Taking from the rich

 

  The Personal Income Tax in Brazil was established on December 31, 1922. 

  Actual collection began in 1924. 

  The tax was introduced to diversify state revenues, which until then relied heavily on customs duties. 

   A progressive and schedular model (divided by income categories) was adopted, exempting lower-income brackets to focus taxation on the population with the highest purchasing power at the time.

   In 1924, the exemption threshold was fixed: only those earning more than 10 contos de réis per year paid taxes. 

  In today's terms, assuming an exchange rate of 5 reais to the dollar, that would be like earning over R$ 8,500 per month. 

  The tax rate started at 0.5% and went up to 8% for high earners. Today, it reaches 27.5%.

  In 1950, Brazil's total tax burden was between 13% and 15% of GDP, significantly lower than the current ~32% to 33%.

   I researched all of this to show that the narrative and push to increasingly tax the rich is nothing new. 

   If it were going to work, it would have worked by now.

   Brazil is not a developed nation (with a very high HDI) because of our ideological choices.

  A maximum tax burden of 30%, a serious fight against corruption, and center-right policies are the steps that would naturally lead us toward high development... not overnight, given how extensive the damage has been. 

  But at least we would be heading in the right direction, and in two generations, Brazil would be recognizably better. 

  We would become at least a modern-day Canada, with a much larger GDP due to the size of our population."

Largest Economies 2026 - Link

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Six-Day War

 

  Ernest Hemingway:   "No matter how necessary a war may be, it is always a crime."

William>> When dialogue is not enough, the option is to yield on everything, to "turn the other cheek."

  I am not a masochist.

  I prefer to try "self-defense."

  Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

  Israel did this against the Arabs; that is the only reason it still exists.

  In 1948, when Israel declared independence, the neighboring Arab countries of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the territory.

  The Israeli War of Independence lasted from May 15, 1948, to July 20, 1949.

  In 1967, countries like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan began surrounding Israeli borders with armies and closed vital shipping lanes.

Realizing the imminent risk of invasion, Israel decided to act first.

  The preemptive strike of the "Six-Day War" took place.

  The Israeli air force launched a surgical surprise attack and destroyed almost the entire Egyptian air force while it was still on the ground, in a matter of hours.

  Without air cover, the troops of the neighboring countries were left vulnerable.

  The speed of the action guaranteed Israel's victory and reshaped the Middle Eastern map.

Wipe off the map - Link

  I don't like wars, but if they happen, I always root for the more civilized side... in the case of the Cold War, I preferred the Americans; in the Middle East, I prefer Israel.

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Far-right

 

Jean: Left-wing extremism is just as bad as right-wing extremism. 

  I don't even need to mention the atrocities committed by the far-right, mainly because everyone already knows about them and condemns them.

William: Actually, you do, because a lot of the atrocities attributed to the "far-right" don't hold up under logical analysis. 

  I'm center-right the right advocates for minimal government, while the far-right advocates for no government at all, which is anarchy (libertarianism).

  Keep in mind that "anarchy" doesn't mean a weak state like in Somalia or Haiti; it means no state (government) whatsoever. 

  A far-right regime is just as utopian as Communism... which also preaches the end of the state.

Adam Smith vs Karl Marx - Link

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