Taxing the rich....what are you willing to give up? (1 Viewer)

Sandman

Kind of Messed Up
Staff member
Administrator
VIP Contributor
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
15,868
Reaction score
10,416
Offline
In discussing the Fair Tax v. Flat Tax v. Current System on another thread. Taxing the rich came up briefly and how the middle class carries the burden (probably in all three systems). That got me thinking, what if we taxed the rich at a higher rate, but in return they got greater voting rights. After all, if they are going to throw down more money, shouldn't they have a greater say in how it is spent? The system would be such that if you don't pay taxes, you are worth one vote. If you pay x amount of dollars, you are worth 1.2 votes....going up based on the amount you pay. It would truly be a system in which money=power.

Now I know the numerous problems this would cause, and it would never be proposed. This is purely a hypothetical to encourage discussion...if you are in to that. Still, if it meant a substantial reduction in your taxes, would you agree to devalue your voting strength? Would you pay more to increase your voting power?
 
That would be terrible, I know a lot of stupid rich people. It would also head towards a monarchy as long as people were smart about conserving their $$$$$$$. Pop in enough cash and you make the rules.
 
That would be terrible, I know a lot of stupid rich people. It would also head towards a monarchy as long as people were smart about conserving their $$$$$$$. Pop in enough cash and you make the rules.

Exactly. This isn't about proposing a wonderful system of government here. This is more of a question of what people are willing to give up in order to pay less taxes, or what they are willing to give in order to acquire more power.

Still, I'd be lying if I said that this government model doesn't intrigue me.

*Edit* I just changed the title a bit to get it more in line with where I am going with this thread.
 
What would I give up? Hell, I'm rich. Widge even admitted it. I wanna know what I'm gonna get.

You would give up more of your income to taxes in return for more voting power.
 
That system would benefit the rich more than the current one. Depending on your scale, they would probably get off cheaper with an "enhanced voting tax" system as opposed to paying off lobbyists, forming and funding PACs, forming and funding "grassroots" operations (not to mention just outright bribing politicians!). :mwink:
 
That system would benefit the rich more than the current one. Depending on your scale, they would probably get off cheaper with an "enhanced voting tax" system as opposed to paying off lobbyists, forming and funding PACs, forming and funding "grassroots" operations (not to mention just outright bribing politicians!). :mwink:

True. We all know money=power in our current system--this system just doesn't hide it.
 
A political system where the rich get more rights is a Plutocracy. Some people might argue we have that today, but in granting voting rights based on taxes paid, I don't see any other word for it.

Here's my re-write of the Declaration for formation of such a nation/state:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator (and their wallets) with certain unalienable Rights (these rights are distributed based on contributions to the Nation’s coffers) that among these are Life, <st1:city><st1>Liberty</st1></st1:city>, and the Pursuit of Happiness (more for the few and less for the many)." :D<o></o>
 
I'd pay more taxes initially to acquire the power to forbid the earmarking and pork that goes on. Then I'd have to pay less and less as practically nothing in the budget would remain.
 
Last edited:
I'd pay more taxes initially to acquire the power to forbid the earmarking and pork that goes on. Then I'd have to pay less and not as practically nothing in the budget would remain.

I don't think you would be the only one that would do that. In fact, I think that would be the thought process of a lot of people "buying" the extra power. Eventually, they would decrease the spending of the government which would lead to a decrease in the need for taxes.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Users who are viewing this thread

    Back
    Top Bottom