8 Ways We're Making America a Better Place -- in Spite of the Disasters Coming out of Washington

[james&olya 1,121]

i'd bet both sides of the aisle are taking part in the same goatrope - to state only republicans is ludicrous.

You are quite right about this, unfortunately. We have the best government MONEY CAN BUY!!

[Ban Hammer 13,519]

You may be technically correct. The 'tea party' is less a specific organization than a movement. But do you seriously disagree that the GOP has been able to largely bring under its control most of this movement? I suppose it remains to be seen how the votes go in the new congress. Without a doubt there will be many individuals that call themselves 'tea party' adherents that will not approve of what the GOP does. But that is always true with any political movement, especially with the democratic party. Maybe the inclusion of the 'tea party' within the GOP will give them the headaches long endured by leaders of the democratic party!

it's a bit early to tell if they have been brought under gop control....

and it is also too early to tell if that would be a blessing or a curse

[Pooky 3,828]

You may be technically correct. The 'tea party' is less a specific organization than a movement. But do you seriously disagree that the GOP has been able to largely bring under its control most of this movement? I suppose it remains to be seen how the votes go in the new congress. Without a doubt there will be many individuals that call themselves 'tea party' adherents that will not approve of what the GOP does. But that is always true with any political movement, especially with the democratic party. Maybe the inclusion of the 'tea party' within the GOP will give them the headaches long endured by leaders of the democratic party!

If you think that, you might be in for a big surprise when it comes to the direction the next Congress takes.

The GOP might want to claim that the Tea Party is just a subordinate part of their "broad church" in order to take credit for their direction, and the Democrats might want the same, but in order to lay the blame for continued intransigence in Congress, but I'm willing to bet that the "Tea Party" representatives want nothing of the sort, to disassociate themselves from the Washington machine. Declining committee positions in the upcoming Congress is, I believe, one course of action that points to them wanting to distance themselves from the GOP dinosaur. Sure, most of their votes will go with the GOP, but I think you'll find that there will always be separation between the two.

Whether this benefits the American people, or the Tea Party, remains to be seen. The former will be a necessary precursor to the latter.

[james&olya 1,121]

I'm willing to bet that the "Tea Party" representatives want nothing of the sort, to disassociate themselves from the Washington machine. Declining committee positions in the upcoming Congress is, I believe, one course of action that points to them wanting to distance themselves from the GOP dinosaur. Sure, most of their votes will go with the GOP, but I think you'll find that there will always be separation between the two.

Whether this benefits the American people, or the Tea Party, remains to be seen. The former will be a necessary precursor to the latter.

Yeah, right, I will believe it when I see it. Not that it would accomplish anything anyway. Maybe it would be best for everyone if they do refuse to participate in the work of government. I think many of them are poorly qualified but I guess that is true of most of our elected representatives!

[^_^ 5,021]

it's a political hack piece.

You certainly have a point...

... both sides of the aisle are taking part in the same goatrope ...

You are quite right about this...

Sounds to me like you two are in violent agreement.

[james&olya 1,121]

Sounds to me like you two are in violent agreement.

I think most of us agree on much more than we disagree. Resolving disagreements and enhancing understanding requires first acknowledging points of agreement before exploring why we disagree on the few things. I have found that looking at the same circumstances from another person's perspective can be very enlightening and often reveals more commonality of belief than what you first suspected. But we do have some real differences. If we didn't what fun would there be in this kind of forum?

[mawilson 2,133]

Put even a tiny tax on these gaming transactions (ranging from 0.02 to 0.25 percent), and America could recoup over $100 billion a year for job creation and deficit reduction.

This idea is so idiotic, it makes me want to the idiots who keep bringing it up.

There are billions of transactions precisely because they cost almost nothing.

High-frequency trading firms usually make sub-penny profits (trading within the

spread and trying to make a rebate from the exchange for providing liquidity),

and make real money doing that by trading high volumes.

If you tax a $30 stock at 0.02 percent (6 cents per transaction), high-frequency

algorithms will no longer trade it. It's that simple. Who would want to make

the 1 cent spread only to pay 6 cents in taxes?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This idea is so idiotic, it makes me want to the idiots who keep bringing it up.

There are billions of transactions precisely because they cost almost nothing.

High-frequency trading firms usually make sub-penny profits (trading within the

spread and trying to make a rebate from the exchange for providing liquidity),

and make real money doing that by trading high volumes.

If you tax a $30 stock at 0.02 percent (6 cents per transaction), high-frequency

algorithms will no longer trade it. It's that simple. Who would want to make

the 1 cent spread only to pay 6 cents in taxes?

It's six tenth of a penny, actually. $30.00 * 0.0002 = $0.006

If that eliminates high frequency trading, then the revenue might not materialize but you'd have killed a mechanism that puts all but the most sophisticated investors at a disadvantage - to the tune of billions of dollars a year. And if HFT continues despite such tax, so be it. It'd be a win either way.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Mr. Big Dog

[mawilson 2,133]

It's six tenth of a penny, actually. $30.00 * 0.0002 = $0.006

Yes, I realized that shortly after posting when the Edit button was no longer available.

Still, it's too much. 0.01 percent might work but it would eat heavily into our profits.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The best article on the subject I've read in a long time.

Thank you for posting it, 8TBVBN!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The best article on the subject I've read in a long time.

Thank you for posting it, 8TBVBN!

YW. Jim Hightower is a terrific writer in the same vein as Molly Ivins (rest her soul).