Which is why his statement on taxes last week was so publicly important. As part of a New York magazine story on Wall Street’s chastening, Dimon was asked at one point about taxes. “Have a higher tax rate,” Dimon said. “If you said there’d be a certain percent rate for people making over a million dollars, and a higher percent rate for people making over $10 million, no problem with me. I don’t think people should be able to pass unlimited amounts to their kids.”Hey, that is the same suggestion I made that one of the people I went to high school with thought was the most anti-American thing he'd ever heard. Now don't get me wrong, I still have issues with Jamie Dimon. It is good to hear somebody from the tope end of the income spectrum suggest progressive taxation is a good idea, though.
Now, I’ve long argued that we should add a higher tax bracket for the super-rich. Not as some “punishment for success” — that’s always been a bogus argument — but by way of recognizing that’s today’s extreme inequality is corrosive for our society and asking the luckiest among us to kick in something more for the common good. But I’m not a bank CEO who’s made $20 million or $30 million a year. When Jamie Dimon says a higher bracket for the ultra-rich makes sense, Washington needs to take notice.
It’s always been absurd to lump together the dentist or real estate agent who makes $300,000 with the CEO who earns $30 million or the hedge fund king who earns $300 million. Yes, they’re all in the 1 percent, but what I call the “lower upper class” and the ultra-rich are obviously worlds apart.
Friday, February 17, 2012
I Agree With Jamie Dimon
Well, at least on something:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The whole argument surrounding supposed tax inequality is corrosive itself. I love how people want to establish guidelines for who is rich and who is not. The arrogance is almost laughable. Everyone wants equality. Everybody is entitled to a job, everyone is entitled to a house, and everyone is entitled to healthcare. What a farce. If I want things in my life I work for them. If I want a second car I do not count on the government to take one from my neighbor and give it to me just because he can afford to buy another. You might believe that redistributing wealth will solve this country’s countless problems but it is that naïve and short sighted thinking that is forging an even bigger gap between the haves and have not’s. We need to encourage the pursuit of success, not constantly hand people another excuse why they cannot succeed.
ReplyDeleteThere are 3 groups of people who fall into your category of belief. 1) Those that grew up with nothing and believe that life has dealt them an unfair hand. They feel sorry for themselves and regardless of the countless examples of those who break free and become successful they are never willing to make the effort and decide that living on the government is better than taking advantage of this land of opportunity. 2) Those that have wealth, not because of their own efforts, but because of the hard work of previous generations. “Old Money” is probably the best term. In other words, they have their money and are comfortable. Tax them to death. They do not care. They did not earn the money in the first place so they are not attached to it. A favorite of the East Coast. 3) Lastly there are those who think they have all the answers. Arrogant, egomaniacs who think they are smarter than everyone else. “Obama-like” you might say. Neither rich nor poor; Just highly opinionated. They are going to change the country and make it a utopia. Fools if you ask me.
Frankly, I am on the other side of the fence. I believe you have to live within your means. I believe government has a place but its not controlling every aspect of a person’s life. I believe life is what you make of it and your success and/or failure is based on a lot of things but is primarily because of the decisions you make. Call me a dreamer but I still believe in the American Dream.
I'd fall into category #2. Although that wealth isn't an extremely large sum, frugality and low cost of living make things pretty easy. The thing is, all the Republican tax ideas protect the "old money" and don't benefit the small businessmen and hard working folks who are doing pretty well but don't have large stock portfolios. The dividend and capital gains tax benefits accrue mainly to the old money while the highest marginal rates hit the S corps and partnerships harder. That doesn't make sense to me. I think we need some higher rates on very, very large incomes, and we should go back to treating dividends as ordinary income. Capital gains rates could also go up, maybe to the 28 percent rate from the Reagan days. This would make the system more efficient in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I apologize for not noticing sooner that the above comment was in the spam folder.