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Started By
Message
re: Wall Street Journal lamenting taxes aren't higher on billionaires
Posted on 2/18/26 at 7:52 am to wackatimesthree
Posted on 2/18/26 at 7:52 am to wackatimesthree
quote:
Can you post the main ideas? It’s behind a pay wall.
Here:
- Billionaire wealth is almost completely due to appreciation of stocks, thus rarely gets taxed because they rarely sell any of it. Instead they take out loans with their stocks as collateral. They just pay interest on an ever increasing loan value, using more loans to pay the interest on the existing loan as well as support their lifestyles. They can do this forever, never paying taxes.
- Billionaire wealth is greatly increasing relative to everyone else including the very wealthy. The top 0.1% is increasing relative to the top 1%.
- Arguments against taxing the billionaires tend to focus on the top 1% are paying 40% of the income taxes, but that’s because the of the top 1% less the top 0.1% who are paying next to nothing.
- The article’s conclusion is that populist pressure to do something about this is growing and will continue to grow. The article did not come out in favor of any particular action one way or the other; it simply drew the obvious, aforementioned conclusion.
2
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:07 am to Penrod
quote:
unrealized capital gains.
Its not a gain until its realized
Same as doubling your money on a blackjack table and not walking away
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:10 am to udtiger
quote:It is disappointing the WSJ would have a foreign sociology major writing about US economics.
Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990. Their share hit a record 32% in the third quarter of 2025, equivalent to $54.8 trillion.
Gains made by the billionaire class, the very top 0.1% of households and a subset of the 1%, have eclipsed the merely extremely rich.
As one of many examples, when she labels the top 0.1% as the "Billionaire Class," she's only off by ~350-fold or 35000%.
Wealth of $40M rates as top 0.1% in the US.
$1B in the puts someone in the top 0.0003%, or 3 out of 1 million.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:12 am to Cosmo
quote:
Its not a gain until its realized
Same as doubling your money on a blackjack table and not walking away
You’re preaching to the choir, Cosmo, but what do you say about billionaires paying no taxes?
There are two income tax increases I’ve read about that I think are excellent ideas. The first is to repeal the carried interest laws that allow private equity to sell companies at gains and pay no taxes if they roll it into another fund. The second is that loans to support lifestyles (in other words, loans used as income) should be taxed. This would prevent billionaires, and millionaires north of about $75 million, from using loans to avoid capital gains.
ETA: I have no idea how much the first would yield, but the second would yield about $60 billion per year in my estimation, and it would be fair and peanuts to the ultra-rich who would pay it. And remember, these are the ones paying almost zero taxes currently.
This post was edited on 2/18/26 at 8:18 am
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:18 am to udtiger
well the truth of the matter is that the top 1% (those making over 700k) pay 40% of all collected income taxes now.
it's time to reintroduce the wonderful middle class (the sharpest knifes in the draw that's why they're in the middle class!) back to the concept of paying income taxes. they used to be the largest group of tax payers by their sheer numbers. thanks to bush tax cuts and trumps tax cuts the middle class now pays nothing.
here's the rub they still think the pay for everything. a thread started yesterday claimed that our government was being run by pedo cannibals and we pay 37% on every dollar. i pointed out that you don't hit the 37% bracket until you hit 751k married filing joint.
my point is that if the middle class thinks they still pay for everything than let's go back to the 90's and let people making between 80 to 100k pay between 15 to 20k in income taxes. we might even pay down our deficit.
that'd be ok wouldn't it? everybody want's a solution that doesn't involve them.
it's time to reintroduce the wonderful middle class (the sharpest knifes in the draw that's why they're in the middle class!) back to the concept of paying income taxes. they used to be the largest group of tax payers by their sheer numbers. thanks to bush tax cuts and trumps tax cuts the middle class now pays nothing.
here's the rub they still think the pay for everything. a thread started yesterday claimed that our government was being run by pedo cannibals and we pay 37% on every dollar. i pointed out that you don't hit the 37% bracket until you hit 751k married filing joint.
my point is that if the middle class thinks they still pay for everything than let's go back to the 90's and let people making between 80 to 100k pay between 15 to 20k in income taxes. we might even pay down our deficit.
that'd be ok wouldn't it? everybody want's a solution that doesn't involve them.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:20 am to VOR
quote:
DOGE was a chaotic shitshow with no accountability., and it produced no reliable data…
Wrong as usual. DOGE was helping highlight and provide some accountability for the American taxpayer. DOGE was not meant to “be accountable” to the foxes guarding the hen house, like a Chuck Schumer who constantly presumes to “speak for the American people” but only really ever speak for themselves.
Quit parroting your MSM soundbites.
This post was edited on 2/18/26 at 12:12 pm
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:23 am to Cosmo
20% flat tax is BS, along with our current system. We need to control spending, get rid of the fraud and do a sales tax along with tariffs. Gvt shouldn’t be allowed to touch your money before you do.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:24 am to Mo Jeaux
quote:
quote:
Has become apparent the Wall Street Journal is to the left of the New York Times.
Oh good lord.
Their "news" division has always been different from their opinion division.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:27 am to udtiger
quote:
Article title: Billionaires low taxes are becoming a problem for the economy
Low taxes are NEVER a problem for the economy.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:31 am to mikeytig
quote:
Has become apparent the Wall Street Journal is to the left of the New York Times.
Did you read the article?
It was very neutral in presentation and made no arguement either way.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:33 am to dickkellog
quote:
well the truth of the matter is that the top 1% (those making over 700k) pay 40% of all collected income taxes now.
it's time to reintroduce the wonderful middle class (the sharpest knifes in the draw that's why they're in the middle class!) back to the concept of paying income taxes.
This is true, but you are skipping over the point that the top 1% is divided into two groups: the wealthy who are paying the 40% to which you referred, and the super-wealthy who are paying almost nothing. It’s that latter group that the article is addressing, and it’s true. The tax code is set up to allow them to go through generations of the most extravagant living without paying either income tax or capital gains tax.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:39 am to VOR
quote:
DOGE was a chaotic shitshow with no
accountability., and it produced no reliable data
Sorry it brought your transsexual muppet show to light
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:43 am to Penrod
quote:
The tax code is set up to allow them to go through generations of the most extravagant living without paying either income tax or capital gains tax.
The question is always why things are set up this way and why would we think that any solution offered would change anything.
Until our lawmakers stop passing huge, all encompassing bills, that they do not read, the super rich, who keep lawmakers in office so they can then lobby those lawmakers, will always have "outs".
The idea of these taxes are always, always sold to the average individual through feelings of envy. Within a few years, we are encompassed within the taxes.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 8:46 am to Penrod
quote:I routinely follow this with "What's the solution?" but you included a couple of solid proposals.
what do you say about billionaires paying no taxes?
quote:Indeed.
The first is to repeal the carried interest laws that allow private equity to sell companies at gains and pay no taxes if they roll it into another fund. The second is that loans to support lifestyles (in other words, loans used as income) should be taxed. This would prevent billionaires, and millionaires north of about $75 million, from using loans to avoid capital gains.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:02 am to UtahCajun
quote:No it isn't.
It was very neutral in presentation and made no arguement either way.
quote:"Data from the Federal Reserve shows ..." is not neutral.
Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990.
It implies an indisputable fact set that is instead a guesstimate, at best.
A neutral article would point out potential errors inherent in the data she's quoting as gospel. There are a litany of similar issues in her piece.
This post was edited on 2/18/26 at 12:21 pm
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:02 am to Penrod
quote:
This is true, but you are skipping over the point that the top 1% is divided into two groups: the wealthy who are paying the 40% to which you referred, and the super-wealthy who are paying almost nothing. It’s that latter group that the article is addressing, and it’s true. The tax code is set up to allow them to go through generations of the most extravagant living without paying either income tax or capital gains tax.
no jethro our problem is that too many now pay nothing. since the end of ww2 when we had deliberate confiscatory tax rates through the reagan cuts which indexed the brackets to inflation, and the bush tax cuts, the creation of child tax credits and the trump tax cuts 90% of americans pay no income tax. that's not morally right and it's not fiscally sound.
the author of the piece in the WSJ had another article that the struggle faced by the middle class was hurting louis vuitton's brand.
"Heard on the Street: A Hurting Middle Class Is a Problem for Louis Vuitton"
if that doesn't sum up the sorry state of this country i don't know what does.
we've turned 90% of the country into welfare queens.
This post was edited on 2/18/26 at 9:08 am
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:03 am to udtiger
The WSJ has really turned to shite.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:04 am to udtiger
Billionaires are welcome to voluntarily contribute to the US Treasury, as are the writers and editors at the WSJ.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:05 am to udtiger
Government needs to address all the waste, fraud, and abuse of citizens' tax dollars first, before they go reaching for more money.
Posted on 2/18/26 at 9:07 am to udtiger
The stupidity never ends.
1. Billionaires have the freedom to move.
2. Have entire teams trying to avoid taxes.
3. Contribute to politicians and influence policy.
Regardless of the tax, they will avoid payment.
1. Billionaires have the freedom to move.
2. Have entire teams trying to avoid taxes.
3. Contribute to politicians and influence policy.
Regardless of the tax, they will avoid payment.
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