[shafyy]

> It's incredibly difficult to tax someone who's actually poor on paper

You think this because the super rich want you to think this. Actually, it's not hard and there are some good ideas floating around (e.g. more inheritance tax, don't let them get loans without taxes againt their illiquid wealth). Does it require a change of laws? Yes, but that's the whole point of democracy.

[WalterBright]

The top federal inheritance tax rate is 40%. The top Washington state inheritance tax rate is 20%. I.e. the government takes half.

[shafyy]

Sure, but we all know about the loop holes that need to be fixed.

[sgjohnson]

> more inheritance tax

won't fix anything

> don't let them get loans without taxes againt their illiquid wealth

You don't want to fix this. It would kill repurchasing agreements as a collateral damage, making access to credit more difficult and expensive for everyone. Not to mention HELOCs. You might say, "ok, exempt HELOCs", but that's just an arbitrary goalpost.

The economy is organic, you can just use a wrench and have a go at a couple of cogs and expect there to be no knock-on effect.

[shafyy]

> The economy is organic, you can just use a wrench and have a go at a couple of cogs and expect there to be no knock-on effect.

What do you even mean by "organic"? Of course governments can, do and should intervene in the economy. And yes, there should be a range of experts evaluating policies before they are encated. I never stated the opposite.