Milo :
This! And it’s exactly why I find the whole “wealth tax” policy proposal to be super counterproductive and ineffective, in the long run. Wealth taxes were and still are tried in many Nordic Economies and EU nations, but it poses structural and mathematical inaccuracies, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and often impacts the middle class who own assets, too. In Norway, wealth taxes kick in beginning at $160k, so you have middle-class workers writing checks to their governments for unrealized gains or borrowing against their assets (such as their home) just to pay the government. And that’s not even including the other VAT and income taxes they pay. There isn’t a single system in which a government and economy can remain politically or economically sustainable, or competitive by overtaxing and burdening a small minority group of people; alone. There definitely needs to be greater checks, opacity, and citizen involvement and say in how the government spends our money, what they spend it on and why; but that’s likely easier said than done. And though unpopular, for the robust universal social programs and equity policies people claim to want—we will have to broaden the tax system and everyone will have to be willing to pay more, not just the rich, and honestly consider the tradeoffs and implications of an expanded welfare system beyond slogans, narratives, and emotional rhetoric.
2026-07-03 22:04:51