Why don't we make Wall Street transaction tax equal their bailout extortion?

[yurbud]

Congress is considering a 0.2% transaction tax on Wall Street that would raise about $100 billion a year.

As a matter of poetic justice, we should make it 1.4%, so that we collect $700 billion a year--equal to the amount they extorted from us in their bailout demand claiming the economy would tank if we didn't fork it over but then used on executive bonuses, mergers, and parties.

The great thing about the transaction tax is it is even at that rate, it is so small it will barely be felt by people who buy and hold stock and only put a serious dent in speculators (and really not even hurt them).

For the last thirty years, worker productivity has gone up but wages for workers have stagnated and even slightly declined while the profits taken at the top have shot through the roof. This is one way to get that wealth we created BACK.

I posted this at Change.org, where people vote for ideas and supposedly the most popular will be presented to the relevant members of the Obama administration.

Please give this some DU love:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/make_wall_street_transaction_tax_equal_to_their_bailout_demand

[Skink]

1. Let's just make sure it doesn't find it's way into the military budget.

[yurbud]

2. good point

[Vidar]

3. That would smack too much of justice.