Ken Fisher

Opinion columnist

Legendary multi-billionaire businessman Eli Broad wrote a heartfelt New York Times opinion column this month urging a broad wealth tax to improve income inequality. Worthy goal. The column's subhead says, “Wealthy people like me should commit to reducing the ravages of economic inequality.” Most wealth lists say I’m only worth about half what Broad is, but I have an idea for him that is twice as good, faster and more direct than any wealth tax.

We all want people to do better — or should. Helping is surely good; but how to do it best? Broad specifically wants a $15 an hour minimum wage, education reform, expanded medical care access and more affordable housing. Two decades ago, he embraced full-time philanthropy to work towards many of those ends. How is that working for you, Broad?

Well now, finally, he recognizes, “no amount of philanthropic commitment will compensate for the deep inequities preventing most Americans — the factory workers and farmers, entrepreneurs and electricians, teachers, nurses and small-business owners — from the basic prosperity we call the American dream.” So now he wants us both taxed higher via a wealth tax.

You've got money to spare — spend it

Here’s what you should do. Quit all that feel good philanthropy. Forget the taxes. Presumably you have some liquidity or you couldn’t pay extra in taxes or offer philanthropy. Then take that liquidity, all of it, however much of your $6.7 billion net worth, and go hire as many of those people you want to help as you can. Focus them on doing something people want and will pay for.

Some call that entrepreneurship. I call it a no-brainer. You can call it capitalism, or whatever. Regardless, you put them immediately into doing good for others (or if others don’t think it’s good, they won’t buy your product). You immediately reduce income inequality for those hired (they made less or nothing before, by definition, or they won’t come to work for you). You create your own training programs.

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You say you can’t figure out what they should do? Well, if a successful businessman like Eli Broad can’t figure how to put people to work to do good, at great incomes, reducing income inequality immediately, how in high holy heck is rocket scientist Uncle Sam gonna do it with neo-revised visions of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society-type programs-to-nowhere? You can do it fast, right now and help solve this problem relative to your wealth’s fair share compared to others.

It is what I am doing.

I, once broke, started a taxable for-profit business in 1979 that I’ve built since 1993 as a veritable taxable non-profit. My firm’s profits get plowed back in routinely, growing jobs, paying people more, reducing more income inequality by putting more people to work. That’s how I got half as rich as you. I’m still at it. No profit; no tax. It’s satisfying when I hear families’ stories.

I think you would be better at this than me. You are business savvy. Consider it this way. Only one of two things can happen. You either succeed, or you fail. It works either way.

Entrepreneurship is a win-win-win

If you succeed you did your full share to reduce income inequality. You made customers happy or they wouldn’t buy your product. Your employees paid their fair share of income tax so Uncle Sam isn’t mad. And, you actually got wealthier so you can do even more of it next year, helping even more people.

If your business fails, you still paid the people you hired. If you think about it, that is almost perfectly equal to a transfer payment — which is certainly what happens when Uncle Sam taxes you. Look at the make-up of federal spending since you’ve done philanthropy; it’s mostly transfer payments anyway. So, your failed enterprise is basically equal to if you were taxed that much. Yet those you hired had jobs, learned new skills, added to their resume — while seeking their next step up.

We wealthy should help. But smart business folks like you should do it faster and better by directly putting people into what Bill Clinton called "high-paying jobs." Go higher. It’s the economy, stupid. Always was. Fifteen bucks an hour is no destination. You can create your own great destinations without any tax.

Ken Fisher is founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments, author of 11 books, four of which were New York Times bestsellers, and is No. 200 on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Follow him on Twitter: @KennethLFisher