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Super rich hold $32 trillion in offshore havens

grip said:
Super rich hold $32 trillion in offshore havens - Yahoo! News



So is this fair capitalism or are the rich just using the system to amass and hoard wealth for the sake of it?
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What makes you think its capitalists - as opposed to Saudi princesses, dictators, Chinese officials and other among the crappies tyrannts around the world?

It is curious that you assume it is "capitalists" - which means the HATE AMERICA pitch of the President, Democrats and their media is working.
 
What if...? said:
I heard most of them have color tvs too.
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And computers with internet access so they can whine to others about how unfair life is or what rich people do with their money.
 
Excon said:
I don't know about that?

But Employers are allowed to and have a responsibility to reduce costs.

Nothing wrong with that.
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Citizens have the responsibility to reduce the cost of the interest on the national debt: tax the rich till they bleed.
 
OK, remember, this is an OPINION.

There are a very few people who have an astonishing amount of money. Their greed is insatiable. This isn't about spending, it's a race for accumulation.

These multi-billionaires and maybe even a few trillionaires, are what may have saved us from complete disaster. The government has created inordinate amounts of money and yet, that inflation explosion that should have resulted, has not. If this money were in circulation, I suspect the US Dollar would be toilet paper and instead its the hottest item on the planet.

As for the US economy, it is limping and will continue to do so indefinitely. There aren't enough good jobs for 307 million people. We're not particularly competitive. We're only good at making a limited number of things and we're a fractured nation.

So, much as I resent these mega-rich scum, I laso appreciate them for saving the dollar from destruction.
 
What if...? said:
​

Not being a dick but that's twice now you took a half smartass direct response to another poster and
took it totally the wrong way.
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I was being something of a smartass myself. Sorry about that, for real. You didn't mean what you said about how taking everything from the rich every 10 years would be great for the economy, right? Obviously you can see how that would keep people from even participating in such a system. It doesn't even have to be that draconian before taking and redistributing wealth starts discouraging people from taking the risks necessary to invest in innovation and create successful businesses (and soulless corporations, lol). Profit is a huge motivator, and most of the things we have that make our lives better are due to someone wanting to make a profit.
 
TurtleDude said:
It makes me nervous when people think the purpose of taxes is to prevent others from getting rich or that those who already pay too much of the taxes be taxed even more so to cause the masses to think that the government should spend more on them
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The purpose of taxes is revenue for the Govt. The purpose of the way we assess it is to benefit growth and prosperity for all. Progressive taxation serves both purposes but only if it is progressive enough to prevent hoarding of capital. The levels for the top brackets since Reagan have not served their intended purpose and must be adjusted or we face economic ruin. The current levels are unsustainable.
 
iguanaman said:
The purpose of taxes is revenue for the Govt. The purpose of the way we assess it is to benefit growth and prosperity for all. Progressive taxation serves both purposes but only if it is progressive enough to prevent hoarding of capital. The levels for the top brackets since Reagan have not served their intended purpose and must be adjusted or we face economic ruin. The current levels are unsustainable.
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It's the government spending that's unsustainable.
 
Aberration said:
By limiting the assets a person can have, you limit the possible achievement of private industry. If we did that, we would still have a faltering space program, and no Space X. A failing Postal system and no FedEx.
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There is no shortage of assets, the $40 trillion that the 5% have as their net worth far outstrips any needs for capital expansion. Muhc of that money is in hedge funds for lack of "real" investments. There it is used in the commodities markets to falsely bid them up. The price of gold should be a clue, do you have any idea how much money it takes to bid it up so much?
 
X Factor said:
It's the government spending that's unsustainable.
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LOL The US has been spending 22 to 24% of GDP for 20 years or more (with either party in charge) like most western nations. It was the Republicans idea to cut revenues to 15% of GDP, what did you think would happen?
 
Goshin said:
Hm. Just out of curiosity I did some math...

There are about 115 million households in the USA. 32 Trillion / 115 million = $278,260

That would mean they are holding $278,260 for every household in the USA.


Any way you slice it that seems excessive.
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So you think they should give it up?
 
Aberration said:
Except it is not at the expense of the masses.

The economy is not a closed system. Just because one person has more, does not mean someone else has to have less.
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I could debate that with you.
 
American said:
So you think they should give it up?
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No...but putting it back into play wouldn't hurt.

If I bought up 21 trillion worth of water resources, and then dammed them up so no one could have access to any of it, trust me, you wouldn't like it. This is capital being removed from markets, kept out of play. Sure, some of it is horses, cars, yachts, etc...but I'll wager larger portions of it are more along the lines of gold, or capital in banks, etc. And you can't say that keeping money in banks helps the economy...I think the past couple months trounces that concept, lol.
 
haymarket said:
This is the perfect application of The Golden Rule.

And this report will mean nothing other than fodder for right wing talking points about those who would demonize success and have us marching to a communist nirvana.
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I think people should be better informed about how specifically the 'rich get richer' -- how the game is rigged and that money flows upward and doesn't trickle down.
 
hazlnut said:
I think people should be better informed about how specifically the 'rich get richer' -- how the game is rigged and that money flows upward and doesn't trickle down.
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Agreed. And not just republicans/concervatives need this lesson, but so to do democrats/liberals.
 
iguanaman said:
The purpose of taxes is revenue for the Govt. The purpose of the way we assess it is to benefit growth and prosperity for all. Progressive taxation serves both purposes but only if it is progressive enough to prevent hoarding of capital. The levels for the top brackets since Reagan have not served their intended purpose and must be adjusted or we face economic ruin. The current levels are unsustainable.
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Except you could take it all, and it would barely have an effect.
 
grip said:
I didn't say it belonged to the government. But for there to be that much topsided gain, the system is being rigged by those with power and influence to favor an ever growing increase for them at the expense of the masses.
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The question that people need to be asking and looking at is why the money is consolidated into the hands of so few. It is not because of things being rigged. At least not entirely.
 
I don't think the OP is primarily about the U.S., I believe we're fairly good compared to the rest of the world at not evading taxes. Europe is worse, and in less developed countries it's insanely worse (i.e. government taxes go directly to personal offshore accounts, etc.)
 
Aberration said:
Except you could take it all, and it would barely have an effect.
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Another right wing fable. The top 5% have accumulated a $40 Trillion nest egg, you don't think some of that might fix our debt?
A 3% wealth tax with a $3 million exemption would add a trillion a year to pay down the debt and no one would miss it.
 
iguanaman said:
Another right wing fable. The top 5% have accumulated a $40 Trillion nest egg, you don't think some of that might fix our debt?
A 3% wealth tax with a $3 million exemption would add a trillion a year to pay down the debt and no one would miss it.
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Except this is global wealth, not wealth held by just U.S. residents.
Not to mention that the value of the wealth changes substantially when liquidated, so you wouldn't get the results you hope for.

Just more proof that a lot of people don't understand economics and monetary theory.
 
specklebang said:
OK, remember, this is an OPINION.

There are a very few people who have an astonishing amount of money. Their greed is insatiable. This isn't about spending, it's a race for accumulation.

These multi-billionaires and maybe even a few trillionaires, are what may have saved us from complete disaster. The government has created inordinate amounts of money and yet, that inflation explosion that should have resulted, has not. If this money were in circulation, I suspect the US Dollar would be toilet paper and instead its the hottest item on the planet.

As for the US economy, it is limping and will continue to do so indefinitely. There aren't enough good jobs for 307 million people. We're not particularly competitive. We're only good at making a limited number of things and we're a fractured nation.

So, much as I resent these mega-rich scum, I laso appreciate them for saving the dollar from destruction.
Click to expand...


A curious point. If 32 TRILLION dollars was dumped into buying commodities, inflation would go totally thru the ceiling where most people couldn't afford food.

Not sure why you so hate the mega rich, other than you aren't one yourself.
 
grip said:
Super rich hold $32 trillion in offshore havens - Yahoo! News

LONDON (Reuters) - Rich individuals and their families have as much as $32 trillion of hidden financial assets in offshore tax havens, representing up to $280 billion in lost income tax revenues, according to research published on Sunday.

The study estimating the extent of global private financial wealth held in offshore accounts - excluding non-financial assets such as real estate, gold, yachts and racehorses - puts the sum at between $21 and $32 trillion.

So is this fair capitalism or are the rich just using the system to amass and hoard wealth for the sake of it?
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What a nonsensical statement. OBVIOUSLY the funds aren't hidden or there couldn't be the story.
 
iguanaman said:
Another right wing fable. The top 5% have accumulated a $40 Trillion nest egg, you don't think some of that might fix our debt?
A 3% wealth tax with a $3 million exemption would add a trillion a year to pay down the debt and no one would miss it.
Click to expand...

Except the government would find a way to spend it rather than pay down debt. Its stupid to think they would do otherwise, they have every other time.

Control spending and you control debt, you do not control spending by giving government more revenue.
 
Goshin said:
Hm. Just out of curiosity I did some math...

There are about 115 million households in the USA. 32 Trillion / 115 million = $278,260

That would mean they are holding $278,260 for every household in the USA.


Any way you slice it that seems excessive.
Click to expand...



???? Somehow this had gone from a UK story about the world, to being that REALLY it is all AMERICANS ONLY having $32 trillion in offshore accounts.

That's what I meant by the American media has really sold Americans on hating the wealthy and hating capitalism. The instant assumption that ALL super rich are Americans and ALL offshore money is being held by scumball Americans only.
 
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn"

If it is not solen, then I really don't care. Hell, I would do it myself if I had the money. The problem with the government is not it's income, it is it's spending. They spend more than they make, if they made more, they would just spend more.

The only thing that can be remotely considered immortal is a government run spending program.
 
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