A SCOTUS case aiming to protect rich people from taxes could lead to chaos for the federal government’s finances.

The plaintiffs’ arguments in Moore v. United States have little basis in law — unless you think that a list of long-ago-discarded laissez-faire decisions from the early 20th century remain good law. And a decision favoring these plaintiffs could blow a huge hole in the federal budget. While no Warren-style wealth tax is on the books, the Moore plaintiffs do challenge an existing tax that is expected to raise $340 billion over the course of a decade.

But Republicans also hold six seats on the nation’s highest Court, so there is some risk that a majority of the justices will accept the plaintiffs’ dubious legal arguments. And if they do so, they could do considerable damage to the government’s ability to fund itself.

  • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    1 year ago

    You do have a point, I guess it really depends on the damage done from the fallout. A government crashing, and a nation dissolving is sure to cause a ruckus. If modern commodities are gone and we’re banished back to primitives, the billionaires will have a rough time holding modern survivors. What are you lording over? My xbox is dead and I can set my tent up 49 yards to the west. Food supplies and clean drinking water would probably become the highest factors of control. I just don’t see any of these “elite” piss babies actually being hard enough to survive in a world where you have to shit on the street and bury it. Hell, if they got what they wanted and our government did dissolve, I promise other nations will be swooping in to grab land and this conversation would have to take a new form.

    • spaceghoti@lemmy.oneOPEnglish
      43·
      1 year ago

      They’re living in gated communities with tall walls and private police forces. As long as they promise their mercenary armies a cut of the spoils, they’re not worried about continuing to control resources. They don’t need to be physically hard, they’re sociopathic enough to justify any cruelty to anyone they want in order to get their way. They’re all sure they’ll become royalty in the new order, if not the king/queen of their domain.

      They have a plan, and they’ve gathered the means to accomplish their goals. What remains to be seen is how well their defenses will stand up in the ensuing chaos.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
        61·
        1 year ago

        That is probably my point. The upheaval would be of biblical proportions. They are not ready to weather the storm. No one is. You saw what happened to supplies when Covid lockdowns were announced here. Imagine if the end of society was announced.

        • spaceghoti@lemmy.oneOPEnglish
          52·
          1 year ago

          They think they’re ready. That’s why they’re pulling the trigger on this, and damn the consequences.

        • Mirshe@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 year ago

          Also, it wouldn’t just be the end of US society. Remember how much stuff is tacked to the US dollar, how much trade and business is reliant on US industries. If the government suddenly collapsed entirely, taking the entire economy with it pretty much, it’d start a HUGE chain of dominoes. I feel like several countries could become the new superpower, but until that settles out, the entire WORLD would start falling apart in quick order.

        • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          1 year ago

          I actually wrote a poem for a writing prompt on bad site that was really just this. Instead of the Red Death, Governor Goodwill was suprisingly confronted by the survivors of the society he helped overthrow.

    • SCB@lemmy.world
      34·
      1 year ago

      That’s a great, basic-level takedown of why OPs conspiracy theory is so exceedingly dumb.

      There’s a lot more depth to it but you don’t need the depth when even a single glance shows how stupid it is.

      These people, by definition, have wealth and power. Why would they want to change that?