America’s forgotten towns: Can they be saved or should people just leave?

[Martin Hash]

You mean like an aristocracy? R U a Royalist too?

Socialists will eagerly play "the aristocracy" card: that without inheritance tax you will see the rich come richer and the poor poorer. But when you think of it, it's true socialism: you should not be able to transfer wealth to your children (or whoever you want to give it to).

(Actually the aristocracy isn't so wealthy anymore except in Saudi Arabia. Royal families are different, but you average run-of-the-mill baron is likely to be middle class. Basically they lost their position after the 19th Century.)

Somebody doesn't know their math nor recent U.S. tax history. (Since Reaganomics). I've covered this in many posts and on my podcast, "PRay TeLL, Dr. Hash." Anybody who followed my expert explanations has left this forum, only Royalists remain.

[Speaker to Animals]

Do you at least see the problem with inheritance taxes over small farms bordering metropolitan areas where the real estate speculation drove up prices for the land over whatever threshold exists, far in excess of what the farm produces annually?

[SuburbanFarmer]

Hate the Death Tax................ Fucking Government all ready taxed that money, then they think the State should get a piece of something you pass on to your family...................... It's oppressive.

I agree on principle.

But again, if you’re holding over $5m in assets, and you don’t have it in a trust or holding Corp, you’re a fucking idiot anyway.

A Trust didn't protect from Inheritance Taxes, but go ahead, you're the expert.

p.s. This forum is starting to piss me off.

I don’t know what the legal mechanisms are, as I don’t have $5m in assets to worry about. Whatever you’ve got set up for the Hashitos is what I’m talking about. I’m sure you’re not just handing it to the government.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Do you at least see the problem with inheritance taxes over small farms bordering metropolitan areas where the real estate speculation drove up prices for the land over whatever threshold exists, far in excess of what the farm produces annually?

It would probably make more sense for the owner to sell and relocate, tbh. Retreat from the sprawl.

[Speaker to Animals]

Do you at least see the problem with inheritance taxes over small farms bordering metropolitan areas where the real estate speculation drove up prices for the land over whatever threshold exists, far in excess of what the farm produces annually?

It would probably make more sense for the owner to sell and relocate, tbh. Retreat from the sprawl.

That's the economically efficient choice, but it only creates more fragility and dependency.

[Martin Hash]

Farms? Why are farms any different than a newspaper business, or a guy's construction yard? The reverence people have for farming is mystical. But anyway, the tax code had a special treatment for "family farms" already.

What you did in your life was yours, your kids don't deserve squat. However, it does seem reasonable that you should be able to set up your immediate heirs, and $5 million was certainly enough of a head-start.

[heydaralon]

Hate the Death Tax................ Fucking Government all ready taxed that money, then they think the State should get a piece of something you pass on to your family...................... It's oppressive.

I agree on principle.

But again, if you’re holding over $5m in assets, and you don’t have it in a trust or holding Corp, you’re a fucking idiot anyway.

A Trust didn't protect from Inheritance Taxes, but go ahead, you're the expert.

p.s. This forum is starting to piss me off.

Thats rich, coming from the guy who said Ninja turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze was better than the CGI movie they came out with a few years ago. Scumbag...

[Zero]

Thats rich, coming from the guy who said Ninja turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze was better than the CGI movie they came out with a few years ago. Scumbag...

[Speaker to Animals]

Farms? Why are farms any different than a newspaper business, or a guy's construction yard? The reverence people have for farming is mystical. But anyway, the tax code had a special treatment for "family farms" already.

What you did in your life was yours, your kids don't deserve squat. However, it does seem reasonable that you should be able to set up your immediate heirs, and $5 million was certainly enough of a head-start.

I don't really care either way about the inheritance tax on principle.

My argument is that the economically efficient decisions sometimes lead to disastrous consequences. We ought to consider economic robustness and sustainability as well. The more locally food is produced the better. Having large metropolitan areas that absolutely depend upon food being transported across an entire continent (or the world) is dangerous. At some point, peak oil is happening, and if that happens before we have discovered alternatives, these places are going to suddenly be without food and will be completely unsustainable.

Personally, I think we ought to pursue policies that support local farms. It's not efficient. It's not the most cost-effective way to produce food or even the highest-yielding way to produce food. But it's resilient.

That's all I am saying. I would like to find a way to keep family farms viable, especially near those areas around the borders of metropolitan areas where taxation combined with land speculation mean inheritance results in liquidation to developers. I don't really think that's a good thing. I don't even think the urban sprawl is a good thing at all. I think we are too reliant on automobiles, and petroleum in general.

[Martin Hash]

We could switch to electric in a heartbeat. Cars are not our problem, jobs are. The only reason jobs are a problem is because people are so invested in accounting they can't see that money is imaginary, and the reason for jobs is responsibility. Plus, we're constantly fighting against the Royalists who think they deserve everything.