32 private links
"the wealth tax is likely to be the most direct and powerful tool to restore tax progressivity at the very top of the distribution"
"our analysis shows that the wealth tax has great revenue and wealth equalizing
potential in the US context. The wealth tax, if the tax rates are high enough, is also a powerful tool to deconcentrate wealth. A wealth tax of 2 or 3% per year can put a significant dent into this growth rate advantage. With successful enforcement, a wealth tax has to deliver either revenue or de-concentrate wealth.79 Set the rates low (1%) and you get revenue in perpetuity but little (or very slow) de-concentration. Set the rates medium (2-3%) and you get revenue for quite a while and de-concentration eventually. Set the rates high (significantly above 3%) and you get de-concentration fast but revenue does not last long. Which is best will depend of course on ones political views."
"Can a wealth tax be successfully enforced? Our review of past and foreign experiences, as well as recent empirical work tells us that enforcement is a policy choice."
"The wealth tax accelerates the process of dispersion of stock ownership for very successful businesses that make their owners-founders billionaires. Dispersed stock ownership has been a feature of US capitalism and is a key reason why taxing wealthy business owners is feasible. Importantly and in contrast to labor income, this dispersion does not mean that economic activity disappears. There might not be even any effect on the wealth stock if the government uses the wealth tax proceeds for public investment, debt reduction, or to create a sovereign fund. The wealth disappears only if the government cannot save the money and cannot encourage middle class saving."
monero and cryptonote history
"Trump spent his presidency packing the federal government with Republicans eager to undermine the missions of the agencies they led. But Biden’s aggressive action upon taking office should be encouraging for progressives, since it indicates that the new president will move swiftly to fire Trump allies with high positions in the executive branch."
The FSB and GRU are as ambitious as they are dangerous in their operations, but the same cannot be said about their operational security practices. You do not need to look for dead drops in a park or trail people through alleyways to uncover the cover identities of spies, rather you just need a keen eye, patience, and the sense of knowing where to look for available leaked data sources.
doing the right thing only when it's self-serving should get no credit at all
"""
six senators—Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, John Kennedy, Roger Marshall, and Tommy Tuberville—still voted to reject Arizona’s electors and thus disenfranchise the state’s voters. So did a hundred and twenty-one representatives—a majority of the Republican caucus in the House—including the Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, of California.
“the best way we can show respect for the voters who were upset is by telling them the truth" - Mitt Romney
What has changed is that Trump is now clearly on the losing side, and McConnell and Graham know it.
seven Republican senators—Cruz, Hawley, Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, Marshall, Rick Scott, and Tuberville—voted to reject Pennsylvania’s electors. So did a hundred and thirty-eight Republican representatives.
"""
"Very often, an attempt to minimise risk to zero is the biggest risk itself"