Our Economy Could Be In Surplus In Less Than A Year With A 1% Wall Street Sales Tax

Currently there are two bills being proposed that would tax Wall Street transactions .003%. That tax would bring in about 353 billion dollars over ten years. While I commend Senators Tom Harkin, Sheldon Whitehouse and Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter DeFazio for daring to approach the face of God... they're doing it wrong. What the hell is 353 billion over ten years going to solve? It's putting a bandaid on a gaping wound.

A 1% tax is the way to go. One penny for every dollar traded in the market would generate over a one year period...16 trillion dollars, approximately 4 quadrillion dollars is traded back and forth on Wall Street per year.

Of course financiers are already bitching about the bill and crying that it affect the market negatively. Here's some of their logic:

Conclusion

Today’s transaction tax proposals would apply the tax to the market value, rather than the par value, of a stock. Thus, the proposed tax is not comparable to the transaction tax in place in the U.S. between 1914 and 1958.
The U.S. had a tax on the market value of a stock transaction for only seven years, from 1959 through 1965. The rate of that tax was 4 basis points—less than one-sixth of the 25 basis points in the current proposal.
Even if a 4 basis point tax on market value were instituted now—i.e., even if the proposed tax were of similar magnitude to the tax that was in effect from 1959 through 1965—such a tax would have a much greater impact on investors’ costs, as overall transaction costs have declined markedly since 1965.
U.S. history provides no lessons on how markets would react to a transaction tax of 25 basis points.

I hate to think negatively about Senator Sanders (love him) but were these bills written in a way that make it so the market value is taxed as opposed to a very straightforward 1 penny for 1 dollar on purpose, in order that it fails? I mean logic dictates that you don't screw up the one positive thing we have going on with our economy right now. Is that even a logical argument? Am I being pie-eyed here? I don't think so, but I welcome anyone to point out why this idea isn't logical. How could 1 penny for every dollar turn traders and investors away?

We could eliminate all other taxes this way. We could end our war practice because we could afford to buy the things we now steal. We could end poverty at home. We could afford health care, education, rebuilding our infrastructure. We could afford to maintain our military (for defense). Employers could afford to pay their employees living wages. We could afford to become an innovative society once again.

reply to post by Kali74


Will that stop the over 80 billion dollars that Wall Street too big to fail are getting from the Fed every month?, while this sounds like a great idea the truth is that the too big to fail are bankrupted that is the reason they get all those billions a month, this people manage most of the retirement and pension funds in the nation.

Scary thing what is going on in Wall Street this days.

reply to post by marg6043


Probably not but it wouldn't matter. Which isn't to say that practice shouldn't be stopped regardless of any surplus, those companies aren't even bankrupt to begin with, they're just taking the money because it's offered and because they can lol.

I'm with you. If we were following the constitution only corporations would be taxed anyway. Hell, I say make it 2%.

Make it so.

A 1% tax on wall street trading, rebated directly to the American people, would be $45,714 to every man, woman and child in the country.

The beauty? All of this money would float back to the "top" anyway, enriching everyone, everywhere along the way by stimulating demand for goods and services.

why is taxing the only answer to democrat failures?

reply to post by 0zzymand0s


That's some Capitalism that I can get behind.


reply to post by Malynn


32 trillion dollars woohoo!

I'm totally on board with this!

The 1%, or even 2%. What a brilliant solution to fix what ails us (Wall Street).
Thanks for posting this, I'm in regular contact with my senators and rep on stuff I care about, and this is a terrific idea to fix it.

reply to post by wildtimes


There's a petition on the White House site as well for the little that's worth lol.
I can't link it though (TC's).

The powers that be do not want to fix America's economy. The planet has 7 billion people on it. They believe the world is getting out of control and they want to control it. Having free Americans with guns and a Constitution to back them up will get in the way of a One World Body to control everything. No, America is being bankrupt on purpose for their agenda of world control.

reply to post by bjax9er


Wall Steet and the Bankers are a failure of BOTH Democrats and Republicans!

Not sure why you think it would be a bad thing to tax the criminals whom have caused our financial implosion, but hey, if it makes you feel superior to place the blame on one party, while yours is just as guilty in this problem, then by all means continue.........

Originally posted by bjax9er
why is taxing the only answer to democrat failures?

'Cause the rich gotta keep hoarding that money, right? Even if they have so much money they don't know what do with it.

Gotta keep that greed going, right?

More, more, more, more!

Originally posted by 0zzymand0s
Make it so.

A 1% tax on wall street trading, rebated directly to the American people, would be $45,714 to every man, woman and child in the country.

The beauty? All of this money would float back to the "top" anyway, enriching everyone, everywhere along the way by stimulating demand for goods and services.

Agreed, but reality would see the tax dollars go to our govt who would put them towards war spending.

reply to post by DestroyDestroyDestroy


No doubt.

Still its obvious what the outcome would be if we did it the opposite way they would choose, right? A better world for everyone, even the ones that work hardest (and are rewarded the most)?

reply to post by Kali74


Bull Crap.

Show me a Fed Govt that is able to work within the confines of a Budget. Then maybe this is viable.
But, Govt has an urge and taste to continually grow and spend money. It will never be enough.

The answer is to TAX more people more??? Yep, nothing like penalizing people.

In the words of Neo69, MEH

reply to post by macman


And if we could eliminate all other taxes in the process?
1 penny per dollar is hardly punishing anyone.

I think it's a FANTASTIC idea, especially if we could eliminate all other taxes. Sign me up!

I'm pretty ignorant in the specifics of how stock market trading works, but tend to think that if one system imposed this tax you speak of, and it caused people to lose a bit of their profits, they'd move to an alternative system of trade, else make one of their own.

Make sense?

Now how would this be any different then Cyprus? Do you realize that the money used for Wall Street transactions has been already taxed? This is earned money removed from bank accounts and then invested. Now if there is a profit, that money is in turn taxed. I think this double taxation is something that should be avoided like the flu.

reply to post by Kali74


Instead we will build airport towers with stimulus money and then close them.

The federal money built parks and schools are closing all over the place...smart people we have running things.