this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2025
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The government operates on a deficit. The money going to the IRS is just debt service.
Stock trading isn't actually the problem. Shares are ownership, and ownership should be held by the masses.
The problem is that the ultra-rich owns all that stock, rather than the general public. The solution to that isn't banning trading. Instead, we impose a wealth tax on all registered securities, payable in shares of those securities. If it is subject to SEC oversight, 1% of it gets transferred to IRS liquidators annually.
The first $10 million held by a natural person is exempt. The IRS liquidates it by selling off small lots over time, comprising no more than 1% of total traded volume.
That's not how a government budget works. It's much more complicated that "number red or number black" like in a household budget.
Taxes are what funds the government regardless of deficit reduction and lack thereof.
It is, indeed, much more complicated, but those complications cut both ways: It is not accurate to claim that the money paid to the IRS turns into paychecks. That idea is a ridiculous oversimplification.