16.1.2 Benefits of negative interest rates for the poor
So, you !#**@..!! want the government to rob us of our hard earned money ?
This is the typical reaction on proposition to implement negative interest rates and so tax the unmoving savings lying in bank accounts.
But in reality such taxation is already happening, but through undemocratic and rather cruel methods.
Those who are calling for reduction of state debt have already implemented tools for such hidden taxation: unemployment.
Lowering of employment protection, weakening the power of collective bargaining, easing of job termination rules these all aim for just one goal: higher unemployment, which is causing unemployed people to spent their savings without business owners having to pay them salaries.
If you lose your job, you do not immediately start going through rubbish bins. You have some savings for the rainy day.
And those savings are going to move from you to the class of people who kicked you out of the job in the form of your necessary purchases, some of it going to the government in the form of taxes, thus helping to reduce the state debt.
How much of your savings are you going to lose if you are unemployed just 3 months ?
How much if it turns out to be 6 month or even more ?
Is it going to be 5% ? or maybe 50% ?
There are millions of people unemployed more then 1 year, and their savings and savings of their families who are supporting them are depleted completely.
And all those savings go to the business owners, the rich guys who pay NO tax on their savings.
Only you do. And you pay it involuntary, through great suffering.
When you realize that you are beginning to see that taxation of savings clearly defined in law enacted by democratically elected government representing the majority of people might not be such a terrible idea.
Such taxes would have clearly defined tax bands which could mean 0% tax on deposits up to a certain amount, exclusion of pension dedicated funds...
Majority of common people would pay no tax at all, some small amount ranging 0,1-0,5%,and real money hoarders would see their savings taxed by 0,5-1% annually.
Significantly less then you lose through unemployment during your life.
Compare that with effects of quantitative easing: interest rates go down next to a zero and all fixed income dependent people are ruined ( pensioners, people just before pension...) with corresponding impact on economy, as their buying power is seriously diminished.
It is not democratic at all.
Direct, openly declared tax on savings in the form of negative retail interest rates is much better.
Everybody would be paying it, not just the employees.
Indeed, it would be paid mostly be the people who hoarded the most money and as such caused the biggest increase in state debt.
Because the state debt exists for just one reason only: to enable private savings.
And if you want to reduce it ( the state debt) you can do it only at the expense of your own savings.
This is being done through YOUR unemployment.