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> “But it’s not a slam-dunk case, as the precedents go both ways, and it’s not an area the Court has opined on for a long time.”

Sounds like she might have a case, rather than just naked pandering.

I think it’s good to have a variety of intellectual positions and to work the best possible policies, and to ask if we would be better off without some some sacred cows




It is a slam dunk case. If you read all the articles for the wealth tax, they argue it isn't a direct tax simply because nobody knows what a direct tax is. Or that the tax actually taxes income. Both of those are wrong. Wealth tax is a direct tax, since it is paid by an individual on their possessions, rather than any transaction. The constitution only allows a direct tax on INCOME, not possessions. If I have 100 million dollars in cash, do not make any money, I would still owe 1 million dollars under the wealth tax. Is that an income tax? No.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxvi

https://jonathanturley.org/2019/02/20/reductio-ad-absurdum-a...

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/elizabeth-warren...

This article, for the wealth tax, basically makes the argument that the justices should stay true to their 'originalist' principles and uphold it, rather than actually examining the law.

I think this is the best precedent for something like this: When the court ruled that a federal tax on property was unconstitutional, which is similar to what Warren is trying to do. The court has ruled on this in the past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteenth_Amendment_to_the_Uni...

> ...Congress cannot impose a duty or tax upon personal property...




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