This, again, raises the question: Do we want to get higher wages? The obvious answer might seem “yes”. But i argue it’s not that obvious.
People should be able to live without being forced to work. When your only income is from wages, that effectively forces you to work. I think we should strive for a society where basic needs are fulfilled even without jobs.
That, in turn, raises the question of how to achieve this? What are the technical, legal, economic formulations for this? I have been considering of raising a wealth tax, but not on individuals, but on companies instead. The reason for this is mostly that it might be surprisingly difficult to assess the net wealth of individuals. Consider person A holds some shares in company B. When you’re trying to tax person A, you’re now faced with the difficult task of figuring out what the shares of company B are worth. That’s not always trivial to do, as not all companies are publicly traded. However, what if instead of charging $100 in taxes for $1000 worth in shares, the taxes are due in company shares directly? I.e. person A would have to give so-and-so many shares (10% of their possession) to the community. Through this mechanism, the “means of production” would literally become communal property. An interesting possibility.
Strong comic.
This, again, raises the question: Do we want to get higher wages? The obvious answer might seem “yes”. But i argue it’s not that obvious.
People should be able to live without being forced to work. When your only income is from wages, that effectively forces you to work. I think we should strive for a society where basic needs are fulfilled even without jobs.
That, in turn, raises the question of how to achieve this? What are the technical, legal, economic formulations for this? I have been considering of raising a wealth tax, but not on individuals, but on companies instead. The reason for this is mostly that it might be surprisingly difficult to assess the net wealth of individuals. Consider person A holds some shares in company B. When you’re trying to tax person A, you’re now faced with the difficult task of figuring out what the shares of company B are worth. That’s not always trivial to do, as not all companies are publicly traded. However, what if instead of charging $100 in taxes for $1000 worth in shares, the taxes are due in company shares directly? I.e. person A would have to give so-and-so many shares (10% of their possession) to the community. Through this mechanism, the “means of production” would literally become communal property. An interesting possibility.