Taxes: Wealth Redistribution

There is a sort of a myth in America that shows respect for those who can pull themselves up by there boot-straps. It is particularly present in right-wing rhetoric. The rich and their right-wing followers often use such phrases to say that the poor and middle class should lead their lives accordingly. If that is so, I believe the rich rich should lead by example. It should not be allowed that the children of the rich inherit the full wealth of their parents. After all, these children should also be allowed to prove that they, too, can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Suggestion:

No one in this should be allowed to inherit more than twice the lifetime median income of the ordinary American adjusted to inflation. That currently would be around $6 million. Depending on how the taxes collected are used, this proposal could serve to fund needed economic and/or social projects and stimulate the economy.

While my suggestion runs into some practical issues of implementation, here is an interesting collection of approaches to wealth redistribution that go a long way to attain my goal. These approaches can be found at the following website showing recent New York state legislative proposals:

14 Tax-the-Rich Revenue Proposals 2020