• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

The Super-rich Crybabies vs. Obama

Alec MacGillis ‏@AlecMacGillis
@chrislhayes It was mild: "The jokes...are brought to u by our friends at GS. So u don't have to worry--they make $ whether u laugh or not."
 
You really really reach for things to get worked up about. Why do you hate the financial world so much?
 
You really really reach for things to get worked up about. Why do you hate the financial world so much?

I don't think I'm very worked up about today's news. Certainly not compared to other instances when I've been worked up about other things.

To the extent I "hate" the financial world, I "hate" it for it's failure to recognize its own inherent instability and consistency in opposing commonsense regulations of institutions that borrow short-term and lend long-term, whether those institutions are retail/commercial banks, repo auctions, or any other funds. Borrowing short and lending long is banking, no matter who's doing it. I don't think it's hard to see that anything that borrows short-term in order to lend long-term is liable to bank runs and should have regulatory oversight and mandatory deposit insurance to combat the psychology that fuels runs, especially when those runs are extraordinarily damaging to both the financial sector and the economy as a whole. But apparently Dimon, Blankfein, and Geithner do have issues with that, likely because they believe they're smarter than other players and don't need those safeguards. The experience of 2008, though, should indicate pretty clearly that those individual players don't matter in terms of setting the best policy for the system. I "hate" the financial world because it's where financial panics occur and it's biggest and most influential players have no shown less than no interest in combating them before they start. I'm not sure that "hate" is the right term, but I'll leave that for others to decide as I am most likely biased.
 
Last edited:
There's absolutely no reason why earnings from the stock market shouldn't be taxed the same as earnings from gambling. The one possible exception could be for investors/employees who put up money/work before started the process of going public.
 
"Progressive consumption tax" is that like like a virgin hooker?
 
How is a "consumption tax" not a VAT?

How does a store know if you have gone over your last rate and the "consumption tax" rate is higher?
 
There's absolutely no reason why earnings from the stock market shouldn't be taxed the same as earnings from gambling. The one possible exception could be for investors/employees who put up money/work before started the process of going public.

Much more complicated than that
 
I don't think I'm very worked up about today's news. Certainly not compared to other instances when I've been worked up about other things.

To the extent I "hate" the financial world, I "hate" it for it's failure to recognize its own inherent instability and consistency in opposing commonsense regulations of institutions that borrow short-term and lend long-term, whether those institutions are retail/commercial banks, repo auctions, or any other funds. Borrowing short and lending long is banking, no matter who's doing it. I don't think it's hard to see that anything that borrows short-term in order to lend long-term is liable to bank runs and should have regulatory oversight and mandatory deposit insurance to combat the psychology that fuels runs, especially when those runs are extraordinarily damaging to both the financial sector and the economy as a whole. But apparently Dimon, Blankfein, and Geithner do have issues with that, likely because they believe they're smarter than other players and don't need those safeguards. The experience of 2008, though, should indicate pretty clearly that those individual players don't matter in terms of setting the best policy for the system. I "hate" the financial world because it's where financial panics occur and it's biggest and most influential players have no shown less than no interest in combating them before they start. I'm not sure that "hate" is the right term, but I'll leave that for others to decide as I am most likely biased.

fair enough. it seems like you're a smart dude but i don't quite follow why you go deep on these tangents against finance. for better or worse, the private sector will always be smarter than the public sector making the rules to regulate them.
 
No it's not. Have you ever seen what real pro gamblers use? It's extremely computer and statistics intense. Look at the effort the casinos put in to getting the numbers right. There is little difference.
 
No it's not. Have you ever seen what real pro gamblers use? It's extremely computer and statistics intense. Look at the effort the casinos put in to getting the numbers right. There is little difference.

because you are talking about equity trading specifically, which is a small piece of everything that falls under capital gains treatment
 
Capital gains on real estate is no different. I could see a one-time exemption for home ownership, but that's it.

There's no question capital gains on metals or other commodities should be taxed at regular rates.

As I said earlier, there could be a sliding scale for people who actually start a company. This doesn't mean buying Company A, changing the name and then reselling it.
 
Capital gains on real estate is no different. I could see a one-time exemption for home ownership, but that's it.

There's no question capital gains on metals or other commodities should be taxed at regular rates.

As I said earlier, there could be a sliding scale for people who actually start a company. This doesn't mean buying Company A, changing the name and then reselling it.

There's no way you could ever define that in a way that people smarter than us couldn't get around.

So you know that investment bankers salary, bonus, etc. is all taxed at a normal income rate? It seems like that's the crew you're upset with. Traders get a bonus from the bank, they don't get capital gains treatment themselves.
 
When did I say that?

All I've said is capital gains (with minor exceptions) should be taxed at regular rates...as should dividends, interest and other machinations like that.
 
Back
Top