The Tiny Tax that Terrifies Wall Street

[Huey P. Long]

Sunday, June 24, 2012
-
The goal of this new “Robin Hood” campaign: a tiny tax on the ever-churning financial transactions that have made the Jamie Dimons of our time fabulously wealthy. The most lavishly paid bank CEO in America, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, sashayed back to Capitol Hill last Tuesday for still another congressional hearing on JPMorgan’s billions in speculative trading losses this past spring.

Dimon didn’t have much trouble fending off the few tough questions that came his way from lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee. But Dimon and his fellow Wall Streeters may have much more trouble handling a new campaign — for taxing financial speculation — that launched the same day Dimon testified.

The goal of this new “Robin Hood” campaign: a tiny tax on the ever-churning financial transactions that have made the Jamie Dimons of our time fabulously wealthy. This Robin Hood campaign for a financial transaction tax actually began two years ago in the UK and quickly spread to over a dozen other nations. The U.S. branch of the campaign launched last week comes with some high-profile champions.

-
The volume of global speculative trading, these financial industry experts pointed out, now exceeds — by 70 times — the size of the entire real global economy, the actual goods and services that people use everyday.
-
http://www.nationofchange.org/tiny-tax-terrifies-wall-street-1340547703

[johnd83]

1. The tiny tax is to go after high frequency trading

High frequency trading works by very rapidly tracking the price of stocks, then buying and selling at very high frequencies. They make tiny profits, but it winds up being fairly significant if you do enough of it. My question is, how is that useful for the real economy? Short answer is that it is not.

[Huey P. Long]

2. Perhaps read the article?

In Europe, the Robin Hood campaign has already gained serious political momentum, even support from Angela Merkel, the conservative German chancellor. In the United States, two lawmakers — Rep. Peter DeFazio from Oregon and Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa — have a transaction tax bill pending.

A tax on speculative trading, DeFazio said last week, would dampen Wall Street volatility and “drive some of these hedge fund speculators out of the market.”

“These people are getting filthy rich by driving up the price of commodities,” added DeFazio. “They don’t care how they affect the real economy. They don’t care if they drive up the price of oil. They’re just there to trade something 1,000 times a minute with super-computers.”

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. A trx tax would fix most of the issues, actually.

Fractions of the penny - normal investors won't feel it, but HFT will get hit and HUGE.

Best thing that could ever happen to turn this ship around. Wouldn't even have to talk about Cap Gains tax disparity at that point. Just hit the transactions and we are once again upright.

[FailureToCommunicate]

3. Worth seeing again here...(love Bill Nighy)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="

" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. Meanwhile...

[IMG][/IMG]

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. So...does this mean you think the obscene profit IS the banks' money?

You buy a stick of gum and get taxed on it. In that time they buy and sell dozen of sticks of gum and aren't taxed, because they write the tax laws. Does that seem right? Or fair? Or...wacky?

Oh, and welcome to DU, btw

[Huey P. Long]

13. I think the poster is saying 'They never learn'.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. No. I'm saying they're in trouble

History is not kind to those in power who take from the masses to live the high life.

World's most expensive desert:

[img][/img]

These bastards are EATING gold while Republicans cut funding for little old ladies.

[SunSeeker]

11. Loved it!

Thanks for the video. Reminds me of an old Monty Python skit.

[Spacer125]

4. I support this.

[benld74]

6. Effin yes I support this for Sure!

IF they want to make millions in just seconds they can get taxed the same gosh darn way!

[Poll_Blind]

7. Yes, my House Rep. Peter DeFazio, who is squarely on Obama's shit list.

And has been from day one, literally. Oh well. I've voted for Pete this last decade and I'll be voting for him in the next.

Peter DeFazio, a real Democrat.

PB

[Ruby the Liberal]

9. Oh hells yes.

Been saying this for years now.

Make it happen.

[SunSeeker]

10. Good! Tax those MoFos. Enough with their rigged game.

[eShirl]

15. Yes, tax those robbin' hoods.

[Bill USA]

16. recommended!