Rather than engage in meaningful labor on this hallowed day, I will instead make a prediction: if a significant tax on unrealized capital gains is introduced, the following markets will enjoy increased prices:
- Art
- Accountants
Now, what will define the art in question is beyond me, but I imagine unrealized gains from art will be easier to quantify if the art in question exists as anything more than one of a kind, so I expect definitively “one-of-a-kind” pieces i.e. classics will experience the lion share of increased demand.
As for accountants, the demand for training in how to properly ledger assets to remain outside the bounds of quantifiable equity assets will prove a boon to anyone with an accounting degree. Accounting talent for establishing loan collateral two degrees removed from equity will similarly grow in value.
I have additional predictions, but putting them forth under my name and defending them in a public forum would require a meaningful amount of labor, which I am not willing to provide today.
Economist Writing Every Day 