Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Moore v. United States requires a trigger warning. It’s NSFB. Not safe for billionaires. It could induce buckets of tears as thanks to this 7-2 opinion, a path is cleared for a future billionaire wealth tax.
Or at least, it’s not yet obstructed. This is something I anticipated back in December after I attended the oral argument in person. As I predicted in the Washington Monthly in A Taxing Question for the Roberts Court:
Champions of a future billionaire wealth tax can breathe a small sigh of relief after Tuesday’s Supreme Court argument in Moore v. United States.
And, don’t take my word for it. Even the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal recognizes that this decision has “open[ed] the door to taxing unrealized gains in assets. Democrats will walk through it.”
I’m working on a follow up piece for the Monthly that gets into the wonky details, but for a quick and lively take on the decision, check out Morning Jen today.
I think people should also think about the programs the government could fund with a billionaires' tax - child care, pre-K, effective gun research and control, future pandemic research, pubic education, voter protections, more humane ways to deal with immigration, better health care. The list does on and on. I also think we need to raise and/or eliminate the wage cap on contributing to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid since there is no reason for such a cap, except that it helps the wealthy. Stay cool and have a great weekend.
I Shared 4x Before Reading Jen. Excellent Newsletter. Amazing The Trump Tax Breaks Will End This Upcoming Year Plus This Possible Billionaires Tax Makes it a Two-Fer. ITS TIME FOR TOP 1 % TO PAY UP. THX Prof Taub. Love & Peace ❤️✌️