Was there any mention of a transaction tax? Also I thought I read somewhere that the afl cio wouldn't back healthcare reform that doesn't contain a goverment option (it sounds like that option ain't gonna happen)... I wonder what this means? -Guru
Here's another little blurb from Dean Baker: http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Dean_Baker_0D5A0F08-7986-4CB6-BF90-A2D19058CA74.html I found this quote interesting: "But, this tax is a dead letter in Washington because of the immense power of the financial industry. They will not let Congress tamper with their profits." Maybe he's finally seen the light and is throwing in the towel. It's funny he also mentions how Larry Summers supported (past tense) a transaction tax. We all know that Summers has changed his tune and no longer supports this tax. Why do all these pro transaction tax people keep referencing Larry's paper from 1989? That thinking was so 20 years ago (LOL).... -Guru
No mention of transaction tax. The mutual admiration was electric tho as he began, "white house is nice but there's nothing like being back in the house of labor," and the standing o was unending. I think we can take some comfort though in the low favorable ratings of unions currently. I mean, if you were not gung-ho union, the love fest was revulsive.
Guru, you've had great analysis since this tax festered up again for a year and you keep providing great links and analysis on the subject, it's greatly appreciated. I think Dean, DeFazio and the boys know there's little to no chance of this passing and if it did it would be 1/100th of the 1/4% they want but they have to pretend like they're working right? The only people that concern me supporting this would be Buffet because he's obviously well respected and has Obama's ear and the AFL CIO because they are quite powerful. Nevertheless I'd be shocked if this passes and like I said, if it passed it would likely be an incredibly small % to try to curb millisecond churning so if you're making more than 0.10% per trade you'll probably be ok.
ListedGuru, What I find amazing from the Dean Baker page is the following quote. "Basically, we have an industry that is a parasite on the U.S. economy -- it is four times as large relative to the economy as it was 30 years ago." A "parasite"????? Our financial industry is the world leader. It is wildly successful. It leads the world. Don't we want to be the world leader in the financial industry? Remember, when the USA led the world in manufacturing? Was the manufacturing industry a "parsite" on the US economy back then because it was growing so fast? How about the US Govt overspending so much that the annual interest payments alone on our national debt exceeds the amount we spend on the Army,Navy, and Air Force COMBINED. Isn't the US Govt the "Parasite" on the US Economy??? "parasite". unreal.