A man with good idea's

[Trevor Bodiam]

'This is not rocket science': Historian's challenge to billionaires at Davos goes viral

A Dutch historian has gone viral on social media after accusing the wealthy attendees of the World Economic Forum of hypocrisy, and arguing they should be taxed more.

Key points:

The World Economic Forum was held at Davos last week
Historian Rutger Bregman was speaking on TIME's panel on inequality
He said industry had to "stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes"
The forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, is attended by world leaders and heads of business, who come together annually to discuss ways to improve global economic security.

Historian Rutger Bregman was speaking on a panel about taxes, and questioned billionaire attendees' use of fuel-guzzling private jets to come to a conference with a strong focus on tackling climate change.

"This is my first time at Davos and I find it quite a bewildering experience to be honest," he said.

"I mean, 1,500 private jets flown in to hear David Attenborough speak about how we're wrecking the planet.
"I hear people talking the language of participation and justice and equality and transparency.

"But then almost no-one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right, and of the rich just not paying their fair share.

"It feels like I'm at a firefighters' conference and no-one's allowed to speak about water."

'All the rest is bullsh*t'

The video of Mr Bregman's comments showed the historian and author speaking on TIME's panel on inequality.
The world's political elites gather in Switzerland to tackle global issues such as populism and increasing inequality, but analysts said they too are a part of the problem.
The panel was discussing an Oxfam report which revealed 26 billionaires had the same wealth as the world's poorest 3.8 billion people combined, and was asked whether this inequality was likely to lead to a backlash.

Mr Bregman said industry had to "stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes", citing the high tax rate of 1950s America as a rebuttal against the argument that economies with high personal taxation could not succeed.

"Ten years ago the WEF asked the question, 'What must industry do to prevent a broad social backlash?' The answer is very simple: just stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes. Taxes, taxes," he said.

"Just two days ago there was a billionaire in here — Michael Dell — and he asked a question like, 'Name me one country where a top marginal tax rate of 70 per cent has actually worked'.

"I'm a historian. The United States. That's where it has actually worked, in the 1950s during Republican president Eisenhower, the war veteran, the top marginal tax rate in the US was 91 per cent for people like Michael Dell. The top estate tax for people like Michael Dell was more than 70 per cent.

"This is not rocket science. We can talk for a very long time about all these stupid philanthropy schemes, we can invite Bono once more, but come on — we've got to be talking about taxes.
"All the rest is bullsh*t in my opinion."

But one member of the audience, former Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman, challenged Mr Bregman's comments, arguing it was a "one-sided panel" that should instead focus on what people actually wanted — "the dignity of a job".

Mr Dell spoke at a panel a few days earlier, arguing against a proposal put forward by Democrat representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a tax rate of 70 per cent for people with incomes exceeding $US10 million.

He argued it "would not help the growth of the US economy", while other panels said increasing tax was just an "easy fix" and providing education and access to technologies would be a better long-term solution to tackling inequality.

[j.sabourn]

Basically all the wealth in the world wouldn’t make the normal person happy , he could not even spend it. The real wealth gives people power over other people that’s all. It is the ego driven power hungry people who crave wealth that gives them the power and makes them think they are unaccountable to anyone. Everyone these days are shouting about the world economy , I don’t even know what they are talking about and don’t think others do either. It’s all smoke in the eyes. Countries should be able to feed themselves without buying luxury items from others and making the vendors rich.All this share market crap, before the ordinary man in the street got caught up in the idea of wealth for a little outlay of money was the start of the hue and cry of today. As everyone seems to be involved in stocks and shares. I just don’t understand what all the shoutings about. Used to be a working man got paid cash , went out and spent that cash in his own backyard , the money was continuously moving and that was a country’s economy. I just shut my eyes pay a bit to charity and look after my own. JS.

[Fouro]

Life gets tedious does it not, this could be how you feel in your twilight years.
Click on the html below.

https://youtu.be/tZsYqBQFU60

Fouro.

[happy daze john in oz]

They can shout as much as they like about equality, transparency, global wealth etc.
It will not make on bit of difference.
Those in power who hold the wealth have no intention of changing.
Gov say they will tax companies at the rate they should be taxed at, but those companies can afford to employ the world smartest accountants in the world.
Accountants who will find legal ways of avoiding tax, ways the gov have not even thought of.

Here in Oz the opposition if they win the next election say they will ban the practice of giving back tax credits to share holders.
These credits are excess to those paid by the company and are returned to the shareholders who can use them to offset their own tax.

Already the companies concerned have announced how they will get around this by issuing either additional shares or one off bonuses.

Govs are never very smart.

[j.sabourn]

#3 Couldn’t get the sound but took one look at that pigs ear of a Bliar and switched over. How anyone can pay to listen to his rubbish I fail to understand, what he’s even got the right to have a public say in a community he has no recognition at apart from being a uk citizen unfortuanetley, beats me, he was one of many responsible for the situation the uk is in now, by signing its rights away in the first place, he makes Trumps accusers of him being too friendly with Russia look really small time. Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

This may make you smile, we hope

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.



As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted, whatever happens, they will introduce a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".



In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.



There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.



In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.



Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.



Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.



By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".



During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.



Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi TU understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.



Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.







And Congratulations you have learnt German within minutes...

[j.sabourn]

We haf wis of maken yoo tark, tark is a. Geordie one which had to put in to pacify the northern hordes. JS

[cappy]

this may make you smile, we hope

the european commission has just announced an agreement whereby english will be the official language of the european union rather than german, which was the other possibility.



As part of the negotiations, the british government conceded that english spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted, whatever happens, they will introduce a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "euro-english".



In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.



There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.



In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.



Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.



Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.



By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".



During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.



Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.



Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking german like zey vunted in ze forst plas.







And congratulations you have learnt german within minutes...

jawhol mien herren allus ist sheis.....

[Des Taff Jenkins]

They can shout as much as they like about equality, transparency, global wealth etc.
It will not make on bit of difference.
Those in power who hold the wealth have no intention of changing.
Gov say they will tax companies at the rate they should be taxed at, but those companies can afford to employ the world smartest accountants in the world.
Accountants who will find legal ways of avoiding tax, ways the gov have not even thought of.

Here in Oz the opposition if they win the next election say they will ban the practice of giving back tax credits to share holders.
These credits are excess to those paid by the company and are returned to the shareholders who can use them to offset their own tax.

Already the companies concerned have announced how they will get around this by issuing either additional shares or one off bonuses.

Govs are never very smart.

Hi John.
Good on these Companies, at least then these people wont be getting a tax return for a tax they never paid in the first place; costing the Govt $five billion a year.
Des

[j.sabourn]

In the tax year 2014-15 the top 10 company’s in Australia paid no tax at all from a combined revenue of $33 billion.
The top 10 tax avoiding companies in Australia including BHP , whose boss currently earns around $155,000 a week, deprived Australians of more than $600 million in taxes re 2014-15.
The ATO has been chasing Chevron for more than $1 billion in unpaid taxes going back to 2012. That sum alone could have covered the employment of more than 6000 nurses, teachers and paramedics, built over a dozen high schools, and created hundreds of new hospital beds .I don’t think corporate Australia needs anymore favours.
Australian workers need a pay rise and corporate thugs like the banks senior officers need to go to gaol.

Taken from a readers view in today’s paper.
JS