Saturday, December 11, 2010
Being of Two Minds
When billionaires say that they ought to be taxed more, I always say, sometimes out loud, "well, go ahead and send in more than you owe to the treasury. They'll take it." I applaud voluntary beneficence; it's the involuntary kind that bugs me.
On the other hand, regarding billionaires, there's always the Chinatown question, reproduced below:
Jake Gittes: How much are you worth?
Noah Cross: I have no idea. How much do you want?
Jake Gittes: I just wanna know what you're worth. More than 10 million?
Noah Cross: Oh my, yes!
Jake Gittes: Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?
Noah Cross: The future, Mr. Gittes! The future.
Is the future a Bill Gates, for example, can yet produce something we should stop through confiscatory taxes? What about the future Ted Turner envisions?
On the other hand, regarding billionaires, there's always the Chinatown question, reproduced below:
Jake Gittes: How much are you worth?
Noah Cross: I have no idea. How much do you want?
Jake Gittes: I just wanna know what you're worth. More than 10 million?
Noah Cross: Oh my, yes!
Jake Gittes: Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?
Noah Cross: The future, Mr. Gittes! The future.
Is the future a Bill Gates, for example, can yet produce something we should stop through confiscatory taxes? What about the future Ted Turner envisions?
Labels: Tax Policy; Chinatown; Morality of Wealth
