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Germany's 'Five-Wise-Men' Confirm Wealth Tax Is Coming
As we have vociferously warned since September 2011, and most recently as the Cyprus debacle exploded explained why it is just beginning, Germany's Council of Economic Experts (or so-called 'Five Wise Men') just confirmed a wealth tax is coming. As the Telegraph reports, confirming our expectations, Germany warns that states in trouble must pay more for their own salvation, arguing that there is enough wealth in homes and private assets across the Mediterranean to cover bail-out costs. They further added that targeting deposit-holders is also a mistake, since the "resourceful rich just move their money to banks in northern Europe and avoid paying," preferring instead taxes on property or other less-mobile assets, "for example, over the next 10 years, the rich should give up a portion of their assets." As we noted here and here, the differences between mean and median wealth in the peripheral nations suggest that people in the bailed-out countries are often better-off than those in Germany - - "this shows that Germany has been right to take a tough line of euro rescue loans." However, the implications of a wealth tax - implicitly impacting the pro-euro Southern European uber-rich - raises the specter of EU breakup once again.
Via The Telegraph,
Any serious move to a wealth tax could the erode the pro-euro ardour of South Europe’s uber-rich. The ECB bond buying policy has largely rescued the wealthiest strata while the full brunt of EMU austerity has fallen on ordinary people and the unemployed.
The political debate on euro membership may change dramatically if rich Cypriots, Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese start to see EMU as a threat to their property, rather than a defence.
Via Der Spiegel,
Prof Lars Feld, another “wise man”, highlighted a recent study by the European Central Bank, which Germans say show that the people in bailed-out countries are often better-off than those in Germany. Less than half of Germans own their own home, lower than the rate in many southern eurozone members.
The ECB study found that the “median” wealth in Cyprus is €267,000 (£227,600), compared to just €51,000 in Germany. The median or midpoint level – which strips out the distorting effect of the super-rich – was €183,000 for Spain, €172,000 for Italy, and €102,000 for Greece, and even €75,000 for Portugal. Average wealth in Cyprus is €671,000, far higher than in the four AAA creditor states: Austria (€265,000), Germany (€195,000), Holland (€170,000), Finland (€161,000).
Prof Feld said the report showed that people in the crisis countries are richer than the Germans. “This shows that Germany has been right to take a tough line of euro rescue loans,” he said.
As Mark Grant comments:
Here may be the next "one-off" and it is a frightening one. A tax on "wealth and property" would almost certainly include equities and bonds. This then would mean that dividends and fixed income coupons would be taxed. This would ostensibly mean that if you were a U.S. money manager and that you owned securities in any Eurozone debtor states that you could get taxed on your investments. Then go one step further because if the debtor nation got into trouble you could have your holdings expropriated just like the depositors in Cyprus. This is scary stuff in my opinion.
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Taxation is part of the problem, it aggravates inflation and negative biasing on interest rates.
Its a new world attack of chaos. Get smart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jKjKyKYxRSo
The EU was set up to fail from the start, an organisation that has accounts that has not been signed off for nearly 20 years with the leaders just shrugging their shoulders and saying 'so what' was the first clue.
just watched a tv show where the germans where complaining about the wealth distribution :)
Those German sucers where really suckered by their government :)
GERMANS ARE POOR THE STAKE IS RICH!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
And pay for the other countries. Now who are the slaves of europe?
Warpayments untill the end of times!!! HEIL MERKEL!
Yeah I feel sorry for the average German they are in the same boat as the rest of us, their ruling class are some of the most loathsome bunch of trouble causing humans history has spat out in recent centuries, but then that seems to be the median here, which countries ruling class aren't corrupt troublemakers who are the primarly source the ills of society now stem from.
And yet we are taught from birth now that the big state is best and to give these psycho's more control is the 'right' and 'good' thing to do and yet the problems seem to magnify....
We've all been suckered along the line here.
"their ruling class are some of the most loathsome bunch of trouble causing humans"
The alpha-males/rulers of our past would take food from starving lower males or kill their male offspring to ensure that they and their own offspring could survive.
The modern day alpha-males/rulers possess the same behaviors. Do you start wars killing millions or destroy the livelihoods of tens of millions through a desire to control others? Do you have access to a doomsday bomb shelter if the nukes start raining down? They do.
They are natural born killers - psychopaths - that have learned to mask their behaviors behind the rationale of the State.
They are not humans, they are subhumans.
Those are not Alphas, Alphas do not need a pack of goons to do the dirty work for them. Those are intelligent Betas that started collectivizing to fight against the Alphas.
Alphas are the Individualists, the natural leaders.
Doesn't anyone read a book anymore?
>>>.......raises the specter of EU breakup once again.<<<
I don't see that at all. Rather I see what Max Keiser termed...'The Fourth Reich'....aka Germany 4.0. You know...
'Springtime for Merkel and Germany,
winter for Cyprus and Greece'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08akOt2kuo
(and Italy and Portugal and Spain. Oh and Lybia - where is that Rommel character? We wouldn't want to send Italy in there again after the way it botched that job last time around. Oh wait. They got Libya's gold already and just spat out the bones.)
I love Merkel in the springtime, especially in her bikini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t0gp9CidfiU
http://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-22713.html
The Europea' 'common currency' spreads, in living color.
Prof Lars Feld, another “wise man”, highlighted a recent study by the European Central Bank, which Germans say show that the people in bailed-out countries are often better-off than those in Germany. Less than half of Germans own their own home, lower than the rate in many southern eurozone members.
The ECB study found that the “median” wealth in Cyprus is €267,000 (£227,600), compared to just €51,000 in Germany. The median or midpoint level – which strips out the distorting effect of the super-rich – was €183,000 for Spain, €172,000 for Italy, and €102,000 for Greece, and even €75,000 for Portugal. Average wealth in Cyprus is €671,000, far higher than in the four AAA creditor states: Austria (€265,000), Germany (€195,000), Holland (€170,000), Finland (€161,000).
I didn't plagiarize. I just repositioned your thoughts.
Germany was constructed deliberately as a state of renters. They did this to control house-price inflation and thus to keep labor costs low, and keep Germany uber-competitive as an exporter. Most of the Southern EU are states of homeowners, who take out mortgages - much like we do in the USA. Germany also has a bank-finance model for business, in contrast to an American-style stock market model in many other places. Most German wealth resides in businesses, corporations, and their bankers - not with individuals.
No worries. Euro up to 1,50 end this year !
Rob from the rich, rob from the poor, give to the bankers and politicians. Yeah, that's the ticket.
The "levy" cat is out of the bag-never to return-and clawing it's way down the slippery slope.
Greed. Kills. Everything.
Who exactly, does the Troika hire for 'Branding' taxation? I have been around for a-while, and it never ceases to amaze me how people are duped into the same old school "Parlor Tricks" over and over.
It must be payback from GOD, for making Humans Sentient
I mean, shit, really? Don't most U.S. States tax real estate property already? Most tax vehicles too. The way I see it, it's just a race to see which one taxes all other forms of wealth next, the broke ass state governments or the broke ass federal government. Eventually it will be both, of course. As some have already pointed out, the only wealth you can truly keep is the kind they can't see. Hint, it's not in paper or electronic form.
All US States tax real estate, vehicles, and business property. But the Federal Government doesn't. Neither does the EU Federal Government. In fact, there are no direct EU Federal taxes at all. (The EU levies indirect taxes by apportioning the levy among its States.) If the EU is to remain united, there will have to be direct EU Federal taxes and direct EU Federal borrowing. The question is what should they tax? Income, property, sales, transactions, persons, vices, what???
why don't the good elite, pool their monies together, hire ruthless mercenaries who will take out the bad elite? now there's a great idea! seeing americans are hoarding up on guns and ammo, but don't want to diminish their ammo supply. hey americans! did you know that ammo has an expiry date? use it, damn it! use it!
So, if you are wealthy in a troubled land, slowly sell your immobile assets and get the fuck out of Dodge.
Now, that being said, to where do Americans with wealth flee?
Run to the Constituion. Defend it or suffer the consequences of failing to defend it. With your words, deeds or money, and blood if necessary.
to where do Americans with wealth flee?
I guess there are any number of places, depending on your taste in climates, cuisine, etc. I was strolling the docks at a private marina in La Paz, BCS this winter when I came to a 60' yacht. I stopped to admire it, and the owner climbed out and struck up a conversation. I learned that he'd been a director of global sales for several large educational software cos, including McGraw-Hill. He told me he lived there (on the yacht) year round. I said, "Doesn't it get hot below-decks in the summer?" He said, "Oh, we have air conditioning. The dockage fees cover all the water and power we use".
The question that concerns me is "Where do Americans without wealth flee to?" 'Cause if you think I'm gonna be sitting on my asset downtown when the EBT cards stop working, you must be smoking in the choom wagon with President Mombasa.
I remember back in the day when stealing from someone was still considered theft, regardless of whether or not the victim could afford the loss.
Yeah and they'd go to jail and have to pay for their evil deeds. Ahh....those were the days.....hey look! A drone to ensure my freedoms!
Let's see, on the one hand there's saving the banks and the current system, on the other is my personal wealth earned over a lifetime.........
Wow. I'm flummoxed. I want to use a lifeline and call the German wisemen.
This is no time to be thinking of your petty selfish interests. This is the time to be thinking of my petty selfish interests.
taxation is not evil. But complicated taxation schemes are. The US system started as a war provisioning mechanism to fight wars in europe ... There are a handful of people who are still alive and lucid who actually understand how governments generate revenue based in a legal and lawful system.
In Mike Judges movie idiocracy, when people stop watering crops with Brawndo, that corporation's computer fires all the employees. The Brawndo corporation was the primary employer in the USA. The CEO (portrayed by thomas haden church) explains that he does dont want it to happen, but he can not stop it, nobody can, because "it is just the way things were set up"
This is "scary stuff" but stop going full retard here and start including the AWESOME benefits of being a citizen of Germany. All you Tylers have been ripping for four straight years about all that Bismarkian Bullshit...to which I say "read it and weep phuckers." they country is running a budget surplus WITH the benefit package. All the rest of the right wing loonies who "can't wait to watch another trillion get vaporized because of some formula" now have your lesson in economics...and the brilliance of a Diplomat who united his country...and handed them a benefit check for their amazing courage on the battlefield.
If the Germans like it, so be it, let them have it. It's their country to do with what they will. Everyone else is happy that the Germans are happy. If you are implying the German model should be implemented elsewhere GTFO. That shit was tried and failed already. It takes a certain crowd (i.e. Germans) to run a society in that manner.
"Germany is running a budget surplus WITH the benefit package"
A budget surplus? That will come as news to Merkel. She thinks they're still in violation of the Maastricht Treaty, and their deficit could more than double because of the Greek default. And now Cyprus comes up €20 billion short.
http://www.dw.de/german-budget-2013-stepping-on-the-debt-break/a-1639453...
Are you starting to understand why we once had to bomb these people to smithereens?
By the way I'm no Jew lover.
Yes, we defeated Germany seven decades ago and it's been detrimental to all of us in the long run. They would've calmed down after cleansing their lands of kikery and dealing a death blow to the communists (same thing) in the lands to their east.
Look - if you have a private bank money system you need inflation to run through the banks assets.
Its that or a greenback system without banking conduit assets.
Anyhow - the system needs to fucking flow regardless.
You don't take the tokens away from people.
If you do that the system cannot fucking flow.
The system implodes.
That is what the Germans want I am afraid.
They want to use the euro oil ration to export goodies to the Anglo deficit countries and pegged China.
It looks to me the Germans are following the US treasuaries instructions.
At a philosophical level they may be right but at a practical level their hypocracy is astounding.
- Where is Eu solidarity. Where is German Central Bank and the largerst 5 banks in Germany that flooded the EU with loans for many years. Where is the German Parliament that backstopped Greece, Spain, Portugal, and others with guarantees. Where is Mario Draghi and his "investments in EU Political Capital." Where is the former Chancelor of Germany who admitted he "acted as a dictator" to run the EU treaties through without Democratic votes.
What a bunch of uterly contemtable nonsence. The Germans need to get of their hight horse and take a good look at themselves and their own complisity in this mess. Were it not for American money since the end of the war, Greek, Italian, Turkish majority guest worker populations Germany would still be salvaging bricks from their bombed out cities.
Great European Partners indeed. With friends like them Europe will be rendered into serfdom and without the use of any panzers.
Increased property taxes are a 'no-brainer.' Easy to implement and how fast can person sell to move his 'wealth' elsewhere? This happened in the 1980's when they abolished interest deductions on investment property loans and second home property mortgages. The 401s and the non-Roth IRAs are in their sights too.
Property values took a nose dive.
Sounds kinda weird. I remember something about Three Wise Men coming to bring tokens of wealth. Now Five Wise Men want to take it all back ? Hmmmmm...
Valhalla awaits the brave. Go Iceland or go bankrupt.
5 wise men eh?
8 wise men on immigration.
10 wise men in Italy.
The world is getting even messier and none the wiser.
Off Topic but of interest to ZHs on Paul Krugman. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-14/stockman-ko-s-krugman-in-big-fed-brawl.html?cmpid=yhoo
Excellent.
If you haven't seen Bill Moyers' interview with Stockman, it's worth a gander too:
http://billmoyers.com/segment/david-stockman-on-crony-capitalism/
Good. Maybe the rich will start the revolution against the bankers.
Already started IMO, some time ago.
IF the middle class, whom are being raped by Bernanke/TheObowelMovement won't revolt, then nobody will.
I saw Troika this morning. Then I flushed.
So you say buy gold but ' don't be flashy'? lol
By definition, it's kinda flashy.......besides the gold silver ratio is at almost all time highs, suggesting you are purchasing the wrong metal.
Yes because taxing the rich will fix everything. It would be better to shoot the super wealthy in the head and earase their wealth, but instead we get this half ass measure of taxing the wannabe wealthy to fix the budget, yea right
I call bullshit on the charade.
Thank you God, for sending down your angels in the form of bureaucrats to watch over our every need, Amen.
May your God go with you. My God is resolute, and throws money changers out of the temple of civilisation.
Nazionists are terrified that their final solution will bankrupt them, so they accelerate confiscations.
The world is a contest of ideas, and we are all engaged in that.
Buy gold, silver, land. The failed Rothschild Zionism will implode. Protect your own.
Yea cause the Rothschild's don't have any gold, silver, or land. Beat them to it are you? Or are you just retarded?
Silly comment.
You little vixen. ;)
Best wishes to your Mum, Yen. We shall prevail. Every good mother deserves a good son.
We shall. Best wishes newengland
Wealth tax? That is just a name. I pay wealth tax. My income is not high, but I pay a huge percentage of it to government. So I pay wealth tax. Is there a reason the ultra wealthy elites should be spared the same type of taxation I am under? Most income for the elites is capital gains, these are subject to a special very low tax rate. The garbage collector pays a much, much higher percentage of his income on taxes than any of our elites do.
It amazes me that any thought of making taxes for the elites, who have proven to be getting all the income growth of the last 30 years, any higher sets off the ZH readers into a frenzy of support for the elites.
Facts are that their tax rates are lower than they have been since the 1920's. The fact is that the taxes on their non earned incomes are lower than ever, and much lower than any wage earner pays. Even some clown making 30K a year will pay a higher percentage than the eilite uber rich whose incomes are capital gains.
I don't see it. The rich have never been this rich, they have never paid so little in taxes, yet I read post after post calling for revolution to eliminate all taxes for the uber elites, and people always blame the average worker for making too much, for getting too many benefits.
What is up with this? How many of you all are in this uber elite rich class, who have gotten all the income gains for decades. Is it that you feel they are still over taxed? How low should they go compared to the percentages average wage earners pay?
Once upon a time, there was a community of commerce and people. After the un-Federal no-Reserve Board was found in 1913, that ideal ended.
Fortunately, the bankers are looking for people who are willing to pay the cost of bailout. And when they find them, they’re going to look just like you.
I understand why people are against it because of what it will be used & why it is being implemented. I am mystified as to those who think a 'flat tax' or a tax system that is largely based on consumption and not property/income/capital will benefit them. They have been eating too many supply-side BS.
Easy way to avoid the wealth tax on real estate... take out huge mortgage on Mcmansion... make a few of payments... stop making payments... hire real estate attorney to file extensions... live rent free for a few years.
Rinse and repeat.
Fighting to stay in a mcmansion, there is a noble cause If I ever saw one. lol
Puts me in mind of an old saying, "A man's foreclosed home is his cesspool", or something like that.
We are transitioning from debt tyranny to full blown brute force rule of law.
Nazionist, rule of their law, rootless cosmopolitans who bribe CONgress and they love money, not people or honest commerce.
Meanwhile, Portugal's elder statesman calls for Argentine-style default:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9990651/Portugals-eld...
If the Southern Europeans default, Germany's banking system will collapse. And countries (like Argentina) that do default typically have a few difficult years and then recover nicely. A lot better than the unending austerity and depression that they can look forward to if they stay in the euro.
Maybe the finance ministers of Portugal, Spain, Greece, Ireland, and Italy should get together for a meeting (Germans not invited) and come up with a set of counterproposals.
The EUSSR is a failed experiment and Germany knows it. Germany's politicians have only one problem: find a way to excuse its nazionism, again...and get its people and others to pay for nazionism, failed banks.
so, fascinating...
sounds like time for smart money to run....smarter money already has.
crushing implosion of monies repatriated into the u.s. of a. searching for a resting place.
i'll guess bonds.
Nicht mein Bier.
But, how about a Solidarity Tax to help Germany? ;-)
Capital controls is an act of war. It’s telling a sovereign country that we are going to take control of your system of banking. It’s no different from saying we are going to have your army stand down and turn in its weapons. That’s an act of war.
This is an affront to the entire country, every man, woman and child in Cyprus. And the bankers' hit men have proven it by demanding a wealth "tax," because “there is enough wealth in homes and private assets across the Mediterranean to cover bail-out costs.” Or, as Willie Sutton would say, "That's where the money is." And the wealth tax would be to pay off foreign bankers. That’s war. (And it's not a tax.
Banks cannot tax. Only governments tax. It's extortion.)
All around the media, it seems no one has a clear view of exactly what is happening in Cyprus and what Cyprus should do about it. Oh, wait, one did. On March 22, Karl Denninger made it crystal clear that, “in short this is the case of the ECB and certain EU members putting a gun to the head of a sovereign nation and demanding that they rob their people…”
And here’s more…from “Cyprus: You're A Sovereign, Start Acting Like One”:
“Cyprus' response to that ought to be exactly this”: Shove it!
“[I]f the ECB and EU want to press the issue then do what Iceland did; tell the ECB and EU to stick it where the sun doesn't shine, issue indictments against the Troika's members for extortion and criminal fraud (prohibiting them from entering Cyprus -- ever -- unless they'd like to spend the rest of their lives in prison) and resolve the institutions forcing the losses on the bondholders but protecting the depositors.
“Then trace all the criminal activity in these banks and where there is evidence of fraud or other criminal activity by other financial institutions interconnected with Cyprus issue criminal indictments against both the banks and the executives.
“This has a decent shot at winding up with Cyprus leaving the EU. So what? Cyprus would get their national sovereignty back and given that they're sitting on a bunch of natural gas deposits while the short-term pain would be considerable in the intermediate term they would wind up the winner, much as Iceland has”.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=219023
Capital controls were commonplace before 1980, and most people won't suffer from such. It is only rootless cosmopolitans who fear such.
Place capital controls above $100K per month, and there will be good for most, and only a tiny problem for some - the rootless cosmopolitans who buy politiians and ruin nations.
Okay, I see your point. Capital controls are okay; because they’ve been used before. So clamp down. When the banks need the money, let them go take it. Because for you, the words are the key. If the words have been used before, well, just go right ahead and seize the money; that makes it okay.
Right?
You know what? Let’s stop calling it capital controls. I never liked it anyway. Let’s call it stealing. And if you check the Internet, they’ve used stealing before too. And since they’ve used stealing before, hey, that makes stealing A-OK. Right?
Wrong.
Com'on, newengland. Admit it.The Cyprus creditors --
the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank-- have used wordsmithery to legalize plunder.
the plunder didn't begin today; you have a short memory. We are now collectively reaping what our political cum capitalist lords have sowed over 40 years.
It began to skew bigtime with August 1971 Nixionian plays; with subsequent 'dear Henry's' Petrodollar and ME Metternichian status quo, criminalised and globalised concoction (remember chile/Nam/Cambodia); with ping pong Chinaman seduction; with big bang and Reaganomics; with NWO outsourcing, as we became "kings of the world"; 1% lords of ZIRP and print to toxic MBS infinity land, after "bad empire of Soviets" implodes!
So the bad guy today, if you can string all the dots together, like PCR/Stockman have (and they are not exactly socialists), is the WS/DC shills cabal of Pax Americana.
Its in DC 2008 ! When the buck should have stopped.
But they said : hide it under the carpet by socialising private mega debt!
Its staring you in the face as now they want your middle klass blood of savings and salaries by guillotining all entitlements to sustain their own oligarchy mess.
Wake up and learn to understand causality and forget about ideology. We are in this mess 'cos the CAPITALIST model went viral, just like in 1929, all fed on its own hubristic, irrational exuberance built on greed.
Your avatar says it all; JR is icon of the land which has just lost its founding father's mindset; aka not capitalism per se but the pursuit of happiness; which is something SHARED!
Stay JR'd and you'll feel more the pain, as your type of Gordon Gekko greed, iconised by JR type capitalism, can only feed the boomeranged rage. That page of capitalism is now soaked in debased fiat and blood of innocents to protect empire and black gold.
bottom line : you legalise plunder when you save private banking, that you have encouraged in fractional reserve fiat pumping unbridled over 30 years, when you socialise their debts as the haloed TBTF brigade.
NOT WHEN YOU PULL THE PLUG ON THEM.
WHAT IS NOW HAPPENING IN "BAIL-INS" IS THAT GOVERNMENTS ARE TELLING BANK DEPOSITORS : YOUR BANKS HAVE BEEN DEAD DUCKS SINCE 5 OR MORE YEARS AND WE HAVE BAILED THEM OUT WITH PUBLIC MONEY. NOW ITS TIME YOU PARTICIPATE.
Thats not plunder; thats recognising that illegal crony capital bail outs now need to be stopped and de facto bankrupt banks's depositors, who should have lost anyways in 2008, aka Citi/BOA/Deutcsh/ UBS/ Greeks/ Cyprus/ PIIgs banks, all ringed by GS squid cabal subsequently by the Paulson TARP put and what followed, WERE ALL TOAST AS OF THEN. These depositors were plundered by their banks.... and we've protected them (our governments have!)
Governments are now saying we have to right the wrong we did then; as these banks have continued to play their shenangigans even more since by raping the EZ club meds; all on Zirped easy money funds fed by banks and their HF surrogates. THAT IS THE TRUE PLUNDERING OUT THERE; its not government initiated but it has been government condoned bigtime and it has to stop.
Thanks for your response, falek pema. The pursuit of happiness reminds me of Ben Franklin’s comment when a heckler suggested that the Constitution’s words won’t guarantee anything. Remarked Franklin: It guarantees the pursuit of happiness; you have to catch up with it yourself.
I guess he missed the part about "something SHARED."
When Jefferson and consorts wrote that document its AIM was to be shared, to create that unifying sentiment, the soul of that declaration. No nation without common, SHARED values.
happiness by definition is a shared possession; it goes back to....well the birds n the bees or adam n eve.
But then to debate that we leave the realm of constitution and enter the realm of philosophy.
Even Buddha who lived alone had to spread the word to propagate zen. Can't keep it once you've found it, as none is an island.
As for all the other Messengers it was in their mission statement : spread the word; SHARE IT !
agreed, well written.
agreed, well written.
seems we have some progessive posters who do not understand: when you live under criminal .gov's a sane person becomes a criminal, is forced in fact to be one, or else you become a tax serf, those that escape the criminal tax system are in fact free, you trev are a tax debt slave, with stockholm syndrome. love your government it's demanded.
"The Euro-experiment has failed" - Germany's wise-men, "Now, what do we do about Allianz?"
Advanced western Democracy needs more than just a spirited committment to its Bond-market, it needs a common plan.
Or, retail depositors aside, Old Money is toast.
I may have missed it, did anyone frame this in the context of the precedent this sets for the Chinese to do this to us?
Fascism is coming to EU
Probably the only solution
when thieves fall out... after QE and Bail outs, they have no other issue in this boxed fiat canyon except : tax the wealthy and bail in those crooked banks of club med and their rich oligarchs.
When Oligarchs smell blood; their own, it gets prescient...premonition of oligarchy mayhem and big race to bottom as they grab each other's nuts.
We are in first world regression chimes and its all part of new paradigm which will be forced with the forceps of central government dystopian plays on the disappearing middle class.
Cul de sac.
You should look at German History - the Lastenausgleichgesetz 1952
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastenausgleichsgesetz
This is exactly how Germany compensated those who lost out in the bombing by taxing those who did not. The Act is still in force. They are simply saying Europe needs such a policy to bring the rich to the table so they cannot spirit away their liquid assets leaving others to pick up the tab for their party. It might discourage people buying yachts and villas in sunny climes. After all doesn't the IRS ever look at yachts and luxury condos when chasing HNWI ?
And if you don't think it's coming here.......why do you think they are incrementally exempting federal workers from various rules/laws over time. Because when the time comes the opposing sides will be better matched....
Dp
Savers vs Takers: The New Fault Lines and Social Unrest
An upcoming struggle is emerging in civil society. It will be between those who have money but lack the political and financial power to defend it, and those who have the political clout to take it.
In other words, the savers vs the takers.
There are multiple ways in which the “takers” will get their money. Some are direct, such as the Cyprus and Australian models. Other are more indirect such as the Spanish model. Then there are the models being used in the US, UK and Canada in which depositors money and the deposit guarantees are circumvented for bank bail outs and bail ins. See more at: http://tinyurl.com/dxsqjbe
Catholics are taught to ask "What would Jesus have done?"
Socialists ask "What would Hitler have done?"
Seems like we have not moved forward since the end of the Roman Empire. Here we go again. Only this time, they are not going to send in an army to loot and pillage, they are just going to try and coerce local State Governments to do the dirty work for them.
I have just spent 6 months in Spain, most locals do in fact work so the unemployment numbers are grossly distorted becuase locals work without paying taxes. Lots of them open non operational companies to avoid VAT too.
It's about time the local governments did there work properly and tax the locals and stop trying to make foreigners pay for everything. In Portugal & Spain locals still charge foreigners different prices in restaurants thatn they do for locals, talk about racial discrimination, the southern EU PIGS countries are masters at it and it's about time people in the north said "no more bailouts for such cheats"
hold your assets outside eu, no government bond holdings, no bank accounts etc.
It's nonetheless true though than southern eu people do own large villas and have more wealth than most of their northern counterparts. Thes southern countries then have the nerve to ask for bailouts when the north refuses to let them continue overspending. This property tax hopefully will not only going to target foreigners who bought properties in these PIGS countries but mainly the locals who ARE rich!!.
One only has to visit Spain, Greece and Portugal for example to see how many of the locals are openly flaunting their wealth driving very expensive latest top of the range BMW & Mercs, not to mention their multi million euro villas, owned mostly by locals too, NOT foreigners.
So why should people in northern eu pay for these southern mentality peoples greedy spendthrift ways?