Comments on: Another stupid idea from the AFL-CIO

By: TAXPREY

TAXPREY — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:58:42 +0000

I have read more than 225 articles, blogs, forums, etc. on this transaction tax. I am worried about my retirement. I cannot believe the ignorance. It’s as though it were intentional. AFL-CIO failed to mention: Retirement calculator says just a 1% difference in annual yield will reduce your pension fund by one third over a working lifetime because of reduced compounding. You will have one third less to live on! Understand? Instead of retiring on $15K, you will live on $10K per year. The fund will pay the new tax as the manager buys or sells stock at least once per year. Bid-Ask margins will increase from 1 cent and cost you 50 cents per share as a result of most of the competitive trading activity being stopped by the tax. That’s the point, right? The 50 cent trading cost of a $25 per share stock is a 2% loss on each buy or sell that the yield of the fund will be reduced by. Brokerages will fail, less competition and much higher fees. There won’t be a break-down of costs on your statements. ALL OF THESE COSTS AND MORE WILL PASS ON TO THE RETIREE BY REDUCING THE YIELD OF THE FUND.

Nothing but LIES about billions in revenue collected from this proposed tax. The Independent Budget Office of New York City’s comprehensive study revealed that a much smaller tax on just the NYSE and AMEX exchanges would yield a NEGATIVE TAX REVENUE WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS LOST, most of the jobs would not be directly related to finance. Imagine millions of jobs lost if all US exchanges were taxed.

I have not read one study that finds a benefit from this antiquated tax. This tax would have done nothing to prevent this financial crisis from happening or markets from falling. There are or were about 12 countries that have this tax and they have had worse problems than the US. That is why they have lowered their transaction tax, abolished it or are considering abolishing it as they have known it suppresses revenue and causes unintended consequences often with disastrous results. Google what happened to Sweden when they tried this tax for a few years. India is considering abolishing the tax after only 5 years of poor results.

What the ? There is no relationship! Stocks and my retirement are totally unrelated to the real estate flippers, mortgage defaulters and the disastrous mortgage derivatives that were not even traded on the highly regulated exchanges. Good grief. Loons.

Don’t Taxprey On Me. There are 120 million Investor Class Voters.

By: gaetano catelli

gaetano catelli — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:36:20 +0000

@Tom Mathews

re: “You neglected to mention that Henry Mencken detested people like yourself and all of those who you represent.”

and, *you* neglected to mention that Mencken also despised women and Jews (along with just about anybody else who wan’t Mencken).

By: Lars

Lars — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:49:21 +0000

As 30year AFL-CIO member and elected officer for many of those years I have worked with many types of people. I’ve attended schools ,seminars, conventions and many alike. If I have learned one thing, maybe two it is that I can learn more by listening and asking than talking about things I know little about.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:41:26 +0000

Yeah, wealth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You don’t get rich unless someone else is getting poor. And fairness matters. Especially in a democracy, despite what Milton Friedman says. Why are you people so quick to defend the interests of corporations? You think you’re going to be rich someday? No wonder the middle class is disappearing. Idiots.

By: Steve DeMarcus

Steve DeMarcus — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:55:42 +0000

Alright any company that is hurt by this new tax if they have any AFL-CIO members that work for them should immediately start a reduction of force and start getting rid of some of these union members.

By: charles becker

charles becker — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:19:57 +0000

Minimum annual transaction tax with one turnover per day ( 1 buy and 1 sell) and $100,000 of capital is:

$100,000 * 0.001 * 2 * 250 days = $50,000

this is 50% tax

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:56:49 +0000

“given that the wealthiest companies in America were just bailed out by the federal government to the tune of trillions? Wealth may produce wealth, but until wealth gets its head out of its ass, the government will be footing the bill whenever wealth f’s up and produces zeros. You have fewer brain cells than hair on your head.”

Thats funny… This was Obama’s plan to bail these guys out…. and now your compaining about it? I thought you supported Obama?

As far as I am concerned GM should have been allowed to fail, the banks should have failed. This is how the free market works. When you do well, you can become wealthy, when you fail you stand to lose it all. It has its own natural checks and balances… and the government should keep its hands out as much as possible.

By: myth buster

myth buster — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:41:49 +0000

The only thing these traders produce is market liquidity, which admittedly does have some value. I must say though, that speculation produces nothing. Long term investing creates wealth, while day trading is little more than gambling. I don’t disapprove of the idea of a transaction tax of say, $.01/share. However, I do believe it should also apply to currency and commodity trades, as well as the derivatives of all these investments. Local and state governments do the same for houses and cars (title fees and registration fees). Perhaps we could replace the income tax this way, or at least the corporate income tax.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:40:53 +0000

Great idea! While we’re at it, let’s enact a tax on individuals’ union dues, to be paid by the union itself..

By: Steynian 379 « Free Canuckistan!

Steynian 379 « Free Canuckistan! — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:48:53 +0000

[...] KIMBALL ON UNIONS– Another stupid idea from the AFL-CIO …. [...]