Soon I expect a proposal to just execute the wealthiest person in the US (why wait till he/she dies? He's got our money!!) and seize their property. Yeah, and sell their kids into slavery. That's what they deserve!
samclem, it's hard for me to be so cynical after an enjoyable Thanksgiving feast with family and friends, but what the heck....
Excellent observation, your proposal should sound attractive to those who favor the govt tinkering with class mobility issues, but it must be implemented on a far grander scale for meaningful impact. So lets' run with it. My two part extension of your plan:
PART 1: Some people favor the estate tax as a means to limit the amount of money handed down to heirs that did nothing but have the 'luck' of being born into a wealthy family. But, as we all know,
money isn't everything. So why stop there? These 'lucky' kids not only may receive money, but probably inherit some 'success genes', and be raised in a supportive environment. It's just not fair! So let's expand on your idea of selling the kids into slavery.
When a child is born, we must measure the potential of the parents to accumulate wealth. If they are in the top quartile of potential wealth accumulators,
their child should be switched at birth with one from the lowest quartile. It's only fair.
Since a child-bearing couple may be too young to actually have accumulated significant wealth, we must measure that 'potential' rather than their actual wealth at the time. We will need a govt agency to determine this potential. Maybe they can create a 'basket of success' that could be used (health, education, stability, current income, social skills, good looks, socioeconomic background, etc). They could get help from the CPI people. But the extra complexity should be worth it, right? Hopefully, that extra complexity does not include any loopholes to allow very wealthy people to appeal their 'success' assessment. That could result in a whole new non-value-added industry.
PART 2: The weakness in your original suggestion is that it applies to too few, too late to make an impact. Let's
get many more people, and
get them before they accumulate a lot of wealth at the expense of others. We need to be proactive!
So, who are most likely to accumulate wealth? Maybe the top 1% of ACT/SAT test scores? Maybe the top 10% of the top universities? Easy - we place an automatic death sentence upon high achievers - get rid of them before they can accumulate wealth.
Nip it in the bud! After all, they probably got into top schools because they had wealthy parents that instilled the values of education in them. It's not fair! Off with their heads! Babies switched at birth from the lowest quartile would be exempted of course - just make sure you hang on to your documentation!
Hmmmm, some wealthy people did it w/o that measure of education (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs). I smell a loophole! OK, we also put an automatic death sentence on the top 1% income earners each and every year. Again, don't wait for them to accumulate wealth - catch them in the act! No matter what, there will always be a 'top 1%' - no inflation adjustment or anything needed. It is so elegant! Off with their heads!
I feel a bumper sticker coming on...
"STOMP OUT SUCESS TODAY - ONLY
YOU CAN PREVENT WEALTH ACCUMULATION!"
Or, as Dylan said more eloquently ...
"Bent out of shape from society's pliers, cares not to come up any higher, but rather get you down in the hole that he's in." - Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma
[/satire] (or was it satire?) - ERD50
PS: Yes, I have some short, serious counters to some of the pro-estate tax comments, but later.... must take a nap