DeFazio

Saturday Reads Around The Internets - It Could Have Been Worse

shocknews
Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly finds that made our eyes pop.

 

It Could Have Been Worse

About the only thing Populist Progressive Democrat Congressman Peter DeFazio can say about Obama these days is it could have been worse. Long slide down from the irrational exuberance of 2008.

 

A Wall Street Transaction Tax

There seems to be momentum on the hill to push for a small transaction tax on stocks. The proposal puts a 0.1% transaction fee on every order by total cost.

Consider this a sales tax, although instead of regressive, this puppy is progressive as well as more biased towards institutional large investors. (Hey flat taxers, by philosophy you should love this one!)

Because it is based on transactions, each time a security is bought and sold, those fees will add up on those who make large trades the most frequently. In other words, such a tax would target large hedge funds and institutions making profits off of slight fluctuations, such as those engaged in high frequency trading and derivatives.