There’s got to be a better way to tax billionaires

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a billionaire tax plan of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - There’s a [better way to tax billionaires](. - The economy’s [really not that bad](. - FOMO is [turning into FONGO](. - Countries [don’t need fossil fuels]( to get rich. So You Want to Tax the Billionaires Unless you are one of the roughly 700 Billionaire-Americans, you might think the correct answer to the question “When is a good time to tax billionaires?” is “Duh, any time.” But that kind of overly simplistic thinking may be why you are not a billionaire. To be sure, the 16th Amendment lets the U.S. government tax billionaires’ incomes routinely. But in the exosphere where the very wealthy reside, concepts such as “income” and “wealth” get squishy, like quantum physics or the persistent appeal of Coldplay. As Elon Musk demonstrated this week by gaining $[36 billion]( in notional wealth in one (1) rotation of the Earth, some of our most dizzying fortunes exist mainly on ledgers. It is sorely tempting to tax that $36 billion, but how, if that $36 billion doesn’t really exist? Might as well try to construct a cloud atlas (not the very good [novel](, but an actual atlas, of clouds). Senator Ron Wyden has [suggested]( we mark billionaires’ assets to market every year and tax those gains, even if they have not actually been, how do you say, gained. [This might not be, how do you say, legal](, writes Alexis Leondis. It also may [not have]( the critical vote of Co-President Joe Manchin and seems to have been [jettisoned]( from the current incarnation of other Co-President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan. So in answer to our original question, “When to tax the billionaires,” Alexis suggests a simpler and more legal answer would be to tax billionaires when they die. Biden has already suggested it, and the courts have a history of rubber-stamping such schemes. Sometimes simple ideas are worth a lot of money. Read the [whole thing](. Bonus Build Back Better Reading: Democrats should thank Manchin and Kyrsten [Sinema for curbing their ambitions](. — Karl Smith We’re Doomed! Or Not! Consumers are consuming, factories are factory-ing, unemployment is plunging, wages are soaring and stocks are at all-time highs. You know what that means: We’re doomed. At least that’s what you’d think from reading the economic headlines and certain irresponsible [newsletters](. It is true that stocks are ludicrously expensive, the rent is too damn high, the recovery isn’t as strong as we’d hoped and the Galactic Snackin’ Grogu we want for Christmas is stuck on a container ship. At the same time, the [national mood about the economy doesn’t match]( the hard numbers, writes Jonathan Bernstein. Part of this is the media’s natural craving for negative news. That’s encouraged by the GOP insisting all news is bad when Democrats are in charge. And then there’s Biden’s reluctance to adopt Donald Trump’s PR strategy of incessant bragging. We’ve also spent much of the past 20 years stewing in deflation and low wages, so any return to normalcy was bound to feel a little scary. Those people who cried stagflation wolf all that time are finally getting their due, which isn’t helping. Though there’s no stagnation, there is at least inflation. But Tyler Cowen is [confident the Fed won’t let it get out of control](. This isn’t the 1970s all over again. And fortunately the bond market agrees. Bubble Fun The flip side of the Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, is the Fear of Not Getting Out, or FONGO. Some of us may be feeling this right now, with the S&P, Elon Musk and [Shiba Inu]( all setting new records and bringing forward the inevitable day when it all goes kablooey. But there’s a risk of getting out too early and missing out on that last sweet dollop of bubble foam. Such FOMO may overwhelm our FONGO. John Authers uses charts and math to argue it doesn’t have to; history suggests [the losses you avoid can compensate]( for the extra gain you missed by getting out too soon. Bonus Bubble Reading: As with the dot-com bubble, advisers could feel [pressure from clients to jump into crypto](. — Nir Kaissar Telltale Charts The old argument that developing nations need cheap fossil fuel to grow rich [doesn’t make sense anymore](, David Fickling writes, for a lot of reasons, starting with the cheapness of renewables. We can’t rely on [financial firms to curb investment in fossil fuels](, writes Mark Gilbert. They just can’t stop giving that industry money. Further Reading It’s time to [overhaul the federal public-service loan-forgiveness]( program to make it more efficient. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Wackiness in rates is [killing macro hedge-fund stars](. — Brian Chappatta Boeing’s plan to [ramp up 737 Max production looks risky](, given that China still isn’t ordering the planes. — Brooke Sutherland Dan Loeb may not quite get his wish to [break up Royal Dutch Shell](. — Liam Denning Belarus and Russia are [trafficking in refugees]( to make European neighbors miserable. — Andreas Kluth ICYMI The Great Resignation is [rekindling the labor movement](. China may have just [had a Sputnik moment](. Hertz will let [Uber drivers rent electric cars](. Kickers The Fat Bear Week winner’s [salmon-catching technique is a model of efficiency](. Area man re-creates [Salt Bae’s $2,000 gold-encrusted steak]( for $90. (h/t Scott Kominers for the first two kickers) A [mysterious signal from Proxima Centauri]( was actually just Dan from accounting. (h/t Mike Smedley) Poaching is causing female African [elephants to evolve without tusks](. Notes:  Please send salmon and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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