This is what I really dislike, playing class warfare and bait and switch tactics with hidden agenda.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100114/...ma_bank_fees_9
Obama's Words:
-He described bank bonuses as "obscene" and called for a new tax on Wall Street's largest firms to cover a projected $117 billion shortfall in the government's financial crisis bailout fund.
-"My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession,"
Suggested Tax:
-He is proposing a levy of 15 basis points, or 0.15 percent, on the liabilities of large financial institutions. The tax, which officials are calling a "financial crisis responsibility fee," would apply only to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. Those firms — estimated to amount to about 50 institutions
Reality of Tax:
- All Companies would have to pay the fee even though many did not accept any taxpayer assistance and most others already paid back the government lent to them.
- General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, whose $66 billion in government loans are not expected to be fully repaid, would not be subject to a tax.
- The official said that if the shortfall was eliminated within a decade, the tax would still remain in place for the full 10-year minimum.
Money Quote:
- "This is a punitive tax on companies that repaid TARP in full or never took TARP."
My Opinion:
- He is throwing class warfare into the discussion talking about "bonuses" when that has nothing to do with the legislation.
- The stated goal is to recoup losses from companies that "owe their existence to bailout"
------ 1) Why does this not only apply to those companies that took money? (It just looks like a tax on the companies he thinks can pay it)
------ 2) Why would it remain in existence after the money is payed back?
- This is how redistribution gets out of control. Shell out huge gobs of money to those who need it, when that money runs out tax people still making money, when that money runs out do the same.
This is a pretty clear case of socialism and wealth distribution, trying to bait and switch on what is really being taxed and why.