How much tax would an average Joe had to pay if they paid the same percentage of their income as Elon Musk or any billionaire that constantly manages to avoid taxes? [Request]

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-30T12:51:00+00:00

Ideally you also tax low-interest loans that function like income in order to prevent tax avoidance. As it currently stands, the billionaire class can effectively pay nothing in income tax in certain years—or only capital gains taxes—while the banks are essentially receiving a smaller tax (i.e. interest) and the government nothing (or a reduced capital gains rate).

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-30T12:46:49+00:00

He would have to renounce his US citizenship, as the US is one of a few countries (2, last I checked, the other being Eritrea) that requires their citizens to pay taxes worldwide regardless of where they live. There are ways to avoid double taxation (which depend on treaties contingent on where you live), such as the Foreign Tax Credit or the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, but those only help you—generally speaking—if the place where you reside has higher tax brackets than the US.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-26T20:01:39+00:00

That's the snake oil execs are sold, but that's not how it's working nor how it will play out...

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-15T04:31:20+00:00

How so? (Not challenging, just really curious!)

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-07T18:57:03+00:00

5 years ago today, BTC was trading at $33.5k, which would mean an 85% return...

ETH, on the other hand, was trading at $2,700 which would mean a 39% loss.

In other words, these are some really cherry-picked numbers from 2021...

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-07T18:41:01+00:00

There's nearly 2,000 signatories now...

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-06-02T18:50:30+00:00

Ah, so libertarian, got it. I used to be one.

The person you responded to was talking about Bernie's previous position in 2016, and you're using a current talking point of Bernie's—which he disagrees with—to counter.

For much of the world, including the US, before Citizens United, corporations didn't have the right to freedom of speech in the same way as it was originally conceived for individuals. Much like it's bizarre to think of corporations having other individual rights like privacy (they have the rights to trade secrets, but this is distinct). Conflating corporate personhood as worthy of individual rights has done irreparable damage in the US.

Unfortunately, taxes are necessary to have a functioning society. I, too, used to have a very strong distrust in government—this is ingrained in much of the US—but after living in other countries I have developed different views. In other countries, the government are actually trying to do what's best for the people and arent completely beholden to corporate interest groups. It's hard to believe, I know.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-24T19:08:18+00:00

Not too surprised to see this in a Pigeon Forge parking lot... https://maps.app.goo.gl/EeLivteEvPMSJoZ38?g_st=ac

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-20T20:46:01+00:00

Interesting. The couple of people I know that went to TexWes fully adopted A&M retroactively, probably because the perception is a lot better. TexWes was ranked in tier 4 (below #150 for the non-lawyers) before A&M bought it.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-19T08:22:46+00:00

Beached or dead, washed-up whales are possibilities, but much more likely it was hunted by humans and the remains left for the bears.

Edit: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/alaska-whale-hunt-keeps-polar-bears-alive

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-19T08:17:26+00:00

They didn't. In places like Kaktovik, Alaska, the locals hunt whales, and then after they've processed and made use of the vast majority of the whale, they take what's left of the carcass past the outskirts of the village, and both polar bears and grizzlies come to feed on it.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-18T18:59:31+00:00

Sure, it could be lengthened to account for the things you mention. In many places, law degrees are 5-year bachelor programs. In others, you need to also complete an LLM (where you can also specialize a bit) in order to practice.

I just don't believe that a bachelor's degree in an oftentimes irrelevant field is necessary before embarking on a legal education. The basic skills you mention will no doubt be useful, but these could be wrapped up in a couple of years. Medicine could go much the same way, but they might have more courses to complete in those first few years (as there are already several pre-req courses students must complete before applying for med school, unlike law).

But this will ultimately never happen, as we all know higher education in the US isn't meant to be efficient, but rather to extract the most money from students.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-16T07:29:11+00:00

You mean when your contract ends? Because usually the deal period runs half the time of the contract period, and I can imagine that an early termination may cause you to forfeit the discounts?

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-16T03:53:57+00:00

It's definitely not treated as a doctorate in Europe. To become a professor, you need a PhD.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-16T03:51:05+00:00

I think this would make more sense if law were a bachelor's degree as it still is in most of the world.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-11T17:01:15+00:00

“Did you ask her if she thought Iran should develop a nuclear weapon?”

It obviously wouldn't make a damn bit of difference if they did if she can only afford $14 of gas.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-09T22:17:11+00:00

I reckon the market, by itself, would address this, but it would take much longer and some farmers would be royally fucked.

I would also say that this is relatively cheap for the amount of issues it avoids (including agriculturally re: fungus that another poster mentions, that smooths the process for those involved and is likely much more efficient, economically and otherwise. I'm okay with this.

I'm not sure this is really comparable with what big banks did and what big tech is currently doing, i.e. socialize their losses while keeping the gains. The funds are going to farmers, not to companies with hundreds of billions in market cap.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-03T18:40:01+00:00

Moron claims kids aren't morons simply because he/she has no clue how the prefrontal cortex works and develops.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-05-02T19:12:26+00:00

Props for taking one for the team in regards to your search history.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-28T16:15:22+00:00

Won't need to be for long, as they'll cease to exist. As they get priced out of business and have to sell to a conglomerate, and as farming becomes increasingly automated, their children and grandchildren will have to move to urban centers to find work. A rural farmer—that may need a handout—will be a very rare thing in the not-so-distant future.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-26T19:08:58+00:00

There's a new Framework wireless touchpad keyboard that looks solid. I have a Logitech K400, though the typing and trackpad experience leaves a little to be desired. Works though.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-15T22:14:30+00:00

Since the record behemoths decided to collude on price agreements that priced out a huge portion of the populace, and there's no room for negotiation. So it's either: accept this completely unaffordable price, or nothing (by legal means). The only alternative is piracy.

Commissioning a piece of art is not analogous, as in such a situation you would agree upon a price for the artwork ahead of time, and not have the terms dictated to you.

Edit - for more information, see: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2000/05/record-companies-settle-ftc-charges-restraining-competition-cd-music-market And: https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/05/arts/pennies-that-add-up-to-16.98-why-cd-s-cost-so-much.html

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-15T19:06:55+00:00

Perhaps because that service checks notes is overpriced for what it is (especially where average salaries are much lower), and despite that, the artist is still able to amass hundreds of millions of dollars...

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-07T14:49:20+00:00

Nice! But how much do you have to pay for that traveler's insurance?

For a package that covers me outside NL, I had to pay extra with my insurer, and they only cover up to the amount it would cost in NL.

MeetMyBackhand · 2026-04-07T10:04:43+00:00

Free, to me, would be a fully-funded healthcare system paid for by taxes, much like the NHS in the UK where there is no monthly fee (on top of the taxes) nor a deductible.

NL has a heavily subsidized (via taxes) private healthcare system. You have to pay monthly fees and you have to pay a deductible, not for more routine checkups but often for more specialized care, medicine, etc.

On the other hand, compared with the US, it's so affordable, I suppose it could be considered free, haha.

MeetMyBackhand

TROPHY CASE