EDITOR:

If a wealth tax were imposed on billionaires above and beyond what they already pay, they could choose to take their offending extra wealth to a more welcoming country. That tax-friendly country would be grateful for the extra revenue. Or they could hoard their money in Swiss bank accounts, or employ high-priced tax lawyers to legally hide their filthy riches. I suspect that, if Nino E. Green were a billionaire, he would choose one of these options. Bottom line, the revenue stream would fall short of expectations.

They can’t spend it as fast as they make it but they do give a lot of it away. America is the most charitable country the world has ever known and our 600 billionaires have a lot to do with that. What other country, what other economic system on earth could produce 600 billionaires? This is good news.

Our fiscal problem is overspending, not lack of revenue. High taxes would be much easier to stomach if so much of it wasn’t wasted, or pocketed, by our ruling elite. Mr. Green doesn’t say what our government should do with this money, only that the people who earned it don’t need it. If history is any guide, the billionaires would spend it more wisely.

Jeff Bezos vs. $7.25 minimum wage is a stark comparison meant to evoke jealousy, a weapon commonly deployed by those calling for higher taxes. If $15 is enough to lift people out of poverty, if economics is really that simple, why not raise minimum wage high enough to lift everyone into prosperity?

Kenneth LaMarche

Escanaba