So in March 2026, Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. It would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on the net worth of roughly 938 U.S. billionaires (those with $1 billion+ in assets, collectively worth about $8.2 trillion). No one below that threshold would pay more under the bill.

This would generate around $4.4 trillion over 10 years (per economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who have advised Sanders before).

First-year use: $3,000 direct payments to every person in households earning ≤$150,000 (equaling $12,000 for a family of four).

Broader uses: Fund Medicare/Medicaid expansions, affordable housing, raising the minimum teacher salary to $60,000, childcare, and other working-family priorities.

I think this is a cracking idea so that's a "Yes, let's do it!" from me.

11 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

So in March 2026, Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. It would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on the net worth of roughly 938 U.S. billionaires (those with $1 billion+ in assets, collectively worth about $8.2 trillion). No one below that threshold would pay more under the bill.

This would generate around $4.4 trillion over 10 years (per economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who have advised Sanders before).

First-year use: $3,000 direct payments to every person in households earning ≤$150,000 (equaling $12,000 for a family of four).

Broader uses: Fund Medicare/Medicaid expansions, affordable housing, raising the minimum teacher salary to $60,000, childcare, and other working-family priorities.

I think this is a cracking idea so that's a "Yes, let's do it!" from me.

Very nice but where is the money coming from? Over tax people and they leave the country. Think about it. Elon Musk paid billions in tax last year. So where did it all go? Probably the government members benefitted..

How much money do these Billionaires need , America is going

to need money to pay the deficit down , and the way Trump

is going it's going to grow bigley ,a Billion for this a Billion for that ,it

cannot go on .

regards worgeordie

5 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Very nice but where is the money coming from? Over tax people and they leave the country. Think about it. Elon Musk paid billions in tax last year. So where did it all go? Probably the government members benefitted..

Tanks for standing up for the billionaires. The rich were supposed to leave New York in droves once Mamdani took office, remember?

Didn't happen.

1 minute ago, BLMFem said:

Tanks for standing up for the billionaires. The rich were supposed to leave New York in droves once Mamdani took office, remember?

Didn't happen.

It will if you increase the taxes too much.

8 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Very nice but where is the money coming from? Over tax people and they leave the country. Think about it. Elon Musk paid billions in tax last year. So where did it all go? Probably the government members benefitted. They are leaving the UK because of excessive tax, don't think the US billionaires wont do the same, they will.

A wealth tax is likely unconstitutional. According to the US Constitution, a direct tax must be apportioned among the states based on population (Article I, Section 9). In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that the income tax was a direct tax, which led to the 16th Amendment granting Congress the power to tax income. Originally, the income tax was designed to target the wealthy. This concept sounds familiar when progressives talk about implementing a wealth tax.

The real issue is that progressives seek an ever-expanding government. What is truly needed is fiscal discipline.

By and large, wealth taxes do not work. You can read more on this topic here:

1. [Don't Tax Wealth - The Economist](https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/10/02/dont-tax-wealth?utm_campaign=shared_article)

2. [Wealth Taxes Are Proven Failures - Reason](https://reason.com/2026/02/05/wealth-taxes-are-proven-failures-will-california-take-note/)

3. [Why a Wealth Tax is a Bad Idea - Reason](https://reason.com/2022/05/03/why-a-wealth-tax-is-a-bad-idea/)

Spelling police post removed

3 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

A wealth tax is likely unconstitutional. According to the US Constitution, a direct tax must be apportioned among the states based on population (Article I, Section 9). In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that the income tax was a direct tax, which led to the 16th Amendment granting Congress the power to tax income. Originally, the income tax was designed to target the wealthy. This concept sounds familiar when progressives talk about implementing a wealth tax.

The real issue is that progressives seek an ever-expanding government. What is truly needed is fiscal discipline.

By and large, wealth taxes do not work. You can read more on this topic here:

1. [Don't Tax Wealth - The Economist](https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/10/02/dont-tax-wealth?utm_campaign=shared_article)

2. [Wealth Taxes Are Proven Failures - Reason](https://reason.com/2026/02/05/wealth-taxes-are-proven-failures-will-california-take-note/)

3. [Why a Wealth Tax is a Bad Idea - Reason](https://reason.com/2022/05/03/why-a-wealth-tax-is-a-bad-idea/)

"The real issue is that progressives seek an ever-expanding government. What is truly needed is fiscal discipline."

I see, so that's why the deficit is shrinking and the budget is about to be balanced during Trump 2.0. Got it!!

4 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

"The real issue is that progressives seek an ever-expanding government. What is truly needed is fiscal discipline."

I see, so that's why the deficit is shrinking and the budget is about to be balanced during Trump 2.0. Got it!!

I don't think you fully understand the federal government's budgetary dysfunction, which means you are a progressive like Bernie.

9 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

I don't think you fully understand the federal government's budgetary dysfunction, which means you are a progressive like Bernie.

And I know you don't know what a logical fallacy means. But hey, you do you!

Just now, BLMFem said:

And I know you don't know what a logical fallacy means. But hey, you do you!

Arguing that the federal budget is dysfunctional is not a logical fallacy. You seem to lack the ability to engage in substantial debate. Therefore, your responses resort to terms like "logical fallacy" or "strawman".

6 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

And I know you don't know what a logical fallacy means. But hey, you do you!

I noticed that you didn't address the main points of my original posts.

3 hours ago, BLMFem said:

Tanks for standing up for the billionaires. The rich were supposed to leave New York in droves once Mamdani took office, remember?

Didn't happen.

Really ?

New York City has seen a significant exodus of millionaires, with over 125,000 residents moving to Florida,

taking nearly $14 billion in income with them. However, specific data on the number of billionaires who have left since 2025 is not provided.

Even before 2025 :

https://nypost.com/2023/11/11/metro/new-york-loses-10-billionaires-in-four-years-as-magnates-flee-for-florida/

More recent :

https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/leave-if-you-tax-them-new-yorks-millionaire-exodus-has-already-left-new-yorks-government-nearly-12-billion-poorer

3 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Really ?

New York City has seen a significant exodus of millionaires, with over 125,000 residents moving to Florida,

taking nearly $14 billion in income with them. However, specific data on the number of billionaires who have left since 2025 is not provided.

Even before 2025 :

https://nypost.com/2023/11/11/metro/new-york-loses-10-billionaires-in-four-years-as-magnates-flee-for-florida/

More recent :

https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/leave-if-you-tax-them-new-yorks-millionaire-exodus-has-already-left-new-yorks-government-nearly-12-billion-poorer

Both of those stories reference data from before 2023. What does that have to do with Mamdani?

2 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Really ?

New York City has seen a significant exodus of millionaires, with over 125,000 residents moving to Florida,

taking nearly $14 billion in income with them. However, specific data on the number of billionaires who have left since 2025 is not provided.

Even before 2025 :

https://nypost.com/2023/11/11/metro/new-york-loses-10-billionaires-in-four-years-as-magnates-flee-for-florida/

More recent :

https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/leave-if-you-tax-them-new-yorks-millionaire-exodus-has-already-left-new-yorks-government-nearly-12-billion-poorer

The governor of New York asked high-net-worth individuals to return and support their generous social programs. The left cannot understand how they are destroying the West with all their "generous" social programs.

4 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Really ?

New York City has seen a significant exodus of millionaires, with over 125,000 residents moving to Florida,

taking nearly $14 billion in income with them. However, specific data on the number of billionaires who have left since 2025 is not provided.

Even before 2025 :

https://nypost.com/2023/11/11/metro/new-york-loses-10-billionaires-in-four-years-as-magnates-flee-for-florida/

More recent :

https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/leave-if-you-tax-them-new-yorks-millionaire-exodus-has-already-left-new-yorks-government-nearly-12-billion-poorer

Why are you posting stuff from way before Mamdani took office?

1 minute ago, Effective altruism said:

The governor of New York asked high-net-worth individuals to return and support their generous social programs. The left cannot understand how they are destroying the West with all their "generous" social programs.

Sky News Australia, the only news source that makes Fox look "fair and balanced".🤣

Just now, GroveHillWanderer said:

Both of those stories reference data from before 2023. What does that have to do with Mamdani?

People have left New York before Mamdani due to the tax and business climate. Do you think they want to stay and face additional taxes?

Just now, BLMFem said:

Sky News Australia, the only news source that makes Fox look "fair and balanced".🤣

If you have watched the video, you would hear Kathy Hochul in her own words. Why not take the time to watch it?

3 hours ago, BLMFem said:

Why are you posting stuff from way before Mamdani took office?

Like Effective altruism already said :

People have left New York before Mamdani due to the tax and business climate. Do you think they want to stay and face additional taxes?

Number of departees in 2026 are not given yet.

Zohran Mamdani took office as mayor of New York City on January 1, 2026.

Not even 5 months.

4 hours ago, Effective altruism said:

People have left New York before Mamdani due to the tax and business climate. Do you think they want to stay and face additional taxes?

There is no evidence (that I have seen) that people have been leaving New York due to tax and businesses reasons.

Certainly, neither of the articles posted above, provide any such evidence. That both speculate that it might be the reason but offer no proof of that contention.

In fact, research that has been done shows that the idea of rich people fleeing because of wealth taxes is actually a myth.

The article in Forbes Magazine below (hardly a left-leaning publication) indicates that billionaires for example, do not leave areas because of wealth taxes.

Do Billionaires Really Move To Avoid Wealth Taxes?

That there is little to no economic evidence showing that billionaires will move to avoid a small and one-time wealth tax — dedicated to a specific humanitarian cause — is no surprise.

Decades of economic research show that billionaire “flight” is rare, exaggerated, and often confused with tax avoidance through accounting maneuvers rather than physical relocation. That distinction matters. Policymakers who mistake avoidance for exit risk misdesign taxes and leave substantial revenue on the table. The proposed one-time wealth tax in California is exceptionally well-designed.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresaghilarducci/2025/12/29/do-wealth-taxes-really-make-billionaires-leave/

Edited May 19May 19 by GroveHillWanderer

4 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

In fact, research that has been done shows that the idea of rich people fleeing because of wealth taxes is actually a myth.

Climate and lifestyle more likely

It would generate less than zero. These super rich are totally mobile. They will up sticks and move to a more favorable tax regime. The world has countless Mauritiuses, Vanuatus, Isle of Mans, Bahamas. They can just choose their preferred climate and go.

Then the country of origin loses whatever tax the super rich was paying, plus all businesses they spent at - cars, restaurants, gardeners, maids - so all in all a complete disaster.

The left will never understand this, but socialists must reduce state spending. End of.

10 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

It would generate less than zero. These super rich are totally mobile. They will up sticks and move to a more favorable tax regime. The world has countless Mauritiuses, Vanuatus, Isle of Mans, Bahamas. They can just choose their preferred climate and go.

Then the country of origin loses whatever tax the super rich was paying, plus all businesses they spent at - cars, restaurants, gardeners, maids - so all in all a complete disaster.

The left will never understand this, but socialists must reduce state spending. End of.

The left will never understand that they have built an unaffordable government.

This is brilliant!

7 hours ago, TedG said:

The left will never understand that they have built an unaffordable government.

Just do as you are told and sign off on a few more $trillions for the arms industry, $billions for Isra and a mere $billion for Trump’s ball room

5% doesn’t go near enough, nor does it address the core issue of the national wealth being concentrated in the pockets of a tiny minority.

The adjustment that needs to made is to the means by which obscene wealth is accumulated free of tax.

The tax code needs simplifying and the designed in tax breaks for the wealthy removed.

Start by taxing unearned income on the same basis as earned wages and cap investment tax breaks to limit them to new start ups and not as a giveaway to already established corporations.

22 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Just do as you are told and sign off on a few more $trillions for the arms industry, $billions for Isra and a mere $billion for Trump’s ball room

You have no idea what you are talking about.

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The adjustment that needs to made is to the means by which obscene wealth is accumulated free of tax.

Do you have a savings account?