Elon Musk's net worth increased by $28 billion today. If that doesn't convince you wealth inequality

[riversedge]

Robert Reich
@RBReich
Elon Musk's net worth increased by $28 billion today.

If that doesn’t convince you wealth inequality is out of control, I don’t know what will.
4:50 PM · Jan 3, 2022·Twitter Web App

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@DiddlyMcGhee
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52m Replying to
@RBReich
But sir, I've been assured that much of that will "trickle down" to the rest of us very soon!

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[BSdetect]

1. It's not like E Musk sits around at home on a pile of cash. His wealth is his company.

The problem seems to be that a few people have acquired huge wealth and many see that as unfair.

One recent stupid idea was to tax their unharvested capital gains. Good luck putting that into practice.

Musk has paid a huge amount of tax. He pays over 54% on income from shares.

He paid 1.5 million for every day since he became a US citizen. Think that's not enough?

60% of people pay little or no tax.

What will a solution be?

[YP_Yooper]

7. Just a thought

but in a free economy (and I know it's not what we have now), if you cap his income/wealth, some would say he would quit doing what he does.

I'd argue, that's good. At his valuation, his life wouldn't change one bit, but you'd have a thousand people offering good pay to tens of thousands more thinking in a thousand new ways to take his place.

Wealth concentration in society to this extreme is bad in every. single. way.

Also, taxes should favor those who work for the revenue of the company, and subsequently the value of stock the owners enjoy. If we want to favor work, don't tax them but those like Musk who lives on unearned income.

[James48]

8. Simple solution- must sell/buy once every ten years, or else

Or else it no longer qualifies for long term gain rates.

We should make the law so that no stock share can be held for a period of more than 10 years.

Over that period, his entire holdings would be subject to tax of some kind. They can’t hold it generationally without paying for at least part of the needs of society it depends on to be built. We need to pay for prisons- let’s tax the rich to cover that.

[BSdetect]

14. I could argue that long term gains be for 6 months not 12 plus one day.

The internet has made a mockery of so many previous laws.

Why 10 years? So many random times.

The way the system works it would take a decade to change such laws.

We should accept that Musk did not create the system.

He is the only billionaire who tries to save the planet.

Tesla has a plan available on the web site. Worth a read.

[oioioi]

2. "None shall be too big"

[BeckyDem]

3. K&R

[NowISeetheLight]

4. It takes money to make money

I checked my Robinhood account this morning and I’m up almost $400 from last Monday. I imagine if I owned more stocks I’d have made a lot more. Like Elon though my gain is entirely on paper. It’s not cash in my wallet I can spend today unless I sell. Then I’d pay taxes on the capital gains.

[Hoyt]

5. I bet the net worth of employees, contractors, dealerships, etc., also increased.

And vast majority of them do pay taxes when they sell stock, get paid, etc.

Musk is also facing a big tax bill in next few months.

Would like to see income tax rates — including capital gains and estate - increased.

[JanMichael]

6. Maybe now he can get a hair cut? Instead of doing it himself.

You know putting money back into the economy instead of hoarding it like the Romanov's.

[BobTheSubgenius]

9. Well within my lifetime, that $28B increase alone...

...would have made him the richest man in the world by a factor of 10. Perhaps more.

All this wealth concentrated in these few hands makes me wonder if I'll EVER have my own space program.

[Tommymac]

10. A video for comprehension.

One Billion Dollars

Multiply by 28.

[Abolishinist]

11. Robert Reich makes around

$400-500K per year, money earned from teaching, authoring books, and giving speeches, among other things. It would also be interesting to know how many hours per month he actually 'works' for his gig at Berkeley.

And one of his main topics? Wealth inequality. Sorry Robert, doesn't work for me.

[JanMichael]

13. So only a homeless/poor person can talk about wealth inequality?

That is an odd take. Also $400k isn't all that rich in the Bay area or any major urban area for that matter. It is secure money but not even remotely similar to our ridiculous billionaires. He can effectively advocate for the poor and point out the insanity of our system.

George Bernard Shaw wrote on this seemingly odd distinction a century ago.

[Celerity]

15. It would take 56 THOUSAND (at 500K per year) Reiches one year to equal what Musk made in that 1 day

Your attempted 'kill the messenger' gambit to distract from the message is a fail.

[Abolishinist]

17. I have nothing against Reich, I like a lot of what he stands for,

but IMO he's taking an easy shot by using Musk as an example. Income/wealth inequality is a problem, but I don't see how this furthers the discussion.

And Musk didn't 'make' that in one day, his net worth increased by that amount for that particular day in time. Today? Well, using your reasoning, it would take 16,000 people each losing $500,000 for one year to equal his 'loss' for one day.

You failed to mention it would take 150 THOUSAND Reiches one year to equal what his shareholders, many of whom are employees, 'made' in that one day. And CALPERS, the pension fund which provides retirement benefits for professors such as Reich and others (many receive over $300,000 per year), also gained around $250 million yesterday. Which is good because it is a defined benefit system, which means if the fund doesn't have enough assets the taxpayers chip in, one way or another.

And Musk has provided good jobs for over 70,000 employees, who are working for a company that is accelerating the transition to sustainable energy. And it seems he paid $455 million in taxes between 2014 and 2018, with a potential tax bill for 2021 in the $10 to $15 billion dollar range.

[Celerity]

19. I should have said gained on paper in terms of net worth

And Musk didn't 'make' that in one day, his net worth increased by that amount for that particular day

[Abolishinist]

20. That sounds like a trick question, ain't gonna fall fer it...

but to add to the intrigue, we do have solar panels!

[moondust]

12. In other news, man blows up his Tesla

rather than pay $22K to repair it.

[lame54]

16. But he pays taxes on the lunch he bought