PHIL 3000 Lecture 15: PRP 15
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Issy Asianah
PHIL 3000-R23 (6:00PM-7:15PM)
March 18th, 2018.
Should inheritances be taxed at a higher rate? PRP 15
No they should not be taxed at a higher rate. People born into rich, affluent families have no say
or control into what circumstance they are born into. The same goes for people born into a poor
family. Rich people have been born into a given advantage which every individual would like to
have. They should not have to pay the price for a circumstance they had no control over.
Punishing people for something like this causes a kind of stigma in society. People feel entitled
to tell them how to use this money and what they should use the money for. People constantly
invalidate their wealth and status in society. Taxing inheritances feeds into the idea that because
you did not work for something you do not deserve it. People who work very hard do not get
everything they deserve. In one of the videos we watched in class earlier where Sandel had
correspondents from different parts of the world debate about a certain topic, a man mentioned
that “if everyone was awarded based on how hard they worked, African women would be the
most successful in society.” You may work hard for something does not always guarantee that
you will get it. A student may spend hours in the library studying for tests but this does not mean
that he deserves the best grades. A person could win the lottery and win millions of dollars. They
have done little to no work to earn that money but this does not mean they were undeserving of
the money they have won. People who are rich have an advantage in society and it is no doubt
that the people around them, especially their children, will be the first to benefit from this. The
government had no say in their money while they were alive and so should not have a say when
they are dead. Children who inherit money do not have to prove that they deserve the money that
their parents worked hard for. They should not be made to pay the price of a situation that was
out of their control.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
No they should not be taxed at a higher rate. People born into rich, affluent families have no say or control into what circumstance they are born into. The same goes for people born into a poor family. Rich people have been born into a given advantage which every individual would like to have. They should not have to pay the price for a circumstance they had no control over. Punishing people for something like this causes a kind of stigma in society. People feel entitled to tell them how to use this money and what they should use the money for. People constantly invalidate their wealth and status in society. Taxing inheritances feeds into the idea that because you did not work for something you do not deserve it. People who work very hard do not get everything they deserve.
