ANY1 watch Squawk Box this A.M.? ANOTHER BILLIONAIRE agreed with Warren.

[supraTruth]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html

[midnight]

1. Taxes don't scare of the rich... Another myth being used to drag the working class to the poor house

"I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. "

[unblock]

5. exactly. potential taxes actually lower risk and even INCREASE invesment!

at a 15% capital gains tax rate, a 50/50 $1 bet gains or loses $0.85. that's a top-to-bottom spread of $1.70.
But that same $1 bet at a 50% tax rate gains or loses only $0.50. that's a top-to-bottom spread of only $1.00.

in each case, the "expectation is to break-even, but at the higher tax rate, it's less risky and more predictable. and that's exactly the kind of environment the rich say they need in order to plan and invest and grow.


by and large, rich people seek profit regardless of tax rates. if they can make money, why not?
the only thing that really changes their thinking is RELATIVE tax rates. the higher tax rates on incomes are, the more they steer their income to a lower capital gains rate. the higher both are, the more they steer their income to tax-free investments, and so on.

the way out of that is to tax all income the same, or at least at very similar rates, at least for the top brackets. one way to do this is to rework the alternative tax so that it has real teeth for the rich (as opposed to what's going on new, which is that it's increasing its nibbling on the middle class) or to phase out certain tax exemptions (such as for munis) for the super-rich.

[Snotcicles]

2. Buffett rich and Romney rich. Oh the contrast. nt

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

3. I watched it, too...

Raise taxes!

Mr. Greenberg also said don't touch SS, but the super rich don't need the medicare like most people, and that modifications to that program need to be looked at, so that 25 year olds do not pay for uber rich health care. He's right!

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[Supersedeas]

6. get used to hearing "shared sacrifice" as a catch phase to justify not only

raising taxes on the wealthy, which is unavoidable if the deficit is really going to be addressed, but the 'compromise' will be that if the wealth have their taxes raised, then the middle class should also share some of the burden.

The negotiating strategy will result in huge middle class (and reasonable so--and those who 'lobby/negotiate' for the wealth anticipate this and will use this to their advantage) to either:

1. Soften the blow of any and all tax cuts--since anything fair must be a shared sacrifie, and

2. To justify cuts in programs that benefit the most vulnerable, and/or

3. As additional funding for wars necessary to satisfy the wealthy's thirst for cheap oil, while it still lasts--again, the 'sacrifice' must be shared...EVEN WHEN THE BENEFITS NEVER ARE...as we see clearly when we look at corporate profits during this JOBLESS recovery.