RE: Why I Believe Property Tax and Capital Gains Tax Are a Scam
Quite contrary are property tax (better: a tax on ground) and capital gains taxes the only ones that have a definite moral ground.
I have no time so in short: Because YOU own the land, others cannot use it. So to make sure the land is owned (and e.g. produces hammers) the non-using has to be made expensive.
And Capital (the one that is taxed as in capital gains) is the opposite of that production. It is non-production, simple speculation. You create "wealth" without building one hammer. At least the tax part will be used for something other then just increasing the numbers on the bank account.
If you mean mean by property tax a tax on general wealth, then that tax is just a (way too small) corrector for the simple fact that by pure randomness money ends up in fewer and fewer pockets while others get fewer and fewer money (that is mathematically proven btw, just saying it because so many won't believe it).
Inheritance tax is the same principle. It always surprises me that so many people that are against giving those in need money "because they are just lazy and should not get money for doing nothing", are dead set against an inheritance tax - an inheritance by definition is money for doing nothing.
Money ends up in fewer and fewer pockets because of the nature of how it's created out of thin air and loaned to us at an interest that can never be paid back. Every dollar you have represents debt someone is paying somewhere.
Can never be paid back? What terrible bank are you borrowing from?
Money is debt. If all debt was payed back, there would be no money (Fiat money).
That doesn't even remotely make sense...
Yeah, money is really hard to understand.
Oh I get it, you're clueless so you think if you say cryptic things you'll sound smart.
Good job.
Not quite. I have no need to hide my ignorance or say something cryptic. I strive to express myself as clearly as possible. I also think I understand something about money and the nature of it. It's very complex, at least for my simple brains. But I'm open to anything that helps me better understand money, economics, and what not. So do you understand money? If you do, could you point me to some good information?
I think I have a decent handle on it. I've been meaning to write a post about it, but as you can see if you look at my blog I'm very lazy and only occasionally write anything...
The short version is that money is a leaky abstraction for the benefit people provide to others. It certainly isn't all debt though, any money borrowed is being paid back by people benefiting others. In fact, lending money in and of itself creates a benefit.
The whole question of "fiat" vs "gold" or whatever is inherently ridiculous. Everything is worth what people believe it is worth, and gold is no exception. That's why money has literally been everything from sea shells, to stone IOU's, to paper, to some bits on a computer. It literally does not matter what the money is physically represented by, it matters that people see it as valuable.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts like to say their favorite currency is backed by "proof of work." But... really work isn't the point. The point is benefit, and what does a cryptocurrency really do? It does math to generate more cryptocurrency. The only benefit it provides is to perpetuate itself, which doesn't strike me as that useful unless humans decide the cryptocurrency has value. The end result is that all cryptocurrencies are inherently speculative and turn into investment vehicles moreso than currency.
The Federal Reserve, educate yourself.
Tax consumption not capital gains and property. People can only get out of poverty by capital gains and property. Income isn't likely to get anyone out of poverty ever. Capital gains from investment from a young age can, and property if a person buys real estate can. When people lose their homes because they didn't or couldn't pay taxes there is a problem with that.
Definitely, most likely because they spend way too much for their income. If their income was low they would pay income taxes after all.
And if they have property then they are living on cheaper resources then renters.
Thinking about it again, in the US probably all it needs to get bankcrupt thanks to Trump will be to get the flu.
People who invest both contribute to growth of the economy and fund their own retirement. Why punish that with high capital gains taxes? Especially during a time when technological unemployment is likely, why punish one of the few safe havens?
Capital gains is not investing. If you buy a stock at 1$ and sell it at 100$ exactly 0 things got produced.
That is the basis of the current financial problem:
Lots and lots of money is sloshing around (so much that we have negative interest), but the banks aren't doing with it what is wanted: Loan it to companies - so that they invest.
In fact companies are doing the opposite since 2008 - they aren't investing but instead lowering their loan amounts.
And states are trying to do the same.
So if the privates only put money in speculating (stocks and derivatives etc.), than we have the situation that all 3 sectors are trying to decrease investments. No wonder the economy does not work!
The price of the stock got produced. And a company got funded in the process.
Yes. The emission is investment. Everything after speculation. You can buy the stocks ten times and no cent goes to the company (How many times the GDP of the earth is traded daily on the stock exchanges?)
It goes to the people who work for the company who need liquidity to sell their stock.
Ah, I see. Getting stocks instead of money is something that is quite unique to the US.
Still, since the stocks are created just for that, it is an emission.
(The worker has invested her time into the company.)
But the people who buy the stocks from the workers are speculators. And no cent of their money goes to the company.