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Comment by umvi | Hacker News Reader

Diminishing returns sounds like a good idea on paper, because then the richer you get, the more you contribute. But remember that the people who are experiencing the diminishing returns aren't going to like it (besides Warren Buffett) and will probably fight against it.

It's a bit of a conundrum. The richer you get, the more power you have (via money). We want to tap into that wealth/power for the greater good. Those affected might disagree and can wield said power to prevent you from doing so. You might be able to legally force them to using the power of democracy, but this could cause all sorts of other problems (the rich fleeing to other countries, etc.)

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Because if I'm able to make myself sufficiently wealthy, I should be trusted to handle my money myself, not have it redistributed by some third party that doesn't always operate very efficiently.

This isn't about trust, no one cares whether a rich person can handle their money. That's not why they pay taxes or that those who aren't super rich pay taxes because they can't be trusted. It's about funding the society that helped enable you to become wealthy. That instead of relying on the christian idea of charity that we instead fund a society that can create a more stable environment.

And what's so wrong from wanting to support charities that pay for the things you want and care about vs. more money to the militarization of police, or the military industrial complex in general?

Charities are only needed because the government doesn’t provide the necessary services in those areas. The unfortunate thing with charities is that it’s a whim of the donors what gets covered (1 dollar = 1 vote) and sometimes they are religious (not all inclusive)

I'm not a socialist and am in favor of maximizing personal liberty. Likewise I'm against corporate protectionisms and in favor of reigning in IP law. I don't want more government as a general rule.

I trust you to handle your money to benefit yourself. I don't trust you to handle your money to the appropriate benefit of society and (by extension) your descendants.

Especially if you manage to do enough damage to society through your greed that it necessitates a class war. We can either redistribute peacefully in an attempt to solve problems that largely affect the poor, or we can push them off until the poor get desperate.

> besides Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett doesn't actually like it, otherwise he'd be writing checks to the treasury.

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