Billionaires' Tax Sought by UN to Fund Programs for Poor

8 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
  • |
The proposal to target the world's wealthiest citizens comes amid a global economic slowdown that has left donor nations tightening budgets and forced the UN to look for more inventive ways to raise as much as $400 billion toward development assistance.
Billionaires' Tax Sought by UN to Fund Programs for Poor

From the comments...

As William Easterly points out, "The West has spent $2.3 trillion in
foreign aid over the past five decades and still has not managed to get
twelve-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malarial
deaths."

Joe Mobley
  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    What would prevent ALL malarial deaths in very short order is DDT.

    Hell yeah, tax all the billionaires, they can afford it! Woot! Woot!
    Signature

    The 2nd Amendment, 1789 - The Original Homeland Security.

    Gun control means never having to say, "I missed you."

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562471].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      "The West has spent $2.3 trillion in
      foreign aid over the past five decades and still has not managed to get
      twelve-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malarial
      deaths."
      We don't exactly have twelve-cent medicine for our own children, either.

      We used to say we were the world's "big brother" - but now I think we are the "big mother" instead.

      $2.3 trillion of OUR tax money - with govt waste, multiple layers of bureaucracy and greedy dictators at the receiving end. It's a wonder any of it gets through - or that we keep sending it.

      The ’average’ billionaire would own $3.7 billion after paying the tax,” according to the report. “If that billionaire spent $1,000 per day, it would take him or her over 10,000 years to spend all his or her wealth. Would this hurt them?”
      On a larger scale, but the thinking is similar to what we've been listening to here. "You have a lot so you should give me some". What you have is none of my business - and neither is what you do with YOUR money.

      Why don't we just take all the money in the world - and put in a pile - and let people take what they think they deserve? Would make about as much sense.
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Please do not 'release balloons' for celebrations. The balloons and trailing ribbons entangle birds and kill wildlife and livestock that think the balloons are food.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562700].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        $2.3 trillion of OUR tax money - with govt waste, multiple layers of bureaucracy and greedy dictators at the receiving end. It's a wonder any of it gets through - or that we keep sending it.
        ...and the U.N. doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation either. There have been plenty of scandals associated with the U.N.

        I like the idea of a billionaire tax ... but I don't think the U.N. should be given any kind of sovereignty in the matter.
        Signature

        Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6563105].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author mrultra
          Banned
          [DELETED]
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6566172].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
            Originally Posted by mrultra View Post

            Then you're really no better than the UN, are you?
            That doesn't make a lick of sense to me. Care to explain yourself?
            Signature

            Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6566321].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
          Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

          <snip>
          I like the idea of a billionaire tax ...<snip>
          It is quite an idea. A better idea would be to stop subsidizing the billionaires with tax money.
          Signature

          Project HERE.

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6566371].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
            Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

            It is quite an idea. A better idea would be to stop subsidizing the billionaires with tax money.
            No argument from me. There are lots of things that could be looked at, such as import tariffs. We say we believe in free trade, but we pay tariffs for our goods to enter foreign markets, but manufacturers' goods coming from those same countries don't pay tariffs here, that's not really free trade is it? Well, for them it is, but not for us.

            Oh wait, I forgot, we're a service economy now. Manufacturing is gone.
            Signature

            Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6566473].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
            Here we go...

            (If this thread is still around tomorrow, I'll offer an alternative thought on this statement.)

            Joe Mobley

            Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

            It is quite an idea. A better idea would be to stop subsidizing the billionaires with tax money.
            Signature

            .

            Follow Me on Twitter: @daVinciJoe
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6567014].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Can someone PLEASE PLEASE *********PLEASE********** explain something to me?

    Some "americans" CLAIM that by taxing the rich, we can pay off the US debt, and should to that end, yet 100% of ALL their assets would NOT pay down the debt much. BG, for example, has LESS than 60B in assets. OK, only 15,799B to go! We only need another 264 people as rich as BG, that we can make totally destitute and place by the side of the road for the garbage truck to pick up.

    THEN, we have nations that don't have enough food, but are having kids like there is no tomorrow, they don't bother to learn how to build things, but build HUGE infrastructures in an evnvironment GUARANTEED to have DISASTERS! They have tons of wars and squandor funds and won't even pay a buck per person to avoid the simplest and easest to cure of all diseases.

    SO NOW the questions!

    1. HOW can they pay off the US debt when it is impossible?
    2. WHY would we leave THEM totally destitute and yet people can go bankrupt and keep more?
    3. WHY throw money at a problem we KNOW will only get BIGGER? Haiti was building even on RUBBLE! Paying them more allows them to build bigger and sturdier walls so there will be MORE deaths from newer disasters, and MORE economic turmoil!
    4. What of the companies those billionares represent, etc...?
    5. If we DID manage to help out the US, HOW could we help out the UN?

    WHO is the UN, in a time of economic DISASTER and when governments are TEETERING on the brink of RUIN, to suggest that governments STEAL from all their people to provide THEIR developments to foreign nations who should be able to provide this for THEMSELVES?

    Steve
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6567503].message }}

Trending Topics