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My definition of socialism is along the lines of “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”
The government certainly has a lot to say about distribution of goods.
Even on the production side, government owns large parts of the economy:
Personal and property protection
Education
Water supply and distribution
Transportation infrastructure (roads, canals, ports, airports)
Electric power generation in several regions
Oil and mineral mining (as a major landowner)
All of these could be done by private enterprises, and at various times in US history they were to greater extent than they are now.
“donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?”
Gee, is anyone arguing that every dollar of an estate should be confiscated? No tax rate? No amount exempt? Just take the whole thing? I know some of you are saying not a dime for taxes, but I think most proponents of estate taxes would agree to both an exempt amount and a tax rate such that the bulk still goes to the beneficiaries. I doubt the people who are failing to save sufficiently are the same ones who need to figure out how to avoid estate taxes.
quote:
The truth is that if everyone had a high level of moral responsibility (if everyone was like MM and bxgrl)
:-/ how do you know they arent robbing banks on the weekends? if EVERYONE had their level of moral responsibility i think i’d shoot myself in the face.
donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?
No. I realize that expressing my love for my parents obscured that point.
I want to clarify — just because I do not care about getting any inheritance from my parents, I do not want tax to be a consideration in their decision, just their own pleasure. People SHOULD be able to leave their wealth to their kids, not Uncle Sam.
“- globalization
– financial deregulation that has occurred since Reagan”
During these past three decades, as we’ve seen the world grow in population by another 2 billion souls, would you not agree that the standard of living has been elevated for humans on this planet?
(before answering keep in mind that the average life expectancy is increasing and infant mortality is decreasing.)
donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?
denton, the only banks I own are NYB (current yield is 5.77% which is close to my cost basis) and SCBFF (current yield is 2.96% but my cost basis yield is 5.8%).
My definition of socialism is along the lines of “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”
The government certainly has a lot to say about distribution of goods.
Even on the production side, government owns large parts of the economy:
Personal and property protection
Education
Water supply and distribution
Transportation infrastructure (roads, canals, ports, airports)
Electric power generation in several regions
Oil and mineral mining (as a major landowner)
All of these could be done by private enterprises, and at various times in US history they were to greater extent than they are now.
“donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?”
Gee, is anyone arguing that every dollar of an estate should be confiscated? No tax rate? No amount exempt? Just take the whole thing? I know some of you are saying not a dime for taxes, but I think most proponents of estate taxes would agree to both an exempt amount and a tax rate such that the bulk still goes to the beneficiaries. I doubt the people who are failing to save sufficiently are the same ones who need to figure out how to avoid estate taxes.
quote:
The truth is that if everyone had a high level of moral responsibility (if everyone was like MM and bxgrl)
:-/ how do you know they arent robbing banks on the weekends? if EVERYONE had their level of moral responsibility i think i’d shoot myself in the face.
*rob*
donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?
No. I realize that expressing my love for my parents obscured that point.
Hi, benson,
I belatedly responded to you in ROTD thread.
I want to clarify — just because I do not care about getting any inheritance from my parents, I do not want tax to be a consideration in their decision, just their own pleasure. People SHOULD be able to leave their wealth to their kids, not Uncle Sam.
excuse me, pardon me, we have to stick to schedule.
It’s raunch hour.
Who’s gonna launch the first post?
“- globalization
– financial deregulation that has occurred since Reagan”
During these past three decades, as we’ve seen the world grow in population by another 2 billion souls, would you not agree that the standard of living has been elevated for humans on this planet?
(before answering keep in mind that the average life expectancy is increasing and infant mortality is decreasing.)
donatella,
are you telling us that if your parents had 1 million to give to you and your siblings as a legacy to live your dreams as they wanted you to,
you would be ok with some IRS guy in downtown Manhattan confiscating their lifelong work?
denton, the only banks I own are NYB (current yield is 5.77% which is close to my cost basis) and SCBFF (current yield is 2.96% but my cost basis yield is 5.8%).