I am so happy to hear that the people in the audience can enthusiastically and confidently enlighten Mr. Romney and anyone else who might be standing nearby. Yes people, the parade is forming. Here’s hoping that soon it will be marching across the land and finally our leaders will take their place in the front of the line.
h/t Chuck Schumer email:
I am curious about what Romney was saying at the end before the tape was cut off. Something about “higher income people”. Hmmmm, wonder what he was talking about. What we really need to address is the capital gains tax, in a progressive sort of way.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/capital-gains-tax-rates-benefiting-wealthy-are-protected-by-both-parties/2011/09/06/gIQAdJmSLK_story.html
While it’s true that many middle-class Americans own stocks or bonds, they tend to stash them in tax-sheltered retirement accounts, where the capital gains rate does not apply. By contrast, the richest Americans reap huge benefits. Over the past 20 years, more than 80 percent of the capital gains income realized in the United States has gone to 5 percent of the people; about half of all the capital gains have gone to the wealthiest 0.1 percent.
It is very true, and probably the biggest reason we’ve had no job growth. Why create a job when you can just invest in the stock market and let your money make the money. And it’s been making a-plenty at a great low tax rate.
If somebody has a capital gain, where did the gain come from
How does your money make the money?
First is an increase in assets, which generally requires labor to produce them and a consumer to purchase them – long term profit.
The second seems to be the Republican choice of mere speculation, otherwise known as a bubble because there is nothing but air behind the price of the stock.
A true and stable market recovery will require a middle class recovery.
the gain comes from someone losing a job. One less employee = more money to distribute in dividends. It’s just shocking to me what the Wall Street parasite has been doing to this country. Yet no-one in our government seems to see it. They will do ANYTHING to keep the markets humming along, even though it is sucking so much money out of our economy.
buying lower quality products to sell at premium prices, stealth inflation, layoffs, decreased employee benefits, etc. Judy is right about the speculation too, especially in the commodities and staples markets. The money comes from consumers seascraper. We pay, they gain.
for calling you Judy. I don’t know either one of you personally, but have met you both. I always get you mixed up. Sorry about that.
with Judy!
Raising prices, layoffs and decreasing benefits do not produce long term growth. Michael Moore’s movie Roger and Me showed the results that led to the devastation of both Flint, MI and GM, when GM, being the wealthiest Corporation in the world, layed off 30,000 of its customers.
That business model had the same effect in Cleveland, Detroit, Lawrence, and spreading across the nation. Cleveland has almost 1/3 of the population from the 70’s, entire neighborhoods in Detroit have been razed. It will take a little longer to see this devastation coast to coast, but without a change in policies, this is where things are headed. Chasing short term profits is a race to the bottom.
help to line the pockets of investors too. Lower wages = higher profits which can then be redistributed to investors. It’s the private sectors version of “redistribution of wealth”. The ironic thing about it is that low wage earners also qualify for government assistance via food stamps, health care etc. So we spend out tax dollars to support the working poor who are earning miserable wages from companies who are then distributing their profits to wealthy investors who don’t want to pay taxes. Can you believe it?
You buy a stock, it goes up, you sell it, you make money. A stock may go up for any number of reasons obviously, but the important point here is that when you a buy a stock on the open market, the money does not go to the company but to the previous owner of the stock. So unless you are buying into a new stock issue, your capital is not doing anything to provide jobs for anyone other than those directly involved in stock transactions.