2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe 10% have $85 trillion*. An $18 trillion wealth transfer to the rest of us seems reasonable to me
Rather than being alarmed by it, I would call it a good start.
Go Bernie!
* Where did I get that $85 trillion figure? From something the Federal Reserve publishes every few months, called the Flow of Funds Report. It's not well publicized, probably because they don't want us knowing just how big their mountain of money really is!
** I had to revise my numbers - the Top 10% have $85 trillion. The Top 1% have "only" about $40 trillion.
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2015/06/feds-q1-flow-of-funds-household-net.html
randys1
(16,286 posts)daleanime
(17,796 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)$10 trillion. It's mostly paper value, that is almost worthless with the threat of confiscation. Now, a significant tax increase could accomplish some of the transfer, but even that has to be imposed judiciously.
Not saying I wouldn't love to see something like that happening, but not if it plunges the world into economic conditions that would take decades for a recovery. Plus, a lot of that $85 trillion belongs to people who really aren't that wealthy.
I have not read Sanders' proposal, but I doubt it costs $1.8 Trillion a year above offsets from the amounts we already pay in premiums and some hefty tax hikes that would be necessary.
reformist2
(9,841 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)We'd be plunged into a 1930s type depression.
reformist2
(9,841 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)the kind of uncertainty confiscation of assets would cause, there would be no expectation of a return to an orderly market.
Now, it may well be all that turmoil will be worth it 50 years down the road, but the pain would be tough for almost everyone. I'd rather see an orderly transition, and not risk right wing militias running things.
mhatrw
(10,786 posts)$15 trillion of it represents a $27 trillion SAVINGS on the $42 trillion we will pay for healthcare if we do NOT change over to a $15 trillion single payer system!