Our rising debt levels are becoming unsustainable – soon we may be talking about wealth confiscation
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielknowles/100132187/our-rising-debt-levels-are-becoming-unsustainable-soon-we-will-need-to-confiscate-wealth/So what on earth can we do? Well, BGC Partners has one striking idea confiscate wealth. It is often forgotten that for every debtor, there is a creditor; even in Britain, most of our debts, household and Government, we owe to each other. Huge sums of money are tied up in pension funds, trust funds, investments held overseas and so on.
In a report published last year, the firm suggested that a one-time wealth tax of 27 per cent on financial assets would be enough to reduce the total non-financial sector debt burden to 180 per cent of GDP the amount that the Bank for International Settlements says is the maximum sustainable amount. They also reckon that for much of the West, it could become the only logical option.
Confiscating wealth would be hideously unpopular and unfair. The only significant wealth tax we have, inheritance tax, is incredibly modest and yet widely hated. Most people think that once you own money, it should be yours to keep, and rightly. But as growth slows and austerity fails, this idea may gain traction. Debt forgiveness has always been one of the principle demands of revolutionaries: if we don't deal with our problems soon, we may start hearing the calls again.
NAO
(3,425 posts)The news media has a way of portraying "our" interests and "our" opinions as all being the same.
They are not.
For the 1%, debt is a continuous influx of revenue, even if they produce nothing.
For the 99%, debt is a constant burden that keeps them working hard for the 1%.
dkf
(37,305 posts)Does this push back retirement then?
NAO
(3,425 posts)But your post raises the fact that the problem is SYSTEMIC and that a one-time, partial solution would likely be inadequate.
pnwmom
(109,006 posts)would certainly affect them. What about all the people who have been saving money in IRA's since most companies don't have pension plans anymore?
DJ13
(23,671 posts)... the wealthy taking less in profits in order to bolster the amount they pay their employees.
dkf
(37,305 posts)An increase in labor costs in China makes outsourcing less desirable.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)taken from the taxpayer?
Maybe it's time to repay the favor.