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Old 12-24-2016, 10:09 AM
 
31,679 posts, read 40,959,250 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverBird View Post
I believe the OP was talking to those who have done well in the market, so I was surprised to open the thread and read about toilet paper. Toilet as a metaphor, yes.
Not just as individuals but those with pension funds that are dependent on return on investments to meet future payout obligations. Also the poor, elderly etc dependent on government tax receipts to cover provided benefits without budget deficit driven cuts.
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Old 12-24-2016, 10:42 AM
 
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Maryland's budget problems - Baltimore Sun

Quote:
But since then, state officials have repeatedly revised revenue estimates downward, erasing hundreds of millions in projected tax collections and forcing Governor Hogan to make mid-year cuts through the Board of Public Works. This spring, legislators voted to require DLS, the Department of Budget and Management and the Comptroller's office to study the sources of volatility in Maryland's revenues, and they found the biggest culprit to be non-withholding income tax revenues, a category driven in large part by capital gains taxes paid by a small group of very wealthy Marylanders. In some recent years, the top one-tenth of 1 percent of filers were responsible for half of all capital gains tax revenue to the state. A graph of those revenues shows repeated spikes and drops from one year to the next.
Quote:
Any excess funds could only go to increasing the state's rainy day fund, shoring up the pension system or paying for one-time capital expenses that would otherwise be funded through bond issues. The idea is that such a policy could prevent the state from banking on unrealistic revenue assumptions, even out the ups-and-downs of the economic cycle and reduce the state's levels of debt. It's worth seriously considering.
So it looks like all residents in Maryland will benefit from the rising stock market as if it results in increased capital gains taxes that means more revenue and budget cuts not being as large. Is your state any different? Your schools? Your Medicaid, your roads etc etc etc.

I know I am hoping for more capital gains tax revenues in NC.
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Old 12-24-2016, 01:51 PM
 
15,861 posts, read 6,934,648 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
Regulations impact business and have the same impact on a small business owner regardless of their political party. Just like tax policy impacts us regardless of political party. Recognizing the consequences good or bad of compliance isn't political but economics. Just like learning and understanding the principles of investments doesn't make you political. You could become a Bogglehead and appreciate why your investing habits are good or bad without the need to embrace a political platform. Please reread my post 12 which you are quoting and realize what you are quoting is a response to a question that was asked as to why the market was going up for better or worse. I did add at the bottom that most of us are investing to make money. I am not sure how many Bogleheads are out there investing for social change. If you want a portfolio that embraces more positive investments in terms of their impact on people then you better get out of the index funds you are embracing as they invest in it all depending on the type of index. Got a S&P 500 or a total market or a small cap index? You are with big and small oil etc etc. You do realize that right? You are also investing in Pharm and a lot of other industries you say you have problems with.
We are not talking about the same thing here, either on purpose or due to some kind of misunderstanding. T

The stock market rise may be in anticipation of deregulation and tax breaks promised to the wealthy as you jubilantly noted.
But deregulation hurts us all, investors or not, wealthy or not. When big banks decided to bundle their bad debts and sell them as securities they made tons of money, investors all profited, pension funds rose. But when the stock market finally crashed as the dominos fell who was hurt the most? The small investors. if you had a million dollar portfolio, particularly in equities, just as you retired you were stuck with half from which you needed to derive an income. A billionaire still had 1/2 a billion left.

This is why regulations matter be it the EPA, the FDA, or the Wall Street or the Banks or the Utilities. So deregulation is not a cause to celebrate. Higher drug costs eats into our savings, which is a result of sheer greedy profit mongering by Big Pharma.

As an index investor I may be happy to see my pharma stocks rise due to deregulation. But i would be foolish if I remain willfully ignorant of the effect this is going to have on my personal income (with higher medical expense) AND my health and happiness and quality of life in terms of air we breathe and water we drink. This is why even millionaires and billionaires support higher taxes for the wealthy and regulations. They did not get there by being willfully ignorant of economics.
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Old 12-24-2016, 03:51 PM
 
31,679 posts, read 40,959,250 times
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May we all have a Happy and Merry Christmas if we want to!
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Old 12-24-2016, 05:02 PM
 
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Merry Christmas Tuborg. Thanks for the wonderful thread

I feel so fortunate everyday for the blessings I have been given. This thread is a good reminder
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Old 12-24-2016, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Edina, MN, USA
7,572 posts, read 8,998,044 times
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And I am reminded just how thankful I am for toilet paper.
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Old 12-24-2016, 06:50 PM
 
Location: Central NY
5,946 posts, read 5,097,231 times
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^^^^^^^ Me, too, especially after the past couple days. haha
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Old 12-26-2016, 04:41 PM
 
6,343 posts, read 11,535,277 times
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Ha ha, this is so funny. I suspect someone who worries about the price of toilet paper probably doesn't have much invested in the market. Except what a job has contributed in a 401k perhaps.

However, there are people for whom frugality is a hobby - they are quite likely to have money left over to invest.
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