Sanders’s and Warren’s tax plans have put many billionaires on edge about the Democratic primary.
If you haven’t heard yet, Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire and former mayor of New York City, is once again considering a presidential run. He has toyed with the idea before, but the general consensus appears that he may actually be serious this time. However, no one should fall for any sort of façade made about his potential bid: it is nothing more than a financial investment for him and his billionaire cohorts. The wealthiest of Americans are starting to sweat as leading Democrats, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, inch closer and closer toward socialist principles and a heavier tax burden on America’s wealthiest individuals.
It surely is not a coincidence that the rumors of Bloomberg running for president, rising from an apparent effort to get on the Alabama ballot, come shortly after Senator Warren’s spat with Bill Gates. The Microsoft CEO openly criticized Warren for her plans on taxation, and reporting on the thoughts of billionaires toward candidates this election accelerated immensely as a consequence. It was in this excitement that the prospect of Bloomberg reached the national conscience.
All of this, of course, is nothing more than a national outcry from the country’s richest citizens. For socialism and a taxation on the wealthy, what once was a far-fetched dream is now slowly making its way much closer to reality. People like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seen in more moderate circles as a left-wing zealot, are now seeing their rhetoric become much more normalized. While some may say this is a dangerous way of ostracizing and demonizing billionaires, it could just as easily be said that it is about time they give back to the country that they built their fortune in.
Think about it this way. Michael Bloomberg, just himself, is worth over 50 billion dollars (an estimated 52.3 to be exact). If he, in an oversimplified example of taxation, were to give one billion dollars in taxes, he would still be worth over 50 billion dollars. His quality of life would not change whatsoever, and it would not be enough to even make him worry.
But who would have their quality of life change? What could be done with that is an entirely different story. One billion dollars could cover meals for people who suffer to get enough food to eat, could help cover tuition for students and alleviate the student debt crisis, could even contribute to help provide healthcare to people who are bankrupted by medical expenses, among other seemingly endless possibilities. Additionally, lest it be forgotten, all of this change could be wrought in the very same nation where Bloomberg amassed his incredible fortune.
Here’s the kicker though, there are 607 billionaires living in the United States right now. Better yet, there are 18.6 million millionaires in the U.S. today, which is 40 percent of all the millionaires in the world. Imagine the great accomplishments that could be made if they simply paid taxes back to the country that allowed them to achieve such great wealth. Bloomberg is running now without the intention to win, but solely with the idea that he can peg down Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who both are pushing an agenda that would cut into Bloomberg’s pocketbook. Don’t be fooled into the same misgivings about taxation as so many others already have. We should not have people bankrupted by medical expenses or over half a million homeless people in the richest country in the world.
