this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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With wealth inequality and billionaire control over American society growing ever more obscene, it’s well past time to implement a maximum wage limit.

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[–] Burninator05@lemmy.world 27 points 16 hours ago (3 children)

My limited understanding is that once you're super wealthy your actual income doesn't matter. They take loans against their wealth to pay for whatever they want.

We need to tax both capital gains at a rate higher than labor and tax loans as income if they use stock as collateral.

[–] Tetragrade@leminal.space 5 points 14 hours ago

Yes but this is an article aimed at a casual audience of wage-laborers, who undestand wealth as the thing you get for a job.

And the details of the demand don't really matter that much, because at this point it's clear that even a milquetoast request like this will still prompt the US oligarchy to have the secret police fire on protesters. Imo if anything you want the demands to initially be as mild as possible, makes them look more unreasonable. Once people are onboard you can push for more important goals.

[–] DarkSideOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 3 points 15 hours ago

I think we need to decide, if unrealized gains are real gains. How you can loan using unrealized gains as collateral if from tax purposes it’s not real money.

If you can loan money using unrealized gains a collateral you should be taxed. I am not saying you tax unrealized gains, but taxing when get money “from” it.

But loan is considered a loss and you even get a tax break.

Also need to limit tax write-offs to really business needs, like rich people can get a huge car like a Mercedes G class on their business and write-off the cost for instance. The rich have a lot of loopholes. Incentives should be limited to people and companies making a X sum. If your company makes billions, I don’t think you need a tax incentive.

[–] joel_feila@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

I propose we tax owning stock like property

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.ml 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I predict we're going to see our first trillionaire by the end of the decade. It's beyond obscene. If you "earn" (lol) more than 5 million dollars a year, you should have that part taxed at 100%

[–] monotremata@lemmy.ca 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Musk is currently trying to negotiate a pay package from Tesla, which, if approved would pay him roughly a trillion dollars over the next decade. It's into the "not really comprehensible by humans" range.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/musks-1-trillion-pay-plan-doesnt-force-him-to-keep-focus-on-tesla-critics-say/

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Why the fuck does this ugly cunt need more money?? It's just a small dick competition at this point.

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 2 points 16 hours ago

This article is TERRORISM (according to Trump's Republican Administration!)! If you would like to NOT be Terrorists please SHOOT UP A CHURCH IN A MAGA HAT instead!

[–] NeilBru@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago

"It's not that I must always have a lot. I mist always have more than everyone else. Forever. And everyone else must show their enthusiasm about me having the most."

[–] Trollivier@sh.itjust.works 5 points 20 hours ago

Maximum profit laws.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Everyone makes $1/hour.

But everything only costs $1.

1 hour of labor = any 1 thing.

[–] Tetragrade@leminal.space 1 points 14 hours ago

Bro we're gonna starve.

[–] BorgDrone@feddit.nl 5 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

Work three hours, buy house, sports car and superyacht.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 20 hours ago

Which everyone works to make because a single grain of rice is $1.

[–] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

Why don't you buy me? ;)

(Disclaimer: I am NOT worth $1)

[–] nibble4bits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

They already play a shell game with wages, so they don't pay income taxes. Most of the really rich and successful people have their incomes derived from capital gains and then use the talking point that it's already money that was taxed through their business so it shouldn't be taxed further.

TAX CAPITAL GAINS.

[–] aidan@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

Tax debt over say $1 million as income

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[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They’ll use those laws on regular folk while they ignore them or use loopholes

[–] Nikls94@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

"It’s maximum wage. I don’t receive any wage, I receive a dividend"

"It’s maximum wage. I don’t receive any wage, I receive rent"

[–] hark@lemmy.world 52 points 1 day ago

What we need is a wealth tax. If you don't want wealth to be hoarded, then you tax it. The rich and their stooges online will parrot that "wealth taxes don't work" precisely because it is the only tax that does work and that is why they oppose it.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

90% tax rate over 1million a year including capital gains. No cap on social security

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[–] teolan@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Maximum wage laws don't make sense because the ultra rich get their wealth from investments, not wages.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

Nailed it.

What we need is a securities tax: a tax on every stock, bond, and other financial instruments in their portfolio. No need to liquidate it; the shares are simply transferred to the IRS annually. They'll liquidate those shares slowly over time.

Natural persons are exempted on the first $10 million of their portfolio. No exemptions for artificial persons.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

At some point, we decided that people who work and make $100K a year get taxed 50% more than people who make the same money from investment. Income is income. Get rid of capital gains special status.

And this loophole of borrowing money against stock value is income, and should be taxed as such. If we did this, everyone's income taxes would be much lower, national debts would be in reduction.

But the Wall street dicks consider taxing on investments "getting taxed twice", and hedge fund managers still pay NO income taxes, only CGT.

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[–] verdi@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That won't solve the borrow, die, repeat. It's a great idea and should definitely have been implemented yesterday to modify the incentives of middle management but we REALLY need to start taxing people on a "personal GDP" after a certain level.

Space Kare pays proportionally 1\10 of the taxes I pay without having a "wage".

"Oh, you want to buy twitter for 50b, here's your M&A property tax of 25%"

[–] SupahRevs@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

Yes. If congress really had their shit together, they could implement something at the IRS where each really wealthy person is audited and taxed on their personal GDP. Auditors could present their findings of wealth and a committee could tax the value at an appropriate level.

[–] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago

What you meant to say is we need a wealth tax.

[–] TronBronson@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago (3 children)

We need monopoly busting, and inheritance tax, and general wealth redistribution. We need to stop monetizing basic needs and start paying fair wages. Income cap solves none of that. No way you can sell ‘income caps’ to the general public.

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