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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: carranza2 who wrote (150317)

8/26/2019 5:11:26 PM

From: TobagoJack

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217786

From you know who, and if so, would indicate EU either reforms or it would be back to the good old days of nations and states, and ... well, in the lead up to and through the transition, gold.

On Aug 27, 2019, at 4:16 AM, H wrote:

Socialist wants to impose wealth tax - big surprise! :)

Let me tell you something about Europe and Germany. A few months ago there was something about "wealth inequality" on the news. It largely consisted of the usual un-reflected whining, but they mentioned an interesting datum when comparing extremely wealthy Americans and Germans. Most US billionaires are "newly rich", i.e., they have made their billions in their own lifetime through their own efforts (people like Bill Gates, the founders of Google, Steve Jobs, etc.). By contrast, most of Germany's billionaires (not too many exist) have actually inherited their wealth - almost all the big family fortunes were made more than a century ago. There were no further remarks on this dichotomy, but it was actually the only important datum. So what is the reason for this? Hint: for the same reason, there exists not a single European company that can hold a candle to US high tech companies. Taxation and regulations in Europe have become so onerous that it is almost impossible for a shoe-string start-up to accumulate capital to the extent (and at the speed) required to create a successful large enterprise. Before you have even made a single cent in revenue, countless government agencies have to be paid and and their diktats obeyed.

There are actually almost no "shoe string" start-ups (Apple was literally started in a garage - this is unthinkable in Europe. You would already be thwarted by the need for a "business premises permit") - one cannot afford becoming an entrepreneur unless one is already rich or has the backing of someone who is well-funded. Established businesses are protected left and right by licensing laws and a plethora of regulations no start-up can possibly afford to comply with. And all that ever happens on both the European and national levels is the imposition of even more taxes and even more onerous regulations. Recently much of it is connected to the absurd "climate change" hysteria and the alleged need to "save the planet". An ever larger proportion of the population is battling with paying for the cost of electricity (with no detectable effect on CO2 emissions, it should be added) and ever more companies can no longer compete globally due to the increase in energy costs. Meanwhile the ECB is instituting a monetary policy that is apodictically certain to lead to accelerated capital consumption. In short, Europe seems hell-bent on joining the third world.

As an aside to this: tenets of Marxism have become internalized to an astonishing degree - and it does not even matter if politicians are nominally "conservative", they will still regularly spout Marxist nostrums (without even being aware of their source). The misguided belief in the necessity and efficacy of central economic planning is widespread. The only thing that is holding up this increasingly rickety construction is the population's strong work ethic and propensity to save, but imo this is no longer enough. The slope is already too slippery. Instead of trying to save the planet, the focus should perhaps shift to saving free market capitalism before what little is left of it gives up the ghost.

On Sun, Aug 25, 2019 at 8:13 PM G wrote:

German finance minister backs plans for wealth tax: Handelsblatt

German finance minister backs plans for wealth tax: HandelsblattReuters Editorial

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is backing plans for a wealth tax that his S...