Progressives Aren't Going Far Enough
You can't create an equal society within an unequal structure
If you ask Google how to Reduce Wealth and Income inequality you will get variations of the following solutions:
12 Tools to Reduce Income and Wealth Inequality
Raise wages and other benefits
Make the income tax system more progressive
Cap the ratio of top executive pay to worker’s pay
Raise the tax on carried interest.
Remove or reduce home mortgage interest deduction
Strengthen the earned income tax credit or establish a universal basic income program
Close offshore tax havens
Pass a tax on financial transactions
Pass a tax on high value luxury goods
Establish a wealth tax
Raise the estate tax
Raise the capital gains tax rate
These suggestions were put together by a think tank of impressive sounding people who are all backed by equally impressive sounding institutions. It’s all bullshit. All of these recommendations are built upon an unequal patriarchal system that will continue to operate for the benefit of the existing white overlords. These recommendations are little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Here are just a handful of issues we see with the above suggestions:
That’s a lot of different objectives to reach a social utopia.
50% of the country will fight tooth and nail to stop these objectives being implemented.
Governments are shocking allocators of money (read more about that here)
Each objective comes with additional regulations and complexity. Complex laws and regulations are a gift to tax accountants and lawyers nationwide as it gives them loads of material to work with.
Even if all objectives were met we don’t believe the rich would be paying their share (the tax burden would fall on the middle classes as it always does). The rich would continue to live their extravagant lifestyles here or abroad with their armies of accountants carefully protecting wealth. Fortunately, there is another way…
It’s All About Inflation
Inflation is the rate at which the money in circulation is increased over time. Our economies use what is called a ‘Fiat’ currency which means our governments can control the amount in circulation. Governments can inflate the currency to give themselves additional money to spend. Here is how it usually plays out:
A politician gets elected on promises to spend money her country does not have on a handful of projects or policies.
The politician first looks to raising taxes to finance the policies but realises this will be unpopular and ‘taxing’ to get the money she needs in time to make any progress before the next election.
Instead of raising taxes she takes a loan from her countries central bank. She issues some government debt (let’s pretend she wants $1 trillion) and the country’s central bank creates the money out of thin air and buys the debt.
The politician is happy because she can commit to her election promises and starts spending the money.
Once she has spent that money it goes into general circulation, increasing the amount of money in the system.
As there is more money in the system over time prices increase because the money is more abundant and therefore cheaper.
By using money printed she has passed on the obligation of paying for her election pledges to the nation’s citizens in the form of higher prices.
The more money there is in circulation, the more everything costs. Food prices, rental prices, property, and utility bills will all increase because everyone is passing the increased costs down to the next person.
Inflation is especially cruel to our poorest members of society as they hold more cash than they do other assets. The wealthy see their wealth increase with inflation as they own investment assets (property, stocks & shares, collectibles etc) which all increase in value as cash is pumped into the system.
A working class pensioner with cash stuffed under her mattress wont realise she is being taxed by the system as they push up prices to pay for their pet political projects. Meanwhile a upper class pensioner with a couple of properties and a stock portfolio will see their assets increase in value.
This monetary trick is especially cruel when the politician is spending on policies that are supposed to help the poor.
Opt out of the current system, buy and hold Bitcoin
We have been stuck in the current system with no alternative for over a century. Scores of governments have manipulated the currency and us for their own ends, always focusing on the next election rather than our long-term prosperity. We have had no choice but to endure… until now…
Hello Bitcoin
Bitcoin has a handful of unique features that no currency in the history of the world has ever had:
By taking control of the currency out of the hands of central government we are taking away their ability to manipulate the economy and spend money they don’t collect through taxes.
Vote with your money to bring in the change you want to see in the world
In Bitcoin we trust. Read more here —> Why we believe in Bitcoin
Till Next Time
The Wealth Gap Team