Are we asking the right question? We couldn’t squeeze another 20% out of feudal peasants, so what is the ruler willing to sacrifice? Same today. Governments are stretched paper thin but we have a world filled with billionaires and now a trillionaire. We have fortune 100 companies that drive the extraction and energy demands, yet pay almost nothing in taxes. Those costs just get passed to the citizens instead. There are other reasons why renewable energy is important now. Coal-fired power plants kill huge numbers of people every year through respiratory diseases. Countries want to be less dependent upon the Middle East, Russia, etc. for their energy needs. Plus we’ve already solved half the problem. Wind and solar are already producing energy at a lower kilowatt cost than anything we light on fire. Yes the transport and load balancing is still incredibly expensive and complex but we will solve this other half of the problem. I am optimistic but uncertain about small modular reactors. Energy demands will grow exponentially both here in the west and in the developing world. We have to make green technology cheaper than fossil fuels so that places like Africa can easily make the leap. Much like skipping landline infrastructure and jumping straight to cell phones, we have to make it the better option.
Corporate taxes are just another expense line. Increasing expenses increases prices and vice versa. As for personal income tax, the top one percent already pays 40% of all federal income tax while the bottom HALF pays 3%.
Who would you rather own the shares in Amazon, Space X or Tesla? The government? Distributed amongst the populous? Both scenarios just reduce the value of the companies.
If Musk or Bezos or most of the other billionaires were to completely divest their interests, and say the next day they were starting a new business they would immediately be paper billionaires again from scratch the very next day.
Dude. You specifically asked me which company I would want to own shares in and I answered your question by telling you what I own. Tesla paid $0.00 US taxes in 2025. Amazon receives 10% of all federal tax subsidies (worth $17.5B to AMZ in 2025) and received total tax credits and incentives of $51B in 2025. Do you think the world should have trillionaires or do you think the system is broken?
Your point seemed to be we should tax Billionaires more. They are billionaires because they hold shares in the fortune 100 companies you mentioned. I asked who would you rather own the shares (not what do you own).
Yes, that is my point. They get our tax dollars, but they don’t pay taxes.The US is experiencing record income inequality while continuing to mint billionaires. I can log into my financial institution’s app right now and watch the algorithmic options trading that is perpetually done to minimize my tax exposure. These and similar ‘tools’ is why W. Buffett talks about paying a lower tax rate than his secretary.
I believe AI will continue to consume more jobs than it creates. US military and economic dominance is being questioned for the first time in 80 years which will weaken the petrodollar system. At some point there will need to be a wealth tax, higher income taxes for top brackets and a simplification of the tax code. No doubt someone will say asking for slightly higher taxes and slightly fewer tax credits is equivalent to communism.
One of the hardest things in life to accept is that many or most people don’t care about truth, just as they don’t care about virtue in general. To the contrary, the truth is an obstacle. In the Western tradition, crucifixion symbolizes the reality that truth and innocence will always be murdered when they stand in the way of power. The truth-teller will always be forced to drink the hemlock. I know this. I have known it for a long time. Somehow, I still can’t accept it.
The search for truth needs to be its own end. There are no rewards for virtue.
The implication of the whole article was that we shouldn’t bother our pretty little heads about what much more advanced societies will have to deal with in a few hundred years.
And for a man who is proud of his scientific knowledge, being orders of magnitude wrong in the rate of sea level rise is a serious error, if not deliberate denialism.
I agree with the idea that humans are adaptable and resilient and could actually survive pretty big shifts - especially over long time horizons.
I’m more worried about more fragile ecosystems and species who can’t create or customise their own habitat or environments.
Most people only care about climate change insofar as it affects humans - which i think is morally quite limited, but whatever - but our wellbeing is also tied up with earth’s biosphere, and these systems are incredibly complex. It’s not just “can London adapt to -10 all winter” in this case.
I think Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the highest US tax payers of all time?
I ask again, who would you rather own the shares? What do you think you happen to the share value once that transfer happens? Bezos/Musk set up new company in Dubai, what will the value be on day 1?
The issue of discount rates is actually far more serious. The insurance industry writes annual policies and steeply discounts everything after that, despite reinsurance data showing insured climate damage at $100 billion a year and doubling each decade.
Are we asking the right question? We couldn’t squeeze another 20% out of feudal peasants, so what is the ruler willing to sacrifice? Same today. Governments are stretched paper thin but we have a world filled with billionaires and now a trillionaire. We have fortune 100 companies that drive the extraction and energy demands, yet pay almost nothing in taxes. Those costs just get passed to the citizens instead. There are other reasons why renewable energy is important now. Coal-fired power plants kill huge numbers of people every year through respiratory diseases. Countries want to be less dependent upon the Middle East, Russia, etc. for their energy needs. Plus we’ve already solved half the problem. Wind and solar are already producing energy at a lower kilowatt cost than anything we light on fire. Yes the transport and load balancing is still incredibly expensive and complex but we will solve this other half of the problem. I am optimistic but uncertain about small modular reactors. Energy demands will grow exponentially both here in the west and in the developing world. We have to make green technology cheaper than fossil fuels so that places like Africa can easily make the leap. Much like skipping landline infrastructure and jumping straight to cell phones, we have to make it the better option.
Corporate taxes are just another expense line. Increasing expenses increases prices and vice versa. As for personal income tax, the top one percent already pays 40% of all federal income tax while the bottom HALF pays 3%.
I used to think most of that was true.
Who would you rather own the shares in Amazon, Space X or Tesla? The government? Distributed amongst the populous? Both scenarios just reduce the value of the companies.
If Musk or Bezos or most of the other billionaires were to completely divest their interests, and say the next day they were starting a new business they would immediately be paper billionaires again from scratch the very next day.
You're going to have to help me with why that's relevant
Dude. You specifically asked me which company I would want to own shares in and I answered your question by telling you what I own. Tesla paid $0.00 US taxes in 2025. Amazon receives 10% of all federal tax subsidies (worth $17.5B to AMZ in 2025) and received total tax credits and incentives of $51B in 2025. Do you think the world should have trillionaires or do you think the system is broken?
Your point seemed to be we should tax Billionaires more. They are billionaires because they hold shares in the fortune 100 companies you mentioned. I asked who would you rather own the shares (not what do you own).
Yes, that is my point. They get our tax dollars, but they don’t pay taxes.The US is experiencing record income inequality while continuing to mint billionaires. I can log into my financial institution’s app right now and watch the algorithmic options trading that is perpetually done to minimize my tax exposure. These and similar ‘tools’ is why W. Buffett talks about paying a lower tax rate than his secretary.
I believe AI will continue to consume more jobs than it creates. US military and economic dominance is being questioned for the first time in 80 years which will weaken the petrodollar system. At some point there will need to be a wealth tax, higher income taxes for top brackets and a simplification of the tax code. No doubt someone will say asking for slightly higher taxes and slightly fewer tax credits is equivalent to communism.
One of the hardest things in life to accept is that many or most people don’t care about truth, just as they don’t care about virtue in general. To the contrary, the truth is an obstacle. In the Western tradition, crucifixion symbolizes the reality that truth and innocence will always be murdered when they stand in the way of power. The truth-teller will always be forced to drink the hemlock. I know this. I have known it for a long time. Somehow, I still can’t accept it.
The search for truth needs to be its own end. There are no rewards for virtue.
Sea levels are currently rising at around 0.5cm per year and accelerating. Not 1cm per decade.
This is quasi denialism.
Right you are!
You imply that sea level rise is nothing to worry about. It is already having catastrophic effects, and this will only accelerate.
He stated in the article that 1cm per decade puts civilisation under enormous strain, so I’m confident you have inferred incorrectly.
The implication of the whole article was that we shouldn’t bother our pretty little heads about what much more advanced societies will have to deal with in a few hundred years.
And for a man who is proud of his scientific knowledge, being orders of magnitude wrong in the rate of sea level rise is a serious error, if not deliberate denialism.
I agree with the idea that humans are adaptable and resilient and could actually survive pretty big shifts - especially over long time horizons.
I’m more worried about more fragile ecosystems and species who can’t create or customise their own habitat or environments.
Most people only care about climate change insofar as it affects humans - which i think is morally quite limited, but whatever - but our wellbeing is also tied up with earth’s biosphere, and these systems are incredibly complex. It’s not just “can London adapt to -10 all winter” in this case.
I think Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the highest US tax payers of all time?
I ask again, who would you rather own the shares? What do you think you happen to the share value once that transfer happens? Bezos/Musk set up new company in Dubai, what will the value be on day 1?
The issue of discount rates is actually far more serious. The insurance industry writes annual policies and steeply discounts everything after that, despite reinsurance data showing insured climate damage at $100 billion a year and doubling each decade.
Who are the adults in the room?
Somehow, I don’t really get to participate and deciding who the adults are. Don’t get me started on the Democratic system we have.
Do you think there’s any possibility that a consensus would be helpful?