The article reports that a study by the Cato Institute found that implementing several major proposals from the Democratic Socialists of America's 2026 platform could cost between $71 trillion and $212 trillion over the next decade. The article then calculates that confiscating 100% of the wealth held by America's 400 richest people, as well as taking all corporate profits, would cover only about half to two-thirds of the lowest estimate. According to Cato's calculations, raising the income-tax rate on the wealthy could generate only an additional $400 billion in revenue over a decade due to changes in taxpayer behavior.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Just make billionaires pay their "fair share."
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billionaires → make → share
The Cato Institute recently decided to run the numbers on nine major proposals associated with the Democratic Socialists of America's 2026 platform.
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Institute → decide → platform
Cato estimates those proposals could cost somewhere between $71 trillion and $212 trillion over the next decade.
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proposals → estimate → decade
Now, that's a gigantic range and an important caveat to know.
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that → know → ?
Cato assembled estimates from multiple studies to illustrate the potential magnitude of these policies.
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Cato → assemble → policies
But let's take the low number.
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's → let → number
Surely America's billionaires can cover that, right?
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billionaires → cover → that
Let's find out.
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's → find → ?
Take everything from the 400 richest Americans
Cato estimates America's 400 richest people collectively held approximately $6.6 trillion in wealth in 2025.
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people → take → 2025
So, let's do something even the most aggressive tax proposal doesn't suggest.
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proposal → let → something
You raised $6.6 trillion.
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You → raise → trillion
Unfortunately, you've covered only about 9% of Cato's low-end estimate.
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you → cover → estimate
Just make billionaires pay their "fair share."
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billionaires → make → share
You can only confiscate someone's fortune once.
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You → confiscate → fortune
Next year, you need another taxpayer.
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you → need → taxpayer
Let's go after corporations.
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's → let → corporations
Cato estimates domestic corporations could generate approximately $35 trillion of after-federal-tax profits over the next decade.
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corporations → estimate → decade
Let's take every additional dollar of that, too.
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's → let → that
Even then, according to Cato's calculations, you'd cover only about half of its $71 trillion low-end estimate.
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you → accord → estimate
America already has bills.
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America → have → bills
The federal government is projected to run roughly $24 trillion in deficits over the coming decade under the baseline cited by Cato.
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government → project → Cato
We're already spending money we don't have before adding trillions in new promises.
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we → spend → promises
Just raise the income-tax rate
Here's where the math gets even more interesting.
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math → raise → rate
Cato cites Joint Committee on Taxation economists who studied how much additional revenue could be generated by pushing top federal income-tax rates toward their revenue-maximizing level.
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revenue → cite → level
Cato calculates the additional revenue at roughly $400 billion over 10 years.
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Cato → calculate → years
Change tax rates dramatically and people change behavior.
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people → change → behavior
They work differently, invest differently, realize income differently and find different legal ways to structure their finances.
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They → work → finances
That's why you can't simply take today's income and multiply it by whatever tax rate sounds good on television.
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rate → take → television
Eventually, you run out of rich people
This is the part politicians don't like discussing.
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politicians → run → people
You can argue America should have higher taxes.
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America → argue → taxes
You can argue government should provide more services.
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government → argue → services
But let's stop pretending there's a magical vault somewhere containing enough billionaire money to pay for every promise Washington wants to make.
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Washington → let → promise
Eventually the math works its way down the income ladder.
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math → work → ladder
That’s right Uncle DSA Sam wants you.
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Sam → ’ → you
You can only confiscate someone's fortune once.
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You → confiscate → fortune
Next year, you need another taxpayer.
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you → need → taxpayer
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
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you → say → money
Forty years later, we can debate the politics.
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we → debate → politics
But it's getting awfully difficult to debate the math.
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it → get → math
