The richest 1% in the Netherlands pay relatively less tax than everyone else and their incomes have risen more sharply, according to new calculations by the government’s macro-economic forecasting agency CPB. Earlier research, based on figures from 2016, showed that people on the highest incomes pay less tax and the new figures, based on the period 2011 to 2019, paint a similar picture. The very richest, or 0.01% of the population, paid a tax rate of some 28%, well below the 40% paid by people with average incomes...
It’s almost as if rich people are the common denominator in this equation. Substitute this person into a new context and they find a way to exploit the game in that arena.
The answer lies in the hands of the people who make stuff. When we say we are not going to play this game any more rich people are forced to the negotiation table because they have no chance to make any of the stuff, their stock and trade is lies.
The problem is this relies on the people who make stuff making a huge sacrifice on behalf of everyone else. This won’t change until everyone else is willing to at least match what rich people can offer to people who make stuff. Unfortunately everyone else are not willing to match this unless people who make stuff can offer a product of equivalent value. Making a product of equivalent value takes time, which gives rich people ample opportunity to offer more than everyone else is willing to.
The shift in power from concentrated wealth has been happening for a long time. After the plagues of the 13th century there was a shortage of skilled labour which tipped the balance of power towards common people. This trend has continued despite the tendency towards concentration of wealth. Contemporary examples of this phenomena are the rise of tech workers and open source tools. The pushback from the wealthy class takes the form of closed and proprietary systems, such as Apple products. Whatever we can do as individuals to create open platforms such as Lemmy, Wikipedia and Linux are the way forward.
It’s almost as if rich people are the common denominator in this equation. Substitute this person into a new context and they find a way to exploit the game in that arena.
The answer lies in the hands of the people who make stuff. When we say we are not going to play this game any more rich people are forced to the negotiation table because they have no chance to make any of the stuff, their stock and trade is lies.
The problem is this relies on the people who make stuff making a huge sacrifice on behalf of everyone else. This won’t change until everyone else is willing to at least match what rich people can offer to people who make stuff. Unfortunately everyone else are not willing to match this unless people who make stuff can offer a product of equivalent value. Making a product of equivalent value takes time, which gives rich people ample opportunity to offer more than everyone else is willing to.
The shift in power from concentrated wealth has been happening for a long time. After the plagues of the 13th century there was a shortage of skilled labour which tipped the balance of power towards common people. This trend has continued despite the tendency towards concentration of wealth. Contemporary examples of this phenomena are the rise of tech workers and open source tools. The pushback from the wealthy class takes the form of closed and proprietary systems, such as Apple products. Whatever we can do as individuals to create open platforms such as Lemmy, Wikipedia and Linux are the way forward.