being used in these protests, your corporate accounts will be frozen, the insurance on your vehicle will be suspended. The consequences are real, and they will bite,” said Freeland, who is also the finance minister. “It is time for you to go home.”
She then stressed that the government would have “zero tolerance for the establishment of new blockades or occupations.”
“We now have the tools to follow the money. We can see what is happening and what is being planned in real time, and we are absolutely determined that this must end now and for good,” she said.
No. Stuff like Social Security, sales taxes, workman’s comp, etc are not based on wealth. My paycheck makes no mention of my wealth, only my income for that pay period. Thankfully, we pay income tax, not wealth tax.
Do we have any obligation at all to those less wealthy/less fortunate?
No. “less fortunate” is unquantifiable. I unfortunately had no childhood. How much of a wealthy person’s money is he/she obligated to give me because of it?
We each should pay our fair share based on our wealth.
Hell no. I worked hard for my wealth. Why should I have to give it to someone who didn’t? And it’s exactly why we don’t tax wealth as a society. Redistributing wealth is unconscionably evil. Instead we have income tax.
Call it socialism
I do.
I think most people want to help the less fortunate. Many, many “well off” people gladly give away portions of their wealth to people who are in need.
The issue with taxes that “redistribute wealth” is that the government system is so inefficient and full of fraud, that too little of the money “taken” reaches the actual people who need it, in my opinion.
How would taxing people’s wealth even work? Would it be Mark to Market? That means we’d have to get appraisals done on our net worth every year. Everyone would immediately form a trust at that point.
Only 4% of the money collected and earmarked for welfare recipients in NYC, actually reach welfare recipients. The most immoral thing we can do as a society is to siphon even more money out of the productive economy and give it to bureaucrats. That harms us all. If your running back is scoring, let him keep the ball.
You suffer from the misunderstanding promoted by the Democrats. The wealthy in this country already pay a disproportionately HIGH level of income tax. For tax years 2020-2021 the top 1% of earners (income over half a million) paid 42% of all income taxes.
Who Pays Income Taxes? - Foundation - National Taxpayers Union.
The other misconception that plagues those crying for socialism is that any individuals income is static. Hence the belief that the poor are always poor and the rich always rich. Wrong, individual income (tax bracket) changes throughout the life of the individual rising and falling with the age of the individual and such other factors as health, personal misfortune (luck), and ambition.
And before everyone reached that point the Gubberment would change the tax laws and already be taxing trusts!
Good way to chase wealthy people out of the country, just like NY chased them out of their state.
It’s immoral to tax wealth as it harms everyone. I suppose if the taxes on the wealthy was then destroyed to reduce the money supply, it wouldn’t be as terrible. But giving the money to the government makes it doubly evil. Most of the stuff they do with our money is outside the very few duties they are limited to under the Constitution, and thus illegal. We should not fund illegal activities, regardless of the criminal.