She's Inheriting Millions. She Wants Her Wealth Taxed Away.

[Hamlette]

“I am the product of an unequal society,” Ms. Engelhorn said in a speech at a Millionaires for Humanity event in late August in Amsterdam, where activists were calling for wealth taxation. “Because otherwise, I couldn’t be born into multimillions. Just born. Nothing else.”

Her family is no stranger to giving away huge sums. Her grandparents poured a chunk of their fortune into supporting young scientists. Her great-uncle gave millions to an archaeology center. His cousin pledged nearly $140 million to classical music.

But in Ms. Engelhorn’s view, it shouldn’t be the wealthy who get to decide which personal interests and passions deserve their inherited millions.

“There’s no need for another foundation,” she said as she sat by a canal in Amsterdam and ate a loaf of bread she had brought in her backpack. “What’s really needed is structural change.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/world/europe/marlene-engelhorn-wealth-tax.html?unlocked_article_code=9A86thtndXIXMiUMdnnsDPrNZOAUwPi6FcjVZPO2lbUvgpBLWDSWaL_mxZ95-_z2hY2Z5x4uyUPGIX1-I8FdmCVjSbzl-6lSKaeiHleRCWbAqal4-5rxM6NiSX-QPy7YIYSkTYLq_mB_WRscCAQidbBWDAzTdCHTAkIRZ6ZCm5RnuPKCJFAbfrKPCYqD1fQMg39htUrDQGymyh0U18lBRjOE0FvnvPHDmSbt1LWmeDhTSwGwL-Jwt1SKd5Yuo2srcakrKnNXMNPovVW6uBrqdWyW5JfogidASXXPf6U1w1KorFjXoIAwTAP8w3ngDX4iMpDb6wA4Py4Mp-TD8oG33DIo4I5_4zPAwJw&smid=share-url

[MomInTheCrowd]

1. Yelling this from the rooftops!

The absurd disparity is crippling everything.

[Joinfortmill]

2. Interesting

[AmBlue]

3. I wish they would buy up some radio airwaves

... to counter the 24/7 hate messaging blanketing the U.S.

[Duppers]

9. Indeed! 👍

You're echoing another DUer.

[burrowowl]

4. Yes it is structural, she can start schools or training centers for

instruction on fascism, neo-liberalism, racism etc. all these anti-democratic tendencies.

[Jerry2144]

5. Said no Walton heir ever

Nor and Koch, or other toofreakingrich-aire

[WarGamer]

6. It's not difficult... there's a blank spot on a 1040 where you can give to the Treasury.

Just give them the money.

[Celerity]

8. She is not American, why would she give the US government billions?

[WarGamer]

10. Sorry, didn't notice that part...

For any AMERICAN who wants to be taxed more heavily... it's easy peasy.

[Celerity]

11. fair enough m8

[Hamlette]

12. the problem is, one or even 20 people doing that won't help

Although she's in Austria where they abolished inheritance tax, we have all but done that here. It should be inheritance and wealth tax.

Starting another foundation or school to teach anti fascism won't work either. Those would affect a few, maybe even a few thousand people. If you want a change, let the government do it.

I worked in the welfare office for many years. If we could have just given some/many/all our clients cars and decent day care, it would have gone a long way to lifting them out of poverty. And that in turn, would have gone a long way to lifting their four kids out of poverty etc. The government knows what is needed. Giving $40 million to classical music sounds great but . . .

It would be a huge step in the right direction to tax wealth and have it spread in ways that can help society overall. One of the reasons we can't do that is racism (the GOP calls it people who won't work but what they mean is poor blacks). But think, if we could start lifting the poor, maybe they wouldn't hate them (blacks) so much. Oversimplification for sure, I know, but you get it.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Hamlette