莫名堂观察：盯着富人的钱包……就解决问题了？

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本杰明 富兰克林说过这样一句流传颇广的话，The only sure things in life are death, taxes and campaign.（生命中只有三件事情是确定的，即死亡、税收和战斗），起头和收尾这两个，大家都知道它们的厉害，而中间这位，你要开始和它打交道之后，才会知道它的厉害。最近，美国那位年事已高，但是仍然孜孜不倦于政治活动的左翼大佬、参议员伯尼 桑德斯又出来刷存在感了，这次他号召要向富人征税。Senator Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna, a representative, on Monday introduced legislation that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires. The proposal, titled the make billionaires pay their fair share act, would apply to individuals in the US with a net worth of $1bn or more, of which Sanders’s office estimates there are 938 people who meet that threshold.

这份提案，是针对美国亿万富翁的，大概有938名大富豪够得上；如果你的净值没高到10亿美金，你都不好意思上名单。一看到这儿，许多人会说，普通民众咸吃萝卜淡操心，干卿底事？更有人甚至会拍手称快，收丫的钱，劫富济贫。这里慢道公平、正义、转移支付这些大道理，只问一句：收得到吗？

Senator Bernie Sanders, rehashing a bad idea from his 2020 presidential bid, has proposed an annual 5 percent tax on billionaires’ wealth. Sanders claims that his wealth tax would raise $4.4 trillion over ten years, or around half of U.S. billionaires’ total wealth.

《国家评论》

National Review

转移支付是税收的一大调节功能，这方面的文章汗牛充栋，这里就不拾人牙慧了。收到的钱，据说会用于一长串的救济活动(handout)、中产阶级的激励支票、医疗补助的扩大、补贴房屋和幼儿等等。目前的美国，这类的一揽子补助早就有，这样的entitlement (补助、补贴制度)，已经让美国难以承受。Sanders wants to spend all the revenue squeezed from billionaires on a long list of handouts, including stimulus checks for the middle class, a Medicare expansion, and subsidized housing and childcare. Never mind that the nation cannot afford the entitlement state it already has. Besides, as an unconstitutional direct tax, Sanders’s proposal would be struck down by the courts and raise zero revenue.

《国家评论》最后点题：这种赤裸裸的再分配和阶级战，已经到了最懒的时候了，言外之意，坐着收钱还不过瘾，躺赢才好。It represents naked redistribution and class warfare at its laziest. 至于桑德斯此案的前景，那就是被各级法院给拍死，一分钱都收不到，Sanders’s proposal would be struck down by the courts and raise zero revenue.

也别把话说死，骑驴看唱本吧。