A Journal Op Ed piece on the most recent debate....of particular interest to them was Obama's intent to raise the capital gains tax rate in spite of its negative impact on federal revenues....redistribution just to redistribute and then tax some more to make up the revenue shortfall. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120847505709424727.html
I heard that, and if you think it through, the capital gains rate went down as the market and the economy was heating up. It's likely that there was more revenue because more people were cashing in their tremendous gains, which they would have done at 15% CGR, 20% CGR, or 25% CGR. I'm not suggesting that it go up. In fact, it bothers me that he is thinking of doing so. However, my conclusion after watching the exchange between Obama and Gibson is that Obama let Gibson off the hook by not pointing out Gibson's attempt at misdirection. I find it hard to believe that Obama did not see what Gibson was doing. If he is nothing else, Obama is a very smart cat.
I can only hope you are right George. It does look like he will win the Democratic Nomination though.
Sid, I didn't get the impression that Gibson was attempting misdirection...just getting Obama to own up to his own inaccuracies, e.g., not raising taxes on the "middle class", increasing the cap gain rate to "fund" new social programs. In truth, increasing the cap gain rate is, in fact, increasing taxes on the middle class as tens of millions of the US "middle class" own stocks. Indeed, the data going back as far as I can remember does suggest a very strong relationship between the the cap gains rate and tax revenues realized....the chart in the article goes back almost 50 years. Now, the argument is often made that when the rate is lowered people are "incented" to realized gains -v- a time when the tax burden is greater....true enough, but also irrelevant. Tax revenues have been greater when the rate is lower and one can be reasonably sure that raising the rate would result in people deferring gains thereby lowering federal revenues. His comments sound very eerily like social engineering to me.....
All the high tax rates encourage is the underground economy. BT, you ever hear any figures about the $$ value of the our UG economy?
Krebsie, I've not really seen anything authoritative but to be sure, I would expect the numbers to be staggering.....surely in the hundreds of billions if not trillions would be my wild a$$ guess.