The dream of becoming a billionaire
Once a symbol of the American dream, huge wealth is being criticized in a country where the wealth gap is widening, and all Democratic candidates want to tax it.
In the report published in the French newspaper “Lacroix”, writer Alexis Poisson said that opinion-makers in the past were praising the owners of millions and billions, while the political class courted them in search of donations.
But in America 2019, these people no longer have a good reputation, while all Democratic presidential candidates – including financier Tom Steyr, the only billionaire who participated in the basic debate – want to levy more taxes on them.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, symbols of the party’s left-wing and favorite candidates for the race, are struggling to impose a tax on high net worth individuals and are constantly targeting “billionaires” in their public statements.
Citizenship values Bernie Sanders, who prides himself on rejecting donations from wealthy donors, went so far as to say in late September on Twitter that “there should be no billionaires.” Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman also spoke to The New York Times about “blowing up the billionaire bubble.”
Criticism of practices deemed to disrespect citizenship values from companies run by wealthy entrepreneurs such as Facebook and Amazon, as well as the prospect of billionaire Michael Bloomberg joining the campaign, further exacerbated the situation.
“In the past, Americans appreciated the innovations developed by the owners of these companies. For the time being, they are seen as part of the problem,” said Brookings expert Darrell West.
The richest 1% own \$ 34 billion Distrust in America stems from growing concern about the role of money in American politics and the widening inequality gap.
According to the US Federal Reserve, 1 percent of America’s wealthiest households have more than \$ 34 billion, a six-fold increase compared to 1988.
“Despite the good state of the economy, many Americans, especially young people, lack opportunities,” says Daryl West.
According to the French newspaper, the massive tax cuts imposed by President Trump in 2017 – the first billionaire to head the White House – to widen the gap. His opponents felt the influence of his wealthy supporters, including his 20 millionaires and billionaires.
The high performance of financial markets contributed to the emergence of an additional 21 billionaires in 2018 compared to 2017, bringing the total to 607 billionaires in the United States, according to the magazine “Forbes”.
While some billionaires criticize tax proposals on “high net worth individuals” as unfair, others realize that the value of accumulated wealth is shocking.
The debate could redefine the place of billionaires in a country where philanthropy can fund many cultural and social activities.
Since 2010, dozens of HNWIs have signed a “tender pledge” at the initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates, which promises to give HNWIs more than half of their wealth for charitable causes.
Source: Lacroix