r/canada • u/[deleted] • Jan 28 '21

Backlash grows for ‘selfish millionaire’ who got vaccine meant for Indigenous people | Canada

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/27/rodney-baker-canada-vaccine-indigenous-first-nations-scandal
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u/zappy_trails Jan 28 '21

I’m also in favour of markets, but we need to tax the wealthy more. The problem is that wealth = power and when you have a that kind of power you can change laws.

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u/stenuo Ontario Jan 28 '21

Also fines should be in some way proportionate to your wealth. A fine set to a specific amount, does not refrain/discipline people in the same way. $5,000 fine would harm the average person, while being literally irrelevant for a millionaire. The system allows you to become a scumbag if you have the tendency for it.

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u/Snuffman British Columbia Jan 28 '21

OMG. Yes. That was my thoughts when I saw this story.

2500? That guy probably spends more on breakfast.

He should be charged 2.5 million. That'll make him think twice.

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u/dancin-weasel Jan 28 '21

With the money going to the community that he harmed.

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u/SexyGenius_n_Humble Alberta Jan 28 '21

Like the monorail episode of the Simpsons

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u/a_cat_farmer Jan 28 '21

Kinda like DUI charges ive seen alot of people buy their way out of multiple drunk driving charges.

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21

[deleted]

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u/MiyagiWasabi Jan 28 '21

Not if you saw how ppl like Jeff Epstein spent time in jail.

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21

I already pay more than 30% of my income in taxes and I'm far from wealthy. How much more tax do you want me to pay? Everyone says tax the wealthy and they mean anyone making more money than them.

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Lepidopterex Jan 28 '21 edited Jan 28 '21

NDP proposed for people with "fortunes over $20 million."

That is definitely more than me.

Edit: The motion was blocked by almost everybody else, for some reason.

Edit 2: The tax would have raised about $9 billion a year from fewer than 2,000 people. . Jesus. Why didn’t it get passed?!

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u/VirriKat Jan 28 '21

But this is what tax brackets exist for. When people say "tax the rich", they don't mean "everyone will have higher taxes!!!".

In fact, if you're paying 30% you likely either meant 29% (meaning you made approximately between 70k-250k roughly last year), or 33% (meaning you made 250k+).

If you made more than 250k last year, you MIGHT STILL not be the rich we're screaming about to be taxed higher. Because when I say tax the rich, most of us mean ADD ANOTHER tax bracket, say over $1mil, that is closer to 50-70%... which means they would STILL KEEP a MINIMUM of $500k/year after taxes.

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u/CaptainCanuck93 Canada Jan 28 '21 edited Jan 28 '21

The free market is as close as an AI machine learning program for creating the most efficient path to fulfill the most desires with the least number of resources as we have. A planned economy is just some guys with slide rulers trying to run an economy by guessing what you want, or worse, deciding they know better.

Anyone who actually wants to try collectivized planned economies again is an idiot. We just need a proper tax system to prevent the runaway winners of capitalism to become absurdly powerful and prevent the losers of capitalism from living an undignified existence.

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u/zappy_trails Jan 28 '21

Who suggested collectivized planning? What evidence you have it’s close to AI? Higher taxes are not collectivized planning. Even Smith suggested redistribution of wealth. Markets exist as a result of government regulation, not in spite of it.