SPD still hell-bent on FTT :- (google translation) "It is a scandal that Black-Yellow further delayed the financial transaction tax," Steinbrueck said the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "With their delaying tactics, the federal government does favor with the banks and prevents them finally asked for their failures to pay. This ensures full bags among speculators, while the countries in Europe lack the money to the young people of the bring off road to employment. " [...] Steinbrueck announced that he will do after an election victory pressure that the tax is introduced. "We will change Merkel's policy in the autumn," he said. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/...t-merkel-skandaloeses-verhalten-vor-1.1743579
http://openmarkets.cmegroup.com/6390/the-eu-financial-transaction-tax-coming-or-going Bit older but good read.
It looks like the bill has 17 co sponsors. Basically it's the usual suspects on the list: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1579 Mr. Ellison also introduced this legislation in the last session of congress and it looks like that bill attracted 16 co sponsors: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr6411
No need to read more than this paragraph to determine the stupidity of this bill. Even assuming that billions are collected from a tax - which itself is a long stretch of imagination - then we would need to take a leap into real science fiction and imagine that monies would be intelligently invested and distributed. From the bill: "According to economists, a small tax on transfer of ownership of every financial trade could generate hundreds of billions annually in revenue, which when invested could help create sufficient jobs in both the public and private sectors to replace the 8 million jobs lost in the recent recession and add even more jobs on an ongoing basis, as well as provide urgently needed funding for programs to combat climate change and address global health and development issues."
same nonsense is written repeatedly on this thread about the stupidity of these type of bills. that is completely irrelevant the issue is always the same will the bill pass?
I must be stupid, but I have never understood what you can put into this "combat". You give subsidies to farmers/fishermans who have been put out of business( yeah right...)? You irrigate zones in desertification? You rescue polar bears on icebergs? It seems the only merit of this Policy is that "it sounds good". Whatever, off topic...
I suggest you look at it differently. If all that is on this thread is for the benefit of those that subscribe to it, then we are all wasting our time preaching to the converted. A quick glance earlier showed 80+ members and 300+ guests on the board. Now a number of the guests may be members who have not logged in, but we do get a lot of lurkers and casuals. Most will not bother to go back through the long thread. Most will probably not bother clicking on every link and reading all the articles. A little excerpt and comment pointing out how silly it is goes a long way to improving visibility. Proponents of the FTT never tire of telling the world it will solve unemployment (permanently it now seems), climate change, bring development to the world and solve global poverty. By the time they are finished with the blarney, you would be painted as darned unpatriotic not to support the proposal. So whilst it may be as exciting as a hangover that won't go away, we do need to keep on message, and keep it up in the same way advertisers continually advertise their products.