You know, I read Mish Shedlock over at
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
Every day. I really think that a lot of what he says it right on and he is a font of clearly presented and well researched data. He is thoughtful and thought provoking, and a fairly good writer.
But, I think that he is coming a little unglued with the "free market" thing. A proposed miniscule tax on a corrupt and self serving industry that is at the root of all the problems we are going through is going to be the end of the world as we know it and the swan song of the free market system.
Give me a break.
It is just a matter of time before the market crashes anyway. The "recovery" in share prices is nothing more than trading bullshit with no relationship to reality.
So who cares if the market crashes because of the tax? We might even get a few of our nickels back that they stole from us as we show them the door.
You see, the problem with folks like Mish is that the "market" is a sacred thing.
To me, it is nothing but a golden calf
2 comments:
The only market that I consider precious is the farmer's market. The swap meet on Saturday. The garage sale down the road. Bob's Diner. Ed's Hardware. Sally's Beauty Shop... Those are the markets that matter. The ones we should fight to keep free. Screw those Wall Street crooks....
I think Mich is being alarmist here. Most major markets have had stock transaction taxes at one time or another. China's was .03% but they abolished it in 2008 to boost sagging markets. The US had .04% stock transaction tax from 1914 to 1966, and still has a nominal tax to fund the SEC etc. These taxes aren't the end of the world, they get baked into the cake, and anyway there's a difference between the end of the world as we know it, and the end of the world for day traders as day traders know it. Then there's fairness. As Ralph Nader put it: "Why should you pay a 5 to 6 percent sales tax for buying the necessities of life, when tomorrow, some speculator on Wall Street can buy $100 million worth of Exxon derivatives and not pay one penny in sales tax?"
Post a Comment