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Most people in the country make money by working. The idea that everyone can become a day trader and live off capital gains "like the wealthy" is absurd. That is the mentality that drives so many to think that what is good for Wall ST. is good for the country, which is nonsense. This mentality tends to come from people who hear lots of get rich quick scheme infomercials on talk radio, "no money down real estate!!", "pay $100 to come to my seminar where I'll tell you how to time the stock market!!"
The game does not have to favor the rich to the extent it does and the government should play a hand in leveling the playing field, just like it did when Teddy Roosevelt was President.
Agreed. There are ways of moderation as exhibited during the Eisenhower era during which the national highway system was built. At the same time Eisenhower warned to beware the military-industrial complex.
Runaway spending, especially under Obama, had led to to largest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the top 1% in our history. Bernie knows this but it can't explicitly say it. Much better healthcare and higher level education is possible without runaway spending which is only serving to expand the wealth and power of the super-rich.
1) It is in fact true that letting Wall Street crash (by letting the domino effect roll out) would decimate many tens if not hundreds of millions of Main Street Americans' retirement and education savings/investments, while similarly only negatively impacting those 3 million elite rich.
And 2) Pension fund and retirement account investments, in aggregate, are significantly more than the wealth holdings of the elite rich and therefore will be taxed the most under Bernie's transaction tax proposal.
The amount of stock ownership by 90% of the population either directly or indirectly is miniscule and the top 1% have by far the greatest benefit from the stock market.
What the 90% need are good jobs, not small amounts of stuck market benefits.
Most people in the country make money by working. The idea that everyone can become a day trader and live off capital gains "like the wealthy" is absurd. That is the mentality that drives so many to think that what is good for Wall ST. is good for the country, which is nonsense.
I would agree with that only if tens of millions if not over one hundred million American workers and retirees didn't have $27 Trillion invested in pension plans and retirement accounts, and $227 billion invested in education accounts (529s). But they do. So what's good for Wall Street matters. That ship has sailed, even if you don't like it...
Now, as to any criminal acts committed by bankers/Wall Streeters? Those should have been prosecuted, but weren't. I've gone into detail on why that is in the Elections Forum, here:
1) It is in fact true that letting Wall Street crash (by letting the domino effect roll out) would decimate many tens if not hundreds of millions of Main Street Americans' retirement and education savings/investments, while similarly only negatively impacting those 3 million elite rich.
And 2) Pension fund and retirement account investments, in aggregate, are significantly more than the wealth holdings of the elite rich and therefore will be taxed the most under Bernie's transaction tax proposal.
Here he goes again, keywords get the robot reposting the same stuff.
Many retirement accounts (401Ks in particular) are not taxed until money is withdrawn, and at that point it is taxed as income. This is the type of account that the vast majority of Americans (who don't day trade or have enough disposable income to invest outside of 401K) have. And pension withdrawals are taxed as income also. So #2 is truly .......#2.
#1 No one has talked about letting Wall Street Crash. Sanders is talking about taxing capital gains as income. So, if you make $1 million dollars in profit off passive income, where you paid 15% before, now you pay say 25%. Yes, that would cause the market to crash.....
Yes, I agree. You can't get rid of corruption, so your only option is to decrease the power of the weapon the cronies are using (state power).
I also agree with Bernie on the problem, but I don't see how more rules will help when they're already using their wealth to get around existing rules. The more the government is allowed to regulate, the more it harms the little guy because the well-connected are influencing those regulations for their benefit. The only ones really hurt are the honest people.
I would agree with that only if tens of millions if not over one hundred million American workers and retirees didn't have $27 Trillion invested in pension plans and retirement accounts, and $227 billion invested in education accounts (529s). But they do. So what's good for Wall Street matters. That ship has sailed, even if you don't like it...
Now, as to any criminal acts committed by bankers/Wall Streeters? Those should have been prosecuted, but weren't. I've gone into detail on why that is in the Elections Forum, here:
Obama nominated an AG that was already on record stating that banker/Wall Street criminals shouldn't be prosecuted, and that's exactly what happened.
I already heard your spiel and it's BS. The amount that the average person has in the game with the stock market is absolute peanuts. You can type $27 Trillion as much as you want,
The savings from a single payer health care system would benefit far more people than kissing up to Wall St.
Again one more time: The average American sees little or no benefit from the stock market, and those statistics are undeniable.
Yes, I agree. You can't get rid of corruption, so your only option is to decrease the power of the weapon the cronies are using (state power).
I also agree with Bernie on the problem, but I don't see how more rules will help when they're already using their wealth to get around existing rules. The more the government is allowed to regulate, the more it harms the little guy because the well-connected are influencing those regulations for their benefit. The only ones really hurt are the honest people.
It is what surprises me most about Bernie. Surely, with as much time he has spent in the Senate, he must realize how government is being used to extend the power of the super-wealthy Billionaire Class. Koch apparently does.
The amount of stock ownership by 90% of the population either directly or indirectly is miniscule and the top 1% have by far the greatest benefit from the stock market.
Pension plan, retirement account, education savings plans, etc., are not just invested in stocks. Wall Street investments are not just stocks. Neither would Bernie's transaction tax only affect stock market transactions. You're only looking at one piece of the puzzle.
The problem people have in attacking Wall Street is that over 100 million American workers' and retirees' pension plan and retirement account investments, and education accounts (529s), are dependent on the well-being of Wall Street. You may not like it, but that ship has sailed...
So will the rich people stop blaming the poor and middle class for everything that happens now that the Koch brother agrees with the rigged economics! probably not, they hate taking any responsibility for wrongs
It is what surprises me most about Bernie. Surely, with as much time he has spent in the Senate, he must realize how government is being used to extend the power of the super-wealthy Billionaire Class. Koch apparently does.
He does and has made diminishing the influence of the billionaire class a big part of his campaign. Koch acknowledges that that billionaires use the apparatus of government to enrich themselves, but his solution isn't to reduce their influence but rather declaw government in blanket fashion. But Koch is peaking from a position where removal of anti-trust laws, and financial and environmental regulations would greatly benefit him personally.
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