[waterlesscloud]

Here's a thought-

His actions provided massive value to the US, creating an enormous amount of wealth that did not previously exist and adding to the nation's assets.

Far from exacting a price on a community, his actions have paid off quite handsomely for the community.

[geebee]

I couldn't agree more. But that would be true if his tax rate were 5%, 15%, or 25%.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but I'm not radical enough to believe that someone who becomes a billionaire while working and living in the US as a US citizen shouldn't pay US taxes. Almost nobody does - it's the tax rate that people really disagree about.

What that rate should be is, of course, open to debate, but I don't really see it as central to this particular argument. I think this is more narrowly about the extent to which the money Saverin made from facebook should be considered money earned in the US as a US citizen.

[wpietri]

What evidence do you have that his actions provide massive value? I grant that the actions of somebody at Facebook did, but I don't have particular reason to believe that he was the key factor. He was, after all, forced out early on, and hasn't done much interesting since.

[rsanchez1]

This business of attacking Saverin personally is ridiculous. You do it, other people do it, and eventually it seems like the thing to do. Then when Congress starts to attack Saverin it seems normal. We have to go after those greedy rich bastards, don't we? But it's a very dangerous precedent. Do the words "bill of attainder" not mean anything to anyone here?