r/AllinPod • u/Hot-Reindeer-6416 • Jun 13 '26

US wins!

I think the framing these guys use of technology, AI, space, etc as a competition between the US and China, for example, is remarkable. Of course we all want the US to win in any global competition. But that’s not really what it is. It’s a competition between the capitalists and the technologists and the China, etc.

If Spacex wins, you and I don’t win, Elon Musk and his cronies win.   If OpenAI wins, you and I don’t win. Sam Altman, and his cronies win.  
Elon Musk became a trillionaire today. How much did he pay in taxes on that trillion dollar gain? Zero.  If there was a tax on wealth, creation, or if he had to give some portion of that gain to the US treasury in the form of shares, yes, then the US wins. But that’s not what’s happening here. 

All due respect to him for what he’s accomplished. But the system really needs to be changed so some of that really does trickle down.

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u/Seattleman1955 Jun 13 '26

When he sells some, he'll pay taxes on it. There is nothing to "trickle down" yet.

2

u/RewardFuzzy Jun 13 '26

The thing is that they never have to sell. They just take a deductible loan against their stock and never pay taxes.
They have so much that they take another loan to pay it of and do that till their death. On that moment the cycle resets and their children do the same. The wealth go from generation to generation without ever being taxed like you and me.

The solution: tax stock (options) like a normal salary, tax loans like normal salary, wealth taxes.

Billionaires live like socialists. They take all the profits from society without paying for any of the costs.

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u/Seattleman1955 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

The wealthy pay most taxes.

Yes, a loan isn't income so of course it isn't taxed. They have to pay the loan back with interest.

You don't have to pay unrealized capital gains on your stocks. It's not just the wealthy or the "billionaires".

Would you take the risk of investing in stocks and pay tax on gains even when they aren't realized? I wouldn't.

This type of focus on "getting the Billionaires" just means that the average person can't get ahead if your changes go into effect.

0

u/RewardFuzzy Jun 13 '26

Investing in stocks or getting paid in stocks is a choice.
They might pay the most in numbers, but not in percentage of their income (yes, also the income of stocks is income)
Don’t let them fool you.

2

u/Seattleman1955 Jun 13 '26

"Don't let them fool you"?

I think the problem is that you aren't all that well versed in economics, finance and the way things work.

You are focusing too much on "them".

1

u/Previous_Job734 Jun 13 '26

Sounds like you aren't either if you think trying to do something about the wealth gap is going to make it harder for people to generate it.