--- In [email protected], Bhairitu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > History shows that not to be true at all. Most are just greedy bastards > who care little about their fellow humanity. People like Bill Gates are > a rare exception
Well 280 billion annually in american philanthropy sort of deflates your thesis. (Or are you concerned about the miserliness of Europeans -- who have lower levels of philanthropy?) Sure I would love to see american philanthropy at a trillion or 10 trillion a year. European and Asian philanthropy matching such. It can happen. It requires a change of ethos. A softening of world consciousness if you will. Its "progressively" happening. What will stop such in its tracks is confisgatory tax rates of 95-100% > > You still don't get that a progressive tax means people won't try to > earn another dime if they are going to pay more in taxes. I get it. And I think you You are dead wrong. Many such people will spend every waking hour on how to shelter income. Very unproductive for society to have many of its better minds engaged in such. And if I finally get your plan (let see if I do), it will lead to a such surge of conspicuous consuption and a drop in savings and investment -- two things that are huge drags on the economy. So let me see if I get your plan. If one's ESTATE were to reach 12 mil, you would then tax marginal INCOME at 100% rates. If this is true, then when net worth is 11,900 or so, rational (and irrational alike) people will spend 100% of their income and save and invest nothing. Being forced to spend everything, against their, long-honed spirit to save and invest, they will spend their money primarily on conspicuous consumption and toys. How this mitigates greed in society at large is beyond me. But I probably have misunderstood your plan. I can't imagine anyone with a straight face suggesting something so destructive to the economy and a savings/investment ethos -- which is at the core of productivity (the basis for wage increases for all) -- and to wildly inflame greed, shallow values, consumerism, class jealousy and crass materialism. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
