It won’t be published in English until March. But in an interview with the French magazine L’Obs, Piketty called for a graduated wealth tax of 5% on those worth 2 million euros or more and up to 90% on those worth more than 2 billion euros.
Yes, 90%!
“Entrepreneurs will have millions or tens of millions,” he said. “But beyond that, those who have hundreds of millions or billions will have to share with shareholders, who could be employees. So no, there won’t be billionaires anymore. How can we justify that their existence is necessary for the common good? Contrary to what is often said, their enrichment was obtained thanks to these collective goods, which are the public knowledge, the infrastructures, the laboratories of research.”
This guy has no understanding of how the economy works and the importance of capital accumulation. He has no understanding of how the taxation of capital, to be redistributed by government, destroys the productive engine of an economy.
In short, he is not a very deep thinker but sure knows how to do surface-level promotion based around current pop thinking around the absurd concept of egalitarianism.
Bloomberg notes:
To Piketty, 1980 marked a regrettable turning point as leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher turned their backs on progressive taxation. He writes:
Both American and European growth were stronger in the egalitarian 1950-1980 period than in the subsequent period, characterized by rising inequality, raising serious questions about the social utility of the latter. The greater increase in inequality observed since 1980 in the U.S., compared to Europe, has also generated little additional growth, and in any case has not benefited the poorest 50%, who have experienced total stagnation in their absolute standard of living in the U.S. and a collapse in their relative level.For the problems with egalitarianism, see: Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays by Murray Rothbard.
And there is this about Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century:
Since Piketty is back in the news, here's a reminder that his last book was an error-riddled mess of tortured and misrepresented data. Will the new one be any different?https://t.co/eEjIs4wxOu— Phil Magness (@PhilWMagness) September 12, 2019
-RW
I have a bit of trouble believing people like this, these expert technocrat types, lack the understanding that the engine of unearned wealth inequality, static incomes for the productive ordinary people, and the rest of the complaints is central banking. They must fundamentally understand this but their livelihoods are dependent upon central banking. The people they serve are enriched by it. Governments are empowered by it. So they come up with these symptom treatments assuming wrongly of course that all great wealth is generated through flaws in central bank run economies.
ReplyDeleteI can believe they assume central banking necessary and good and work from there. Either way, they are operating under a rule set where by the only way to address the effects of central banking is through things like taxation schemes. But those schemes of course only end up hurting everyone who improves life on this rock. From the guy who comes up with some wonderwidget and markets it successfully with his own company to some assembly line employee. All the productive people suffer. The financialized, those who profit from QE and other central bank manipulations will likely not suffer.
Pikkety and other intellectuals are there tell us why the ladder must be cut off so nobody can challenge those on top.
The guy is delusional. He just wants to steal wealth from others plain and simple.
Delete"Intellectuals aren't brain of the nation, they're shit." -- V.I.Lenin
DeleteThis Piketty clown is so ignorant that he doesn't understand that should his dreams come true and socialists take over, he and his likes will be the first inmates in the death camps.