I had this published a while ago but thought it is more relevant now. http://morganisteconomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/taxing-rich-will-not-solve-problem.html
I know, we need to jail them, especially the bankers. Why is billion dollar fraud (or rather trillion if you sum it all up) not prosecuted???
Because the 'bankers' didn't actually break any laws. Every time I hear marxist crap like this, I always find myself imagining a world where susan surandon leads the way to the gallows that she herself constructed.
Of course taxing the rich isn't the problem. Only people who BELIEVE that are poor people looking for someone to blame for their fuck-ups. The problem is way deeper than the rich being super rich. The problem is the governmental and monetary system itself.
Private banking is a problem. If banks were publicly owned they would fund the public sector in it's entirety. The graduated income tax is a major problem for several reasons. It's very invasive, who are they to ask me what I make or how I spend it? A flat tax on consumption would bring everybody into the fold of taxpayers. Rich people that consume more would pay more. Criminals would pay taxes every time they consumed something [unless they were incarcerated]. Welfare addicts would know that if they voted for more government they would have to pay for it via more taxation.
Raising taxes ain't gonna solve the problems. Lowering taxes ain't gonna solve the problems. Term limits will solve a myriad of the problems.
Ask yourself first how those trillions have been created or where they came from. Once you understand money creation, credit and banking then you would realize that the above sentence is off target. Keep in mind that these are the governments that bailed themselves out by creating more deficits, bankers are taking the blame and will be compensated for doing that and me and you will pay. Brilliant !
My preference is to simply remove as much of the incumbent's advantage as possible which would make the voting out of miscreants far more likely. And in another thread I explained how that could be done without amending the constitution. But there is no chance for changes in our election process to pass through the House and Senate. Sadly, there is no chance for term limits to pass either. Would you vote in favor of terminating your job? I hardly think so. If we are going to make any progress along these lines it will have to be a grass roots movement funded by someone with money to burn and a philanthropic heart. Maybe Buffett or Soros.
I don't see term limits or taking away incumbent advantages as solving anything. The root problem is that voters keep insisting on big government services with small government levels of taxation. Either approach can create a vibrant, prosperous society, but both at once inevitably leads to big problems.
I agree with the second part; the part about a consumption tax. IMO, that should be the only tax we pay. As you mentioned, the rich consumes a lot and more extravagantly because they have the money to do so, so in effect, that would lead to the rich being taxed more. Legalize most of the "illegal" victimless crimes (prostitution, gambling, drugs, etc) and you'd also collect a consumption tax on those items too. But in order for that to mean anything, the government has to stop spending so damn much.