• whotookkarl@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    It’s also not one or two billion, it’s multiple hundreds of billion owned by one person. I don’t think you can overstress the difference in scale between millions, hundred millions, billions, and hundred billions.

    There used to be taxes assessed by total asset valuation that focused more on wealthy individuals because they don’t earn as much from income it’s mostly assets increasing in value like property or ownership shares, that was stopped when they introduced the income tax that mostly targets low and middle class people who almost exclusively earn by income.

    Loopholes like offshore accounts used to dodge income taxes by higher earners should be illegal, but the whole system is backwards forcing the least prosperous to shoulder the largest tax burden instead of the wealthiest who benefit from society the most.

    • hellofriend@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      What’s stopping the wealthy from just up and leaving? They could liquidate their assets and invest in somewhere with tax laws more favourable to them.

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        2 years ago

        Liquidate to who? Are those assets things they can take with them, or are they things like buildings that stay right where they are?

        • hellofriend@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Anyone who would buy. Unless you’re sentimentally attached to something then I doubt you’d have a difficult time selling it. Billionaires own property as investment, not for use. Just sell it to another billionaire and buy property in a country more favourable to you. As for things like cars, collections, yachts, and other such mobile assets, just stick them on a container ship and unpack at your destination.

          • frezik@midwest.social
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            2 years ago

            But then there has to be at least one billionaire who is staying right there, and can be taxed.

            • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              Yeah that sounds awesome let’s divide those 200 billions into 333 million people and let’s get a whooping one time only 600 USD extra for the month. Then let’s repeat it again.

              It sure will last foreverrrrrrrrr

              • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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                2 years ago

                First of all 200 billion is chump change compared to how much the wealthy have. Second, spreading money would do far more to stimulate the economy than wealthy people buying yachts, flying into space, and visiting the Titanic.

                I am sure if you removed your mouth from the wealthy’s cocks for a moment you would realize how fucked up the situation is. But I know you will just suck it foreverrrrrrrrrrr hoping they will gild you into their club.

                • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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                  2 years ago

                  Stimulate the economy LMAO 🤣

                  Bro just admit you don’t know shit about how money works and leave it at that haha

      • Skydancer@pawb.social
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        2 years ago

        The fact that you already confiscated them. Since we’re talking hypotheticals though, you could confiscate those assets at the border. Or set up international treaties with a look-back provision.

        • hellofriend@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          See, what I don’t like about this is that if you have the power to confiscate a billionaire’s possessions for no other reason that they’re a billionaire, then there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from turning that power against anyone you don’t like. And I’m not talking “you” as in you specifically, or anyone with a sense of morality and ethics, but “you” as in the inevitable exploitative scum that would at some point hold that power.

          Now, if the confiscation is contingent on a billionaire commiting a crime then that’s another thing, but then the billionaire would actually have to commit a crime. And if you made tax law ironclad then sure, if they break the law then they should have their things confiscated in recompense. But that’s assuming that the trial wouldn’t be bogged down in court by a billionaire being able to throw money at the problem.

          • Malfeasant@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            you have the power to confiscate a billionaire’s possessions for no other reason that they’re a billionaire, then there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from turning that power against anyone you don’t like.

            This is already how it is for poor people…

            contingent on a billionaire commiting a crime

            Weird how so many crimes are the things poor people do out of desperation rather than the things rich people do to coerce poor people to do the things poor people don’t want to do…

          • whotookkarl@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            You seem to be under the assumptions that hoarding vast wealth to the point of extreme inequality is benign and not damaging to society & individuals living in that type of civilization, and that limiting extreme wealth inequality for billionaires means they’re coming for everyone next with no limits. These are some of the main ingredients in cooking an oligarchy soup.

  • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    What’s fun is everytime something like this is tried, it fails spectacularly… and they know that.

      • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        There was a recent case of a young billionaire who basically signed over everything to a family member to live on the street to prove he could “Make millions from nothing!” and that the poors “Were just being lazy”

        It didn’t end well for him and he begged mommy to give him his wealth back because going too long without his gold-plated jaquzzi was hard

  • Emerald (she/her)@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I mean those who have a crap ton of money have it because they don’t mind exploiting others in terrible ways to get it. So maybe the cream would rise back up to the top psychopaths.

    • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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      2 years ago

      Naw, I’m down with exploiting others for personal gain but I simply lack the capital to do so in the same way as the ultra rich.

      I’m not going to pretend every low income person is some ethical ideal, because I sure as fuck aren’t.

      And that’s why like laws and shit are needed to prevent that exploitation or whatever.

    • zarathustrad@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Don’t forget, Nepotism and “net working” aka groups of sociopaths working together to shear the sheep…

      If you take their money, they still have their connections, as long as the other wolves don’t turn on them.

      Edit: as another poster said “social capital” is a thing.

  • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Division of labor would suggest the people that are best at hunting money, hunt the money for the tribe while the others do other stuff.

  • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    Who do I vote for to make this happen?
    Or is that French shortening device the only way at this point?

  • rayyy@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Same goes for a wealthy grifter. Take all his money away and he will steal more. Scum always rises to the top. No need to test that.

  • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    This was tested…sort of. He didn’t give away his money he just supposedly didn’t make use of it essentially hitting the road as a fake homeless and making money by selling stuff he bought on facebook market.

    The fellow was a millionaire not a billionaire and I think he went from nothing to ~50k in nearly a year. He called it off early because he was basically destroying his health.

    • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      Yeah, with friends housing him and hiring him 🤡

      Not to mention that actually poor people don’t have a cheat code to get them out when their health suffers. Which then makes them less able to keep working at maximum mental and physical capacity.

      So this was nothing but a demonstration that nepotism and money is what one really needs.

      • golli@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        He could also take higher risks, since he knew that there was a security net to catch him. Much easier to make high risk/reward decisions, if the risk (e.g. going broke) isn’t actually real. He presumably also had an above average education and many other benefits. This is also why many rich people might end up building successful businesses. The average person might get one shot and either makes it or goes broke. The rich person can roll the dice multiple times (and might have learned something from the last try).

        Also disregarding everything even, if he had succeded: That would still only have been a sample size of one. I doubt anyone is saying that you can’t under any circumstances pull yourself out of poverty, but on average the cards are just stacked against you in many ways.

        Also i doubt that reselling second hand stuff is a viable business model for a larger group. Like sure in a large city a few people might be able to carve out a niche for themself, but the more people do it or the smaller the market, the less it works.

    • boonhet@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      Not me, but only because I’ve watched his videos on YouTube. The man is a brilliant comedian IMO.

  • Wrench@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    They would still have all the advantages of the business connections they made as a billionaire, and would still have a massive advantage over everyone else.

    Run the experiment.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      They would still have all the advantages of the business connections they made as a billionaire

      Business connections to other people who also had their money stripped away.

      I mean, we’ll never run the experiment because the folks in charge of the Laboratory of Democracy all sit on the boards of Microsoft, Boeing, and Berkshire Hathaway. But Bill Gates doesn’t benefit by hobnobbing with Warren Buffet when neither of them have any money.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      But many of their connections would be poor as well. Do you think people actually care what Elon or Bezos think? They’re not geniuses, they just have money. Compare them to Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett, who actually knew what they were doing.

      No one seriously asks Bezos or Elon for advice because they were just lucky. Their companies succeed despite them, not because of them. Like the guy who started Uber (forgot his name). Nobody listens to them.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Compare them to Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett, who actually knew what they were doing.

        Steve Jobs, the man who thought he could beat pancreatic cancer with a juice cleanse?

        • NaoPb@eviltoast.org
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          2 years ago

          The guy who wanted to build fanless computers. Forcing designers to turn down the fans on laptops, having them cook but silent.

          Yeah, that guy was a true genius. /s

          He was great with words though.

          • vga@sopuli.xyzBanned
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            2 years ago

            The Apple Silicon machines are fucking awesome though, and most of them are fanless. Even the ones that do have them, you have to do some pretty special shit to make them turn on.

            I hope the Linux world gets proper ARM machines some day too, but for the time being, the Apple machines are like a full generation ahead.

        • Starkstruck@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Well, being super smart in one field doesn’t necessarily mean you have common sense. You could be the greatest physicist in the world but still think lizard people control everything.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Steve Jobs was a grade A cunt with the rest of them. Don’t give him a pass for his high charisma score. Dude walked into Atari with no fucken shoes on back in the 70s trying to get a job. I used to work with a 72 year old dude who was a head repairman there working on the consoles. Its all confidence, smoke, and mirrors. Skills are secondary to spewing bullshit and making people feel excited.

        • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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          2 years ago

          If he wasn’t integral to Apple’s success, then why did they fail after he left, and then succeed after he returned? What innovative products has Tim Apple created? Air Pods? The Apple Watch?

          • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Why do we have party faces in tabletops? Why focus our skillsets on salesmenship while others become engineers? He was a great ringleader, he could probably sell people a wet banana peel like it was life changing. Maybe the products themselves aren’t as stellar as Jobs made them out to be. Maybe a phone is just a phone and when Merlin isn’t there blowing smoke up your ass you can finally see that.

    • Vlyn@lemmy.zip
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      2 years ago

      Take the money away and the connections are worthless. They have business connection because of money.

      • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        Do some of them have big brains/work ethic?

        Not all the random massive family inheritance people obviously. Just imagine some folks worked really damn hard to earn an unethically yet unfortunately legally large amount of money.

        • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Do some of them have big brains/work ethic?

          Gates seems smart enough. If he lost all his money I am sure he is capable to saying being the store manager at. Walmart.

        • hglman@lemmy.ml
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          2 years ago

          Rich people are not good at being friends, especially the one who are in charge of large businesses. They are good at exploiting others.

    • gimsy@feddit.it
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      2 years ago

      Well, if you remove from ALL billionaires, they won’t be much different from me or my neighbor

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Or would their connections who weren’t billionaires just exploit them so they could take the top spot?