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00:00DISCUSS ON POLITICS. LET'S GET TO JOE. JOE: IT IS MORE THAN ONE YEAR UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUS AND NOW, CANDIDATES ARE ALREADY LINING UP. SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN OF MASSACHUSETTS HAS LAUNCHED HER PRESIDENTIAL EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE FOR PRESIDENT AND SHE JOINS ME NOW. WE WANT TO WELCOME OUR BLOOMBERG AUSTIN RADIO AUDIENCE WHO IS LISTENING. SENATOR WARREN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US. POLICY WISE, YOU MADE THE CENTERPIECE OF YOUR CAMPAIGN THE IDEA OF A WEALTH TAX. A TAX ON PEOPLE WHO HAVE OVER $50 MILLION. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THAT? IS IT ABOUT RAISING REVENUE FOR THE GOVERNMENT WERE ABOUT AMELIORATING INEQUALITY? SEN. WARREN: I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE WEALTH TAX BUT I WANT TO PUSH BACK ON THE CENTERPIECE. THE CENTERPIECE IS THAT WASHINGTON IS BROKEN AND RIGHT NOW, IT WORKS GREAT IF YOU ARE A BILLIONAIRE. IT WORKS GREAT IF YOU ARE A GIANT MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION. IT WORKS GREAT FOR THE WEALTHY AND WELL-CONNECTED AND IT IS NOT WORKING FOR THE REST OF AMERICA. THE QUESTION IS, WHY NOT? IT IS BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE WITH A LOT OF MONEY BY A LOT OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON. YEAR BY YEAR , THEY HAVE GONE TO WASHINGTON FOR DECADES AND SAID, CAN WE JUST CHANGE THE RULES ON THIS PART? JUST A LITTLE BIT? JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE? UNTIL NOW WE LIVE IN AN AMERICA WHERE THE TOP 1/10 OF 1% OF AMERICA HAS AS MUCH WEALTH AS 90% OF AMERICA. THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS THAT WE NEED THOSE FOLKS TO PAY A FAIR SHARE IN TAXES SO WE CAN MAKE INVESTMENTS SO THAT WASHINGTON WORKS, SO THAT GOVERNMENT WORKS TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. JOE: SO THE PRIMARY BENEFIT OF THE TAX IS MAKING THE SYSTEM WORK BETTER? IT IS NOT ABOUT RAISING REVENUE? IT IS NOT ABOUT, AS CRITICS WOULD SAY, PUNISHING THE RICH? IT IS -- SEN. WARREN: IT IS ABOUT MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK BETTER AND THE ECONOMY WORK BETTER. I THINK IT IS GREAT IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL. BUT PART OF THE DEAL IS YOU PAY BACK, SO THE NEXT KID GETS A CHANCE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND THE KID AFTER THAT AND AFTER THAT. THAT IS THE PART THAT IS NOT WORKING IN AMERICA TODAY. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME BIG SYSTEMIC CHANGES. SO WHEN YOU ASK ME ABOUT THE CENTERPIECE, I'M GOING TO SAY IT ACTUALLY STARTS WITH AN ANTICORRUPTION BILL THAT TRIES TO REDUCE THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN WASHINGTON. AND FROM THERE, WE SWING INTO ACCOUNTABLE CAPITALISM. YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS. AND INTO A WEALTH TAX AND MAKING THE ECONOMY WORK FOR EVERYONE. JOE: IT IS INTERESTING TO TALK ABOUT ACCOUNTABLE CAPITALISM BECAUSE I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY BLOOMBERG READERS AND VIEWERS WHO THINK OF YOU AS A SOCIALIST. I'M SURE THAT IS WHAT THEY WOULD THINK. THAT BEING SAID, AT ONE POINT, THAT WAS MAINLY SEEN AS A PEJORATIVE, BUT THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS SUCH POSITIVELY. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT TERM AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT SAY SOCIALISM IS A GOOD PATH FORWARD? SEN. WARREN: I BELIEVE IN CAPITALISM. I SEE THE WEALTH THAT CAN BE PRODUCED, BUT LET'S BE CLEAR. CAPITALISM WITHOUT RULES IS THEFT. ENCOURAGING COMPANIES TO BUILD THEIR BUSINESS MODELS ON CHEATING PEOPLE, THAT IS NOT TAP IT WAS HIM. THAT IS NOT COMPETITION IN THE MARKETPLACE. THAT IS NOT PRODUCING CONSUMER SURPLUS. I BELIEVE IN CAPITALISM WITH SERIOUS RULES. THAT MEANS RULES WERE EVERYBODY GETS A CHANCE TO PLAY. JOE: SPEAKING OF RULES. ONE OF THE CRITICISMS OF A WEALTH TAX IS THAT IT WOULD BE HARD TO ENFORCE. PEOPLE HAVE WAYS TO HIDE THEIR WEALTH. IT IS DIFFICULT TO MEASURE. THEY CAN MOVE WEALTH INTERNATIONALLY. HOW MUCH WOULD A SUCCESSFUL IMPLANTATION OF A WEALTH TAX REQUIRE LOCAL COOPERATION SO THAT PEOPLE CAN'T EASILY SHUFFLE THEIR ASSETS? SEN. WARREN: LET'S START WITH THE WAY THAT THIS IS WRITTEN SAYS YOUR WEALTH WHEREVER HELD. MOVING IT TO ONE OF THE ISLANDS OR TO SWITZERLAND IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU OUT FROM THE TAX. THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE OF TAKING YOUR DIAMONDS OR YOUR ART OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. PART TWO, THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE ON TAXES IS CHANGING DRAMATICALLY. STARTING IN 2010, IT STARTED CHANGING LAWS SO THAT COMPANIES ARE MORE COOPERATIVE WITH EACH OTHER IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING THE ASSETS HELD WITHIN THEIR AREA. THIRD PART IS THIS BILL HAS REALLY SERIOUS ENFORCEMENT. WE GET IT. RICH PEOPLE COME WITH THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT ARMIES OF LAWYERS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GAME THE SYSTEM. THEY ARE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A LONG TIME. THIS SAYS LET'S BE SMART ABOUT THAT. WE WILL HAVE A MUCH STEPPED UP AUDIT SCHEDULE FOR THESE FOLKS. YOU ENFORCE THE LAW AND BOOK. THINK ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVE. ARE WE REALLY GOING TO BE AN AMERICA THAT SAYS, IT IS HARD TO GET THE RICH TO ABIDE BY THE LAW, SO WE ARE JUST NOT GOING TO TRY TO IMPOSE RULES THAT WE OTHERWISE THINK ARE RIGHT? WE CAN ENFORCE THEM. REMEMBER, THE KIND OF MONEY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, ESTIMATE IS IT IS ABOUT $2.75 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. THAT IS MONEY WE COULD SPEND ON CHILDCARE, TO REDUCE THE STUDENT LOAN DEBT BURDEN, THAT IS A GOOD DOWN PAYMENT ON A GREEN NEW DEAL. JOE: I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. IT FEELS LIKE THERE IS MUCH MORE ENTHUSIASM TO TALK ABOUT TAXES AND RAISING TAXES WITH THE CONFIDENCE YOU DON'T HEAR IN THE PAST. ALSO TO TALK ABOUT BIG SPENDING PROGRAMS. WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHY IS IT THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FEELS MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT TAXING AND SPENDING, WHICH USED TO BE A CRITICISM OF THE PARTY? SEN. WARREN: YOU'RE SAYING, WHY DOES THIS PARTY BELIEVES THAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO PAY A FAIR SHARE, INCLUDING THE RICH? WHAT IS THIS PARTY BELIEVES THAT WE NEED TO BE MAKING MORE INVESTMENT SO THAT ALL OF OUR CHILDREN GET OPPORTUNITIES, NOT JUST THE CHILDREN OF THE RICH? THE ANSWER IS THAT REALITY IS FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS IN WASHINGTON, AT LEAST ON THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE. THIS IS SOMETHING AMERICA ONCE. PEOPLE ARE LIVING THIS. THIS IS THE PART I FIND INTERESTING. WHEN I TALK TO FOLKS IN WASHINGTON, THEY'RE LIKE, TAXES, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? I TALK ABOUT THIS WITH PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THEY GET IT. THEY GET HOW THE RULES ARE RIGGED RIGHT NOW TO HELP THE WEALTHY AND THE WELL-CONNECTED AND THEY ARE READY FOR CHANGE. THEY GET IT. THEY MAY NOT KNOW THE NUMBERS, BUT THEY GET IT. RIGHT NOW, THE .1%, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY WILL PAY IN TAXES? 3.2% OF THEIR NET WEALTH. THE 99%, HOW MUCH WILL THEY PAY? 7.2%. IN OTHER WORDS, MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT THE RICHEST AMERICANS ARE PAYING. FOLKS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY GET IT AND THEY WANT TO SEE CHANGE. JOE: LET'S SHIFT GEARS TO HEALTH

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren Says Capitalism Without Rules Is Theft

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, comments on her proposed wealth tax plan during an interview with Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on "Bloomberg Markets: What'd You Miss?" (Source: Bloomberg)

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