• @UnderpantsWeevil
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    514 days ago

    restores a smaller amount to the least productive parts of the economy

    Taxation does not restore money to the economy in any capacity or at any productivity level. It is purely fiscally destructive.

    It devalues your currency

    It increases the value of outstanding currency by reducing the total volume in circulation.

    This is Econ 101, Supply & Demand level stuff. Decreasing supply of dollars means reducing the demand for goods and services. If you’re selling widgets for $5/unit and the median spender losses $1 of their available $5 to taxation, this will not cause you to increase the sales price of your widgets. Raising your prices means you sell no widgets and you go out of business. Lowering your price means you capture the available cash flow and clear your inventory.

    • link
      fedilink
      -514 days ago

      @UnderpantsWeevil

      No, because the tax money is spent back into the economy. It is just taken from productive sectors and given to unproductive ones.

      • @UnderpantsWeevil
        link
        614 days ago

        tax money is spent

        Spending is entirely divorced from revenue. That’s how we run deficits.

        We’ve played the “cut taxes first, cut spending later” game since Carter, and I dare you to show me three consecutive years where the deficit actually contracted.

        is just taken from productive sectors

        Sectors that run high margins are defacto not productive. They are assigning large mark ups over the real cost of production.

        If you want to reduce inflation without hitting productivity, you need to extract taxes from these high margin businesses.

        Once shrinking your margin becomes a tax avoidance strategy, wages rise and prices fall.

        Targeted high margin taxation is a proven strategy for deflating prices. But this requires a level of education that goes beyond Econ 101.

        • link
          fedilink
          -614 days ago

          @UnderpantsWeevil

          Sectors that run high margins also have the ability to reinvest, which is how we get most applied innovation.

          • @UnderpantsWeevil
            link
            314 days ago

            Sectors that run high margins also have the ability to reinvest

            If you’re reinvesting, you’re running lower margins thanks to increased capital costs.

            I recommend you go back and revisit a basic business accounting class.

            • link
              fedilink
              -414 days ago

              @UnderpantsWeevil

              Reinvesting does not necessary occur in the same cycle where the profit is generated; in fact, it usually involves saving up for some time.