I'm here for this! Your voice found me in a crowded sea of advisors too scared to tell their clients that the roots of their family tree are flush with wealth and that it's time to find more people, more social safety nets to share it with. Your "topple over" metaphor is eerily vivid and evident in U.S. culture. Can't wait for Part 2!
Thanks for reading David! Yeah, it's an interesting line to walk but I find that my clients (who are mostly in their 30s and 40s) are aware of the system and ready to do some actual good with their fortunes. And are (mostly) in favor of higher taxes for the rich.
Thanks AJ for a great summary of a BIG problem. Capitalism works best when there is a strong middle class, which we currently do not have. It's absurd that the top 1% own more wealth than the entire middle class combined. What Adam Smith got wrong is that he assumed the super-rich would be moral and ethical.
This is really insightful, Ally! I particularly appreciate your willingness to take a position regarding the unequal distribution of wealth in this country and how the current tax code contributes to that disparity.
Who gets to decide how much is "too much"? Congress made the loopholes, they can close them but then how would they get reelected? A flat tax with no loopholes would be simple and effective but will never happen.
Ally seemed to miss that point. Sure feels “blame” was put in the wrong place. Your second home interest deduction is because of Congress putting it for themselves.
As you articulate so well, billionaires haven't actually earned their wealth, rather they've profited from the hard work of others. That wealth needs to be distributed fairly to the people who truly generated it.
I agree that billionaires shouldn't exist. A limit is needed. Nobody should be allowed to own $1bil. Abigail Disney wrote earlier this year:
“I am of the belief that every billionaire who can't live on $999m is kind of a sociopath. Like, why? You know, over a billion dollars makes money so fast that it's almost impossible to get rid of. And so by just sitting on your hands, you become more of a billionaire until you're a double billionaire. It's a strange way to live when you have objectively more money than a person can spend.”
-- Abigail Disney (2025), one of the heirs to the Walt Disney fortune.
You proposed a solution of making billionaires pay more taxes, and you made really great points, but isn't "pay more taxes" an antiquated solution? Dollars aren't tied to gold anymore. In the past, tax was necessary because a government couldn't create money out of thin air to pay for services, because new money required new gold.
However, the gold standard was abandoned long ago. The reason for the existence of taxes disappeared when the idea of money=gold disappeared. There's no more reason for tax. Tax can be abolished now, because it serves no real purpose anymore. That's why I proposed maximum ownership limits instead of taxes on billionaires. What do you think?
I love this piece, thank you. I shared it with my financial advisor who really doesn’t have any advice for me because there is none except bonds and index funds and “the market always performs, you’ll see.” I haven’t. Useless because I’m not even close to wealthy. “They,” afterall, build the system for themselves only and here we are. “Let them eat cake.” Avarice trumps (pun?) the common good. Nothing new.
I would just tax everything over a million. Why be a billionaire, it's also distorting prices as in order to have billionaires, a lot of people have to be underpaid and if only a certain proportion of people can buy x products, then prices have to go up in order to make a profit. It probably also removes certain products from the market as rich people don't want them and poor people can't afford them. It's a lot like the housing shortage. Affordable homes can't be built because rich people have inflated the price of everything that makes a home something people want to buy, and added a bunch of crap that only rich people can afford or use.
Good work on this! I think a wealth tax is fair for the ultra wealthy. People do deserve the fruits of their labor, but when they have more money than some small countries, and horde that money, it gets a little out of control. Great work! Love the citations and research!
I'm here for this! Your voice found me in a crowded sea of advisors too scared to tell their clients that the roots of their family tree are flush with wealth and that it's time to find more people, more social safety nets to share it with. Your "topple over" metaphor is eerily vivid and evident in U.S. culture. Can't wait for Part 2!
Thanks for reading David! Yeah, it's an interesting line to walk but I find that my clients (who are mostly in their 30s and 40s) are aware of the system and ready to do some actual good with their fortunes. And are (mostly) in favor of higher taxes for the rich.
Thanks AJ for a great summary of a BIG problem. Capitalism works best when there is a strong middle class, which we currently do not have. It's absurd that the top 1% own more wealth than the entire middle class combined. What Adam Smith got wrong is that he assumed the super-rich would be moral and ethical.
This is really insightful, Ally! I particularly appreciate your willingness to take a position regarding the unequal distribution of wealth in this country and how the current tax code contributes to that disparity.
Who gets to decide how much is "too much"? Congress made the loopholes, they can close them but then how would they get reelected? A flat tax with no loopholes would be simple and effective but will never happen.
Ally seemed to miss that point. Sure feels “blame” was put in the wrong place. Your second home interest deduction is because of Congress putting it for themselves.
As you articulate so well, billionaires haven't actually earned their wealth, rather they've profited from the hard work of others. That wealth needs to be distributed fairly to the people who truly generated it.
The whole time of humanity it’s always been a few that have ruled the many …
I agree that billionaires shouldn't exist. A limit is needed. Nobody should be allowed to own $1bil. Abigail Disney wrote earlier this year:
“I am of the belief that every billionaire who can't live on $999m is kind of a sociopath. Like, why? You know, over a billion dollars makes money so fast that it's almost impossible to get rid of. And so by just sitting on your hands, you become more of a billionaire until you're a double billionaire. It's a strange way to live when you have objectively more money than a person can spend.”
-- Abigail Disney (2025), one of the heirs to the Walt Disney fortune.
Oh that’s a good one! I remember reading an interview with her a few years ago.
You proposed a solution of making billionaires pay more taxes, and you made really great points, but isn't "pay more taxes" an antiquated solution? Dollars aren't tied to gold anymore. In the past, tax was necessary because a government couldn't create money out of thin air to pay for services, because new money required new gold.
However, the gold standard was abandoned long ago. The reason for the existence of taxes disappeared when the idea of money=gold disappeared. There's no more reason for tax. Tax can be abolished now, because it serves no real purpose anymore. That's why I proposed maximum ownership limits instead of taxes on billionaires. What do you think?
Straight up AJ: pay more taxes. Period end of story. Enjoyed the article.
So many exquisite and insightful metaphors. Thank you for what needed to be said!
I love this piece, thank you. I shared it with my financial advisor who really doesn’t have any advice for me because there is none except bonds and index funds and “the market always performs, you’ll see.” I haven’t. Useless because I’m not even close to wealthy. “They,” afterall, build the system for themselves only and here we are. “Let them eat cake.” Avarice trumps (pun?) the common good. Nothing new.
I can hardly wait for part 2.
Just curious, will Part 2 be next Tuesday, or just some Tuesday?
Next Tuesday! I won't hold out on you!
Yahoo!
Great article. Thank you
I would just tax everything over a million. Why be a billionaire, it's also distorting prices as in order to have billionaires, a lot of people have to be underpaid and if only a certain proportion of people can buy x products, then prices have to go up in order to make a profit. It probably also removes certain products from the market as rich people don't want them and poor people can't afford them. It's a lot like the housing shortage. Affordable homes can't be built because rich people have inflated the price of everything that makes a home something people want to buy, and added a bunch of crap that only rich people can afford or use.
https://fortune.com/2025/02/25/berkshire-hathaway-taxes-warren-buffett/
Good work on this! I think a wealth tax is fair for the ultra wealthy. People do deserve the fruits of their labor, but when they have more money than some small countries, and horde that money, it gets a little out of control. Great work! Love the citations and research!