Re:AMA: Bill Gates
by rconti on Monday February 25, 2019 @03:48PM
(#19249315)
I'm sorry, but that's such a non-answer. Of COURSE he could donate more money to the US Government. The point is that he thinks structurally the system should require that he and OTHER people like himself should have to pay more. By changing the structure, they change what people optimize for, and ALSO, at the same time, raise funds.
As a philanthropist, I'm sure he personally feels that he's able to direct his money to more useful causes than the government does, just as many rich people who give nothing also make the empty claim that the government would just 'waste' their money. The difference is, in his case, he might well be right. But that still doesn't mean that a structure that taxes him and others like him at a higher rate wouldn't have a net social benefit.
As a philanthropist, I'm sure he personally feels that he's able to direct his money to more useful causes than the government does, just as many rich people who give nothing also make the empty claim that the government would just 'waste' their money. The difference is, in his case, he might well be right. But that still doesn't mean that a structure that taxes him and others like him at a higher rate wouldn't have a net social benefit.