Comment 14 by Cartomancer

But the evidence is very clear that this "the rich will leave if we tax them too much" canard is pure effrontery and nonsense.

What are tax exiles then? Why is the EU trying to harmonise corporate tax rates?

During the golden age of US industrialism in the 1950s....

'twasn't really; the golden age was long gone by that stage. Considering the US' economy accounted for something like 60% of the world's manufacturing(following the devastation of WW2), it wasn't really that impressive at all.

....the highest tax bands were close to 90%, but the Gettys and the Rockerfellers and Fords stuck around and did quite nicely out of it.

No doubt they did stick around: they didnt pay anywhere near that figure! In fact, tax revenues were actually less in the 50s than they were in later decades, which had lower marginal rates. Any way you look at it, US govt. spending has increased steadily during the last century (up to nearly 40%); and if this money wasn't raised by income tax, it was raised by the govt.'s printing money, i.e an inflation-causing process, which is a hidden way of imposing tax which no citizen has to vote for!

Likewise in postwar Germany, with the Krupps and the Siemenses, and Japan has had high rates of tax on the wealthy for decades without noticeable loss of investment or prosperity.

I dont know why you think Japan had high taxes after the war. Germany's economic 'miracle' started when price controls were removed and taxes reduced.

....and there is no better way to ensure that than free higher education and healthcare for all.

Free? Free? There's no such thing. All 'free' means is that those who don't use a service subsidise those who do; in the case of tertiary education, very often it's working class people paying, thru their taxes, the tuition fees of middle class students.

Im afraid I have to agree with Mark R. on this one!

Anyway, lest the mods censure me for going off-topic, I'll just say well done to this chap for his great generosity. I hope the money goes to those for whom attending such a prestigious university would otherwise be out of reach.