From: nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com   
      
   On Mon, 16 Feb 2026 23:55:35 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701    
   wrote:   
      
   >Since Gen-Z almost universally doesn't seem to grasp this concept and why it's   
   >an abomination, here's an explainer of California's proposed wealth tax.   
   >   
   >You buy a Pokémon card for $50.   
   >   
   >Someone offers you $500 for it. You say no. You love that card. It makes your   
   >collection complete. You're keeping it.   
   >   
   >The government says: "Cool, but that card is worth $500 now. You owe us $100   
   >in taxes."   
   >   
   >YOU: "But... I didn't sell it."   
   >   
   >GOVERNMENT: "Don't care. Pay up."   
   >   
   >You don't have $100 lying around so you're forced to sell the card you love   
   >just to pay a tax on money you never received. Next month? The value of that   
   >card drops back to $50. That's all they will sell for on eBay. Your card is   
   >gone. Your money is gone. And the government shrugs.   
   >   
   >That's a wealth tax on unrealized gains. They don't pay you back the tax when   
   >the thing you had to sell to pay the tax is no longer worth what they said it   
   >was.   
      
   I'm torn on this issue because it only really matters with ultra rich.   
   Consider someone like Musk. He is allowed to borrow hundreds of   
   millions of dollars at extremely low rates by setting some of stock as   
   collateral. So he never has to sell his stock and thus never pays any   
   tax. It's something that you and I can't do.   
      
   That doesn't include the tricks that the wealthy can play with giving   
   away their wealth before they day. Apparently the law is such now that   
   Musk can given his wealth to his daughter tax free. I can't remember   
   what the mechanism was but it would allow him to give her all of his   
   stock tax free upon his death. At which time she could use the same   
   tricks to live a very nice life without ever having to pay taxes.   
      
   So while I don't like the idea of a wealth tax I also don't like the   
   system we have in place now that allows the wealthy to avoid all   
   taxes.   
   >Now picture this:   
   >   
   >Your mom calls you crying. She has to sell the house she raised you in. Not   
   >because she can't afford it. She's lived there 30 years. It's paid off. But   
   >some website says it's worth more now and the government says she owes $15,000   
   >she doesn't have. So she sells your childhood home. The kitchen where she made   
   >you breakfast. The doorframe where she marked your height every birthday.   
   >   
   >Gone.   
   >   
   >To pay a tax on money that was never real.   
   >   
   >Now picture the opposite:   
   >   
   >Your dad put everything into his small business. For 20 years he built it from   
   >nothing. The government tells him his business is "valued" at $2 million on   
   >paper. He now owes a massive tax bill. He empties his savings. Sells his   
   >truck. Borrows money. But he manages to pay it.   
   >   
   >Next year the market crashes. His business is now only "valued" at $200,000.   
   >He lost everything to pay a tax on a made-up number that doesn't even exist   
   >anymore.   
   >   
   >Does the government give him his money back? No.   
   >   
   >Does the government give him his truck back? No.   
   >   
   >Does the government care? No.   
   >   
   >They're selling this idea as "taxing billionaires" but billionaires have   
   >armies of lawyers, offshore accounts, and trusts. And when all else fails,   
   >they have the flexibility to just leave the state and move somewhere else.   
   >They'll be fine and they won't be paying this tax even if it passes.   
   >   
   >You know who won't be fine? Your mom. Your dad. Your neighbor with a small   
   >business. The farmer down the road who's had the same land for four   
   >generations and now has to sell it because the government said dirt got   
   >expensive.   
   >   
   >They're not taxing wealth. They're taxing people for owning things. It's like   
   >getting a parking ticket for a car you might drive somewhere someday. They   
   >want you to own nothing and be happy. And they're doing it to fund the fraud,   
   >waste and abuse of the welfare state they created.   
   >   
   >The reptiles in Sacramento say we shouldn't care about this because (1) it's a   
   >one-time tax, and (2) it's only for people with a net worth of a billion   
   >dollars or more so it won't affect us. Well, when the federal income tax was   
   >passed in 1861, it was sold as a temporary tax to help fund the Civil War and   
   >only applied to millionaires. And now look where we are. As Reagan said,   
   >there's nothing more permanent than a temporary government program and taxes   
   >on the rich will inevitably turn into taxes on everyone.   
   >   
   >They have enough money already. More tax isn't needed. It's all a lie. But   
   >they're gaslighting people into believing it's a rich vs poor debate.   
   >   
   >I hope everyone understands what's at stake.   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)