1/4% Tax on all stock trades pushed in NY Times today

Couple of my Comment posts today.

OWS Robin Hood Tax on adbusters.
Plus, my OWS Forbes blog with FTT flag raising by OWS

I wrote on adbusters: anonymous

In your rush to be Robin Hood, is it okay to rob from your Dad too? While you’ve been protesting on Wall Street, your Dad probably lost his job as an IT worker, replaced by computers and someone much cheaper in India.

Trying to survive, your Dad learned how to become a day trader, a market-maker to the global financial markets. He watches CNBC all day and uses incredible hardware and software to trade over the Internet.

Are you going to be sorry that your efforts to pass a Robin Hood Tax on trading of all sorts will get your Dad fired or put out of business? If not Dad, it’s probably a brother, a sister or cousin. Too bad Dad can’t qualify for unemployment this time, as he did not leave a paying salaried job.

Maybe, after you destroy Wall Street, and other financial markets, including messing up prices for farmers and putting them out of business too, you can create some jobs for yourself, you’re Dad and your local farmer too.

Do you sincerely want to destroy jobs, the markets and the economy? Or do you sincerely want to work?

===================

I also got a little tough and personal on my Forbes blog on OWS Comment section, where FTT became a big thing in the comments. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatsp...py-wall-street-occupy-silicon-valley-instead/

See the last exchange this afternoon with a pro-FTT guy vinson. The FTT pushers are being sarcastic and they think it's academic and helps the poor. They don't see the personal destruction they are being careless with.

I think we should mention that FTT pushers relish the idea of firing hundreds of thousands of Main Street small mom and pop traders. Make it personal and show them as heartless, plus of course how they are wrong on their arguments too.

My comment was:

Vinson, thanks for your comments. Appreciate the sarcasm, it’s funny. I reply in the manner you set forth.

Several respected studies by the IMF and other organizations have studied FTT and found that it would increase volatility, rather than reduce it as your quoted academic-tower professor suggests. I know it’s counter-intuitive for some to understand. Has your professor ever worked in the markets?

You, Dean Baker and other FTT-proponents relish the idea of firing hundreds of thousands of traders from their jobs and businesses. Many traders that we deal with have been laid-off, fired or forced into early retirement. Others started trading out of school to hire themselves as an entrepreneur because jobs weren’t open. Trading and financial services have been one remaining bastion of work for many in America.

You and others are heartless to those desperate to make a living for their families. Traders live and work on Main Street, not Wall Street. They include laid-off teachers, firefighters, postal workers, nurses, doctors, accountants, airline pilots, IT professionals, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, construction workers and contractors, and others from all walks of life. Pedigree traders leaving Wall Street to trade are 1 in 100 of new traders that we deal with.

First, companies moved their jobs offshore, next they invested in machines and computers to do their jobs, and now you and your friends want to fire them from trading. Plus, your actions will harm the economy too, so how can you justify this error of yours? Does it feel good firing people?

Traders provide liquidity to the markets. Your FTT will kill them off, kill the markets and good luck to PIIGS debt and other troubled securities when traders aren’t there to buy when you want to sell, sell, sell.

Disrespecting traders, disrespects finance, which disrespects business and markets. Social, as in socially useful, means connectivity and what connects us all together more than money? Please don’t fire everyone that does not suit your socialist agenda! Traders are the canary in the coal mine.

Last point, there won’t be FTT revenues of any consequence, because you will kill off the industry. Plus, you will serious hurt capital gains taxes, income taxes, and payroll taxes too.

FTT is heartless; it’s punishing, controlling, vindictive and counter-productive.
 
Merkel is delaying a big bailout deal to buy time. The Germans aren't going to do a big deal and take big risk to bailout cheating Greece who can't make austerity cuts stick. Merkel is pushing FTT as an excuse for delay and no deal. Perfect wedge and said this all along.

Merkel is hoping reality happens without great damage to Germany. A default is not a surprise now. Germany can deal with bailing out it's banks if and when needed. Sarkozy is history anyway. Merkel must keep Germany from turning socialist. As Bush famously said, 'if someone doesn't loosen up the money, this sucker is going down.'

Do Americans really want another monster bailout and to participate through the IMF?

FTT would take years to pass all the governments and it's a long term dangerous solution that can't deal with this immediate problem.
 
Quote from Robert A. Green:

Sarkozy is history anyway.

And what may come( Hollande ) is not better( hell no )... For the sake of simplicity, just consider France an ad vitam eternam FTT supporter. Taxing traders is always the good recipe for revenues when you only work 35 hours per week and retire at 60, especially when you have no traders to tax and the bill will fall on other countries.
 
Quote from Robert A. Green:

Merkel is pushing FTT as an excuse for delay and no deal.
Merkel knows the EU banking/debt problem is going to blow up in her face any minute now. She's deperately trying to trying to find someone to blame. She's been left hanging in the wind ever since Barroso failed to strongarm Europe into an FTT agreement. The UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Malta, Ireland, the Czech Republic and even Bulgaria have all said "no deal" to the FTT. (Who could blame them? The "Impact Assessment Report" showed that the FTT would lower EU GDP and cost thousands of jobs.)

Now Merkel's running around with her hair on fire trying to deflect this mess onto the G20, and specifically Secretary Geithner who has said the US will not support the Merkel/Barroso FTT.

When the EU economic walls come tumbling down, Merkel's going to point her finger at the US and scream: This is all your fault!
 
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