Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke, whose company commands a market capitalization near $154 billion, told his social media followers this week that a tax-tiered voting system—one that would strip voting rights from anyone who pays no income tax—would be a “good system.”
That two-word endorsement, dropped into a viral thread, has reignited a debate over wealth, power, and democracy that most Americans thought was settled more than a century ago.
The proposal would invert the founding American principle of “no taxation without representation” into something closer to “no representation without taxation”—and specifically, high taxation. Reactions online split sharply: Some framed it as a provocative thought experiment about aligning fiscal responsibility with political voice, while others called it a naked attempt to legitimize plutocracy by giving billionaires and multimillionaires a formal, multiplied vote over the laws that govern everyone else.
But it also revealed that America is grappling with a political economy debate, as a frozen housing market and an entrenched wealthy baby boomer demographic have many, not just Lütke, arguing that something big needs to change
At this point, their necks practically for the guillotine’s blade. They keep reminding us:
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of . . . tyrants.
-Thomas Jefferson in November 13, 1787, letter to William Stephens Smith.
I want to make an analogy with cars.
Many people think that driving fast and being rude makes them good drivers because they can control their cars and possibly display how good their reaction time is. Like F1 drivers.
A good driver actually follows the rules, prioritize other people safety. But they look slow? They are even perceived as an obstacle.
Currently following the rules is seen as weak and unsuccessful for some reason.
Financial success should prpbably be measured as how good you are with your budget, paying your taxes… Etc. Dare I say employee retention if you are a business owner.
Instead it is measured with possibly the worse data point, total value of assets.
Honestly going back with my analogy it’s as if we measured how good of a driver you are based on how fast you go from A to B while ignoring everything else.