Are We Doomed By Millennials Inheriting Cash? J.D. Tuccille Debates ‘the largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history’ on HuffPost Live

The latest pundit to warn that
millennials will doom us all is Robert Reich, who
writes at the Huffington Post that “we’re on the cusp
of the largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history” with
those darned kids as the unworthy beneficiaries. He cautions that
“the super rich have invested in businesses, real estate, art, and
other assets,” and that this is a bad thing that needs to be
stopped lest it keep happening. Being Robert Reich, he wants to tax
the hell out of it.

I
debated the point on HuffPost Live with Richard Eskow of the
Campaign for America’s Future, and the Huffington Post’s own
Zach
Carter. I made the point that
income mobility is still strong, and that the folks at the top
in one decade aren’t necessarily those there 20 years later, which
makes for an awfully short-lived “permanent aristocracy.” And
there’s nothing wrong with leaving your money to the kids, since
it’s not stolen from a pot that would otherwise be shared with
everybody else.

I also suggested that we clear away regulatory hurdles to
entrepreneurship and avoid discouraging investment, so that
everybody has a chance to piss off Robert Reich.