Raising Taxes on the Rich Isn’t Just Fair — It’s Necessary
The winds of change are gaining strength. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), a rookie congresswoman from New York, has unveiled a vision for a Green New Deal while proposing a 70 percent tax on income over $10 million. Even establishment voices are joining the chorus, with newspapers such as Forbes and Business Insider publishing pieces highlighting the heights of wealth inequality in America. And when the New York Times puts an op-ed entitled Abolish Billionaires above the fold, as it did in February 2019, you know something is truly afoot.
That article followed on the heels of the World Economic Forum’s annual summit at Davos, a Swiss alpine resort where the masters of the universe convoke each January to rub shoulders and confabulate on the state of the world. The difference this time was that a few progressive iconoclasts were also in attendance. They made themselves heard.
Rutger Bregman, an historian, provided the most viral soundbite. He remarked that conversations around inequality should focus on taxes rather than philanthropy, and that “all the rest is bullshit.” The consequent gasp that swept through the room, as well as the BBC’s apology for subjecting its viewers to his blasphemy, speaks…
