Frank's Musings

The Biden administration’s guarantee of certain union members’ pensions on 12/9/2022 recognizes that the economy’s ability to reward high earners in professional, financial and other fields depends on the competent performance of underlying basic functions. These activities are not typically paid for at a very high level, although they require the day-to-day effort of the majority of the population. Without their work, the functions that require higher intellectual capability could not take place.

Therefore, those high earners must contribute the resources needed by ordinary sectors of society to live well. This sharing of resources is needed to “grease the skids” for the “elites” who generate the information and wealth that drives progress in the economy. Thus, their fair share of that cost is larger than might be considered equitable by the “elites.”

Many billionaires realize that they should give away to society a large part of their monetary wealth.  Resentment of an uncorrected societal structure like this led the Congress to deprive college graduates of the protection of bankruptcy due to the cost of their education. Congress's majority at that time during the Clinton Administration was saying that just because college graduates are smart enough to qualify for college enrollment and related federal student loans shouldn’t allow them to get educated virtually for free.

Reform of this provision of the tax code will have to include a special tax on the wealth of these “elites” that allows the redistribution of certain lifestyle benefits in favor of society’s working class.  The allocation of these redistributed benefits could be based on income level; but must also be accompanied by access to special privileges that are scaled to the amount of special taxes paid.  This will be a very difficult balance to strike; but its goal will be to diminish the societal strife that leads to personal discomfort and to violent upheaval.

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