[telotortium]

If you want a Sweden-style social democracy, you need to significantly raise taxes on at least the upper quintile (in the US, that's just over $130k - coincidentally, that's around the cutoff for income subject to Social Security tax). But >$130k/year income is most common among the professional-managerial class, which has become a core Democrat constituency, so Democrats will for sure not raise taxes on them - Democrats have already promised not to raise taxes on households making less than $400k. So the US tax code isn't getting fixed anytime soon, unfortunately.

[rhaway84773]

That might be necessary in the steady state but Sweden never redistributed as much wealth to the top 0.1% as the U.S. has in the last 40 odd years.

In theory the US could go very far taxing a much smaller base because it has allowed so much money to be redistributed to this tiny base.

But even ignoring that your comment is unnecessary. Even if a Sweden like social democracy is the goal (which it doesn’t need to be…there’s many stopping points in between), the US doesn’t need to do it overnight. Raising taxes on the richest and then increasing the tax rates on lower brackets gradually over the decades as needed is an absolutely fine way to head in that direction as well.

[msh]

Sweden style democracy only works because everyone is heavily taxed, from poor to rich.

[telotortium]

Yes, like Rainier says, a VAT would be very helpful to have as well. The US can probably get away with a little less taxation in theory due to having so many PMC high-income earners, but that would depend on the US knowing how to run government services efficiently...

My larger point is that Americans are largely under the delusion that heavily taxing the 1% would be enough, which is just not the case.

[mschuster91]

> My larger point is that Americans are largely under the delusion that heavily taxing the 1% would be enough, which is just not the case.

728 people in the US own more assets than half the US population together [1].

Let that fact sink in, and then ask yourself why the fuck no one in the US has taken to the pitchforks yet. At least here in Europe, the lower classes are on serious strike runs the last months - the UK, France and Germany are just examples.

You know what, you could leave each of these 728 uber rich people a billion dollar each. Enough money that neither they nor their children and their children have to work a day in their lifes ever. Basically, aristocracy, "landed gentry" or however you want to call it, just legally recognized. The rest of the wealth gets distributed among the population. Easy, isn't it?

[1] https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/04/13/728-billionaires-hold...

[oliwarner]

Assets.

I'm not defending the massive inequity which clearly exists, but wealth tax that targets a theoretical (eg) land value will lead to silliness as this 0.00017% aggressively devalue their holdings to avoid this tax.

[mschuster91]

So what, then pull a NYC AG on them and investigate for fraudulent devaluing.

[cinntaile]

Sweden has a higher wealth inequality than the US. Mind you this is different from income inequality.

[rayiner]

Sweden also has a 25% VAT.