Freedom Line Blog

It is straightforward logic that taxes discourage production and investment.  But judging by their latest bright idea to tax financial transactions, Democrats such as Barney Frank and their Big Labor overlords either don’t understand this or simply don’t care.

Fresh off a worldwide crisis from which it hasn’t even yet recovered, the financial industry is hardly the sector that tax-hungry liberals should attempt to further cripple.  This is particularly true in an era when market participants can relocate operations almost anywhere in the world, as the past decade’s out-migration from the United States has shown.  Ignoring this, liberals are now proposing a tax of 0.1% to 0.25% on almost every form of financial transaction.  So how exactly is this supposed to help America’s financial industry recover?

Worse, the proceeds would be directed toward (you guessed it) ObamaCare or more futile “stimulus” spending, despite warnings from economists about the negative consequences for markets.  “I was one of the ones who suggested the idea,” says Congressman Frank.

Which, come to think of it, is almost argument enough for any sane person to oppose this bizarre new proposed tax-grab.