Every year, the IRS assassinates one person. They choose randomly, but the higher your net worth, the more likely you are to be chosen.
Posted by Ardub23@reddit | CrazyIdeas | View on Reddit | 29 comments
Elon Musk, valued at over 400 billion dollars, would be millions of times more likely to be chosen than anyone in the bottom 50%.
Kakyoin_sees@reddit
Yes someone like Musk would be millions of times more likely than one individual in the bottom 50%, but it's still highly likely it will be some random poor person because there are tens of millions of poor people.
noonagon@reddit
so basically it picks a random dollar and assassinates the owner? that seems
Riccma02@reddit
Not a random dollar; the highest detectable dollar amount at a fixed point in time. Really, you could just take the two richest Americans and have them play a game of hot potato with a literal dollar.
FnAardvark@reddit
And just like that, everyone with money takes their shit ans leaves the country.
dragon_bacon@reddit
You think borders are stopping the IRS hit squad?
Riccma02@reddit
It will if they renounce their citizenship. And since we are talking about individuals who collectively could buy their own country into existence, I don’t think that would be a problem for them.
This plan would effectively recognize and wealthy individuals/corporations for what their actually are: sovereign nations states whose power supersedes that of whatever country they actually hold citizenship/reside.
Wealth doesn’t matter. Money is something we made up. Cut through the crap, strip their rights to private property and seize their physical assets.
Easy_Relief_7123@reddit
This would make a great movie. You pay uncle sam in green or in red!
dirtmother@reddit
Unless it comes with a really absurd tax refund/breaks.
1 guy in the IRS pays a billion dollars in taxes every year just because he loves killing that much.
Riccma02@reddit
This system is entirety dependent on accurately and objectively being able to assess people’s net worth, down to the minute and to the cent. That is not something we have the ability to do, so in practice, all that wealth will just be spent on an arms race of financial concealment. Yes, it would probably put a ceiling on net worth but at the same time it also installs a floor; a net worth at which the 1% collectively feel that their individual odds of not being the sacrifice are good enough to justify the risk of wealth retention.
Imagine a casino roulette wheel with 10 individual players, all trying to not win. And to that end they have infinite means to cheat and manipulate in whatever way they can. There would be whole wings of universities devoted to studying probability and statistics. Offshoring money would be elevated to a high art form and the legal system will explode trying to carve out loopholes and nuances in banking regulations.
If I were in that pool of potential, I’d probably cut a deal with some other impoverished rando, to whom all my wealth and assets transfer to at midnight the day of the IRS selection. That would be done on the condition that they return it to me after the yearly selection was over, or explicitly will it all to me should they be selected. If they aren’t selected and fail to return my wealth, then they will be killed, probably via some time locked bomb collar. If they comply they will be given a handsome reward for their human shielding.
See the problem here, we’ve just commodified a new market for human life. And that is just one of 1000s of potential consequences unleashed by infinitely motivated creativity. I can’t say if, in the end, such a system would be better or worse for humanity that what we currently have, but there are probably easier ways to achieve the same, if not a better, end result.
purplewitch54154@reddit
Make it like the hunger games where names get chosen randomly, but the more money you have, the more times your name gets put in
Existing_Charity_818@reddit
Reverse Hunger Games
Unindoctrinated@reddit
Make it the person who has the worst ratio of net-worth vs. taxes paid.
BrightNooblar@reddit
Lets also count charitable works as paid taxes.
I'd be MUCH more accepting if there was a "Bezos museum of eCommerce" or something like that. Or "Taylor Swift Musical Wing" of some museum that had nothing but rotating musical exhibits.
Mathsboy2718@reddit
Maybe make it so if your net worth is below a particular value you're removed from the equation - if your net worth is 1 dollar and you paid no taxes, that's an extremely bad ratio, and identical to if Elon Musk paid no taxes.
Unindoctrinated@reddit
Good point.
TurnYourHeadNCough@reddit
r/stupidideas
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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cogra23@reddit
I asked a similar question in the economics sub a while back. The question was what would the economic effect be of a person or group assassinating billionaires. Hours later Luigi happened and I quickly deleted my post.
rollsyrollsy@reddit
An interesting idea, but it misses on one important issue: humans are terrible at mental accounting and probabilistic thinking.
If we tell people “drunk driving can kill you and others!” it seems dramatic but unlikely to impact us. If we say “drunk driving can be caught by a cop, landing you without a license and massive fines” … we can believe that (this isn’t speculation: this is an actual research finding on that specific example).
If we told people: the IRS will randomly audit someone, and a wealthy person is 100x more likely to be audited … we can probably believe that and relate to it.
Aware_Economics4980@reddit
My question is what good does this do anybody? You murder elon musk and his wealth transfers to his children. Are you cool with murdering kids that inherit large sums of money?
Ardub23@reddit (OP)
Maybe you encourage some billionaires to redistribute their wealth? If I thought it was a good idea, I wouldn't have posted it here.
Aware_Economics4980@reddit
I mean in the case of Elon musk that you brought up here he has 14 children, if his will was to divide his wealth among his children they’d all be worth 29 billion. Not sure why you’d be supporting murdering children because they have a rich dad. Weird redditor neckbeard take for sure.
Not sure why you’d want a 29 year old Jennifer gates murdered if she inherits some of her dad’s money.
Why do you want kids murdered?
F54280@reddit
Having 29B makes a Musk kid about ten times less at risk than Jeff Bezos.
And he/she can give away 99% of her worth and still have 290 millions.
So not really at risk .
DOGE cuts to USAID is killing 10s of thousands of kids all over the planet.
Why are you protecting kids murderers?
Aware_Economics4980@reddit
Dallas mavericks just won the draft lotto 1.8% odds, you wanna wager your life with a 1/10 odds? Doubt it. You’d probably like the transgender one killed first huh?
Not sure why you’re bringing up DOGE? Elons daughter, all women are women btw, Vivian isn’t part of DOGE?
Ardub23@reddit (OP)
I don't. That's why I never said it was a good idea or that I supported it. It's very rude to put words in people's mouths.
Also, 29-year-olds aren't children.
Dry_System9339@reddit
Money fucks people up and they are already Elons kids.
Aware_Economics4980@reddit
So you’re cool with murdering children because you don’t like their dad?
Are you cool with Vivian, musks transgender daughter, being slaughtered because she inherited money from her dad?
Dry_System9339@reddit
I like it