Those claims are made pretty much every time there's a protest that ends with bad things. I'm not saying it's impossible, but you'd think that in the era of the cameraphone, somebody would be able to provide more than hearsay.
That said, I too am broadly sympathetic to the grievances being aired by these people. A financial transactions tax and equalizing the tax treatment of capital gains would be highly beneficial to the government, economy, and citizens of the USA.
Would you propose raising the tax on capital gains for those with a lower income or lowering the tax on those with a higher income in order to equalize treatment of capital gains?
I can see taxation of financial transactions putting a serious hindrance to investment in fresh IPOs of startup companies that have grown beyond "Main Street." I can also see it reducing the number, scale, & frequency of transactions; in general making the market postured towards less risk-taking, possibly retarding overall economic growth. I am not an expert on the financial system, but I can see a financial transactions tax not achieving the desired results as it slows the exchange of goods & commodities and thus revenue and capital gains.
In general, I favor as little government control on economies and markets as possible. Fascist, Communist, & Dictatorial regimes control the people's economy, industry, and lives. A government can choose to buy goods & services from its citizens and I think that has a better injection/impact on the economy than handing money out or attempting to control a complex system of relationships like an economy.
/rant - some of you will not like my position/
An example of that would be a government choosing to make its fleets of vehicles all-electric or its buildings all carbon-neutral. It could buy these products/services off the economy and become an anchor tenant for new industries where the "Wall Street" investor is afraid to go. The government does not need to invest in the company/technology/idea, merely purchase the product/service it produces to better serve its constituents and people.
I understand a significant number of people are out of work, but the temporary "Jobs Bill" are actually going to result in other jobs disappearing.
As an example, decreased funding for the Department of Defense (discretionary spending) has a ripple effect into the economy and jobs market. 1) The number of service members over the limits imposed by Congress are
fired and join the unemployed. 2) Military acquisition programs are asked to cut spending and do so in various ways to include a) programs end or 2) a reduction in the number of government managers/employees/contractors for the program. a) & b) both result in companies, big & small not having an income (a contract) and having to fire people in order to ensure the company continues to pay its bills (like medical packages and electricity) and make some kind of profit to return to its shareholders/owners (to include employees). Depending on what program is cut, the entire business may have to close its doors and have a ripple effect through its local economy.
I used the DoD example because it is what I am familiar with, but lots of other discretionary agencies and programs will face the same challenges. Another example is the James-Webb Space Telescope, which is facing cancellation for significant cost overruns. The thing people forget is that while yes JWST will be put in orbit; the dollars are spent on Earth and go towards paying for highly educated engineers, scientist, and technicians to complete the project.
In trying to address voter concerns and show they are trying to do something, elected leaders, politicians, most of whom are lawyers, are messing with systems they have little to no understanding of and which may have differing viewpoints between experts. Economies and large scale human behavior are not as easily understood as Newtonian physics and most politicians have trouble with fully grasping the implications of Newtonian physics.
/rant ended for now/
I will not go into a discussion of "Freedom vs Security" yet...
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Topic: Occupy Wallstreet (Read 35777 times)