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A comment on Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they bragged about it. Parent comment

Re:Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they ... by rogerkirkness on Sunday November 08, 2020 @08:41PM (#25030649)
An interesting quirk of history is that regardless of tax rates the elite tend to put a fairly consistent percentage of wealth back into social causes over time. Leaving giant tips was how the industrialists competed.
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Re:Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they ... by kaba0 on Monday November 09, 2020 @03:19AM (#25032514)
Which is absolutely null compared to their income, and does close to absolutely nothing to benefit society - it is only there so they can feel good about themselves.
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Re:Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they ... by throwaway0a5e on Monday November 09, 2020 @09:53AM (#25035367)
>and does close to absolutely nothing to benefit society

About half of society would say the same about taxes.

And therein lies the problem. There's a bunch of fundamental disagreements we need to work through.

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Re:Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they ... by barumi on Monday November 09, 2020 @05:58AM (#25033472)
Your example is not compatible with your claim. You're just referring to conspicuous consumption, and how affluent individuals enjoy signaling their wealth and status by flashing their disposable income in status-seeking expenditures. The percentage of wealth that trickles back is irrelevant and only a trace amount, because their point is to signal status by consuming luxury goods and services that others can't afford.
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