How to Destroy a Nation in 2 Generations

Posted Apr 3, 2024 By Martin Armstrong |  

QUESTION: I believe you analyzed inheritance and how altering it had contributed to society’s decline. Politicians here in Australia are talking about when you die; everything should go to the state because it is not fair that one person inherits more than another.

I would greatly appreciate any comments you might have historically on that subject.

Bret

REPLY: Yes, I forgot when I did that analysis. It was a long time ago. Inheritance Taxes are Marxist and highly destructive economically. Suppose you have a company worth $100 million; your children must pay 40% taxes. They have to fire people and sell assets to cover the tax. This has been HIGHLY destructive in farming. Heirs have been forced to sell off farmland to pay the tax. This is how large farming companies and Bill Gates have accumulated farmland. This exploitation of the heir reduces productivity and thus reduces GDP and employment.

Before Marxism, inheritance became the primary reason the first son inherited everything during the Middle Ages, and the second son was donated to the church to become a priest, whether he liked it or not. In ancient times, if you had many children and evenly divided an estate among them, you effectively destroyed society’s productive capacity.

There had previously been two types of marriage in France, temporary and permanent, until the Catholic Church insisted on only permanent marriages. Charlemagne married all his daughters in only a “temporary” marriage, meaning that they possessed no legal right to the throne or property. That was the distinction between the two types. The question of inheritance was a major issue historically.

The ancients knew the consequences of dividing estates (partibility) among heirs. Sparta in Greece rewarded fathers based on the number of children. Sparta wanted soldiers, so the more children, the better. But Sparta undermined its own economy in the process. Production of children was rewarded in Sparta, and the fathers of three or four sons were exempted from military service and other economic burdens. Aristotle is sharply critical of this practice and wrote:

“It is obvious that, if there were many children, the land being distributed as it is, many of them must necessarily fall into poverty.”

If you create a major company like Ford Motors and you die, then the government is only interested in grabbing taxes. They think nothing about the jobs this company creates. The ancients realized that even dividing it up equally among the heirs destroys the productive capacity of the entity. This is why they evolved into the first son who inherited everything to preserve the estate rather than destroy it.

After 2032, we MUST prohibit any such idea of direct taxation (income/inheritance) as the Founding Fathers of the US Constitution intended. They understood this lesson from the past – Marx was a hateful, jealous person, only concerned with not having as much as his neighbor. This is what has brought us to the brink of disaster. Our government has followed Marx rather than those who created the Constitution out of experience.

Thomas Paine was famous for saying: Give me liberty or death. But he also made it very clear why history repeats fro the people refuse to ever learn:

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worse state, an intolerable one.”

The Price of Dying – Repeal the Estate Tax

Posted Jan 26, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

They say the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. And taxes on dying if you’re in the US. That’s right, the luxury of death comes with a price in the land of the free, thanks to the death tax. Now, Republicans are working to introduce legislation that would allow Americans and their families to rest in peace, free of charge.

The estate tax, or death tax, was first executed in the United States in 1916 as a means to generate revenue for the federal government. Supporters said it would address concerns about wealth concentration. The tax has been rewritten and revised over the years and numerous states have imposed their own death tax on top of the federal one. This is not the same as the inheritance tax that directly taxes beneficiaries.

US Representative Randy Feenstra, a proponent of eliminating this absurd tax, believes this bill is hurting farmers in particular. I have heard similar sentiments from my own clients. People fled England to America to avoid government confiscation of property through taxation. Britain has a 100-year land lease program whereby you pay the actual fair value of the property you bought outright. At the end of that 100 years, the next tenant must pay the full fair value once again. This is how the “rich” made their money keeping it in the family and never selling land. It is also why Britain was forced to hand Hong Kong back to China after 100 years.

People fled to America so they could actually pass property down to their children like the rich landholding families in Britain. This was the origin of the term “freehold” meaning you could actually own the land. America was the land of opportunity because it was all freehold and people could for the first time rise from the poor rank to that of the rich by hard work, saving, and being able to create wealth for the family unit. This was the American Dream.

Failing to repeal this tax will change American agriculture. As Rep. Feenstra notes:

“Over 99% of our country’s two million farms and ranches and over 95% of our nation’s small businesses are owned and operated by individuals and families. In other words, the American economy is powered by mom-and-pop shops on main street and farms that have been in the family for generations. Naturally, the federal government only sees these incredible farms and small businesses as potential sources of tax revenue, completely ignoring the sacrifice and labor that made these enterprises successful.”

This is one of the reasons why the wealthy in China are buying US farmland. The manner in which governments globally treat farmers is shameful. The government is not our next of kin; we do not save our entire lives to provide a better life for government.

Tax & Deductions

 

Posted Oct 1, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: What do you have to say about Trump’s taxes?

GS

ANSWER: Let me explain something. Let’s take one of the richest men in the world — Bill Gates. He achieved that station by co-founding and then leading Microsoft. Most of his wealth came not from his salary, but from the Microsoft stock that he owns, which was equal to about 10% of the company’s outstanding shares. Wealth gained from stock price appreciation is NOT taxable until you sell the shares. By holding most of his shares since the company’s founding, Mr. Gates DELAYED paying any tax on those capital gains. Then by donating the shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that wealth was NEVER taxed!

Why do you think all these people create foundations from the Clintons, Gates, to John McCain. You get to play with the money tax-free while you are espousing economic equality. There should be NO income taxes. It should be a consumption tax (retail sales tax). Donating money to a foundation that you control should be illegal, but

Wealth Tax

 

I Strongly Urge Readers to Leave California, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, & New York

Posted Aug 17, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

California is looking to impose a Wealth Tax as Elizabeth Waren had proposed which is Piketty’s idea which is supported by Schwab’s World Economic Forum in Davos. This will be on worldwide property – not income. The tax rate annually will be 0.4%. Even if you lose the money you will be taxed every year in addition to income taxes which are already the highest in the United States.

The problem here is not just worldwide income, California went after people who retired and left the state. They argued that their retirement income was previously earned in California so you had to pay California income taxes on your retirement funds even if you left California. This is the ultimate tyranny. You are paying taxes as a slave owned by California. You are NOT paying your fair share because you are not using the state’s resources or benefits. This is once again – taxation without representation. You will have no right to vote in California because you are not a resident. Nevertheless, this is the TRUE view of socialists – you are the property of the state. Socialists do not tolerate classes. Their core belief is everything belongs to them. My family fought in even the American Revolution. This is precisely what they fought against.

They are looking at the very same scheme to continue to tax you on the worldwide property even if you leave. I strongly advise you to move to a Red State ASAP. Florida has a lot of retired people so the politicians are more constrained. It may be your last chance. California Dreaming is now all about them and how they dream of new ways to exploit you even more.

States have lost income because of their stupid COVID lockdowns. Of course, they never reduce their expenses and after wiping out people’s jobs, they are looking to make up their losses in revenue with new creative ideas. As I warned, people simply began walking away from their property in Rome because of such corruption. Those in power only see their own power and self-interest. This is why we need so desperately to eliminate career politicians. Until that happens, there will never be a government of “We the People” no matter what.

Let’s be honest here. There is NO way any state government will ever STOP raising taxes. They are incapable of ever seeing themselves as the source of the problem. The audacity to try to continue to tax people forever because they once worked in California is the ultimate tyranny. They reduce everyone to just their economic slaves to be exploited with no connection to paying for common infrastructure or expenses since you use nothing when you leave.