It simply wasn't in the news. Only later we found out that the whole financial system had been close to collapsing. And just how much was given to banks and corporations. — ssu
Perhaps the money that people have in banks should be secured — ssu
But it should be absolutely clear that the Fed works for Wall Street. — ssu
I would have said "sell securities, raise rates," three weeks ago, but now it looks like that will risk sending the banking system into a crisis. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Realistically, what is needed is major tax increases to address distorting levels of wealth and income inequality. No cap on Social Security or Medicare income, making the tax no longer regressive, plus full applicability of these taxes to capital gains, would go a long way. — Count Timothy von Icarus
We also need austerity. It is trivial to cheat Medicaid and Medicare right now and attempts to recoup costs are arbitrary. $500,000 worth of heart surgery at age 85, step right up, that's the right sort of ailment. $500,000 worth of long term care for Alzheimer's? We need to liquidate all your assets to pay for things. — Count Timothy von Icarus
If the bank gets robbed too many times, people will not put money into the bank. The basic problem is that even if tax rates have varied, the tax income hasn't change as much as you would think. So doubling the tax rate will increase your revenues, but won't double them.The reason you need to mostly target the income and taxes of the wealthy isn't ideological or moral. I think framing it this way hurts attempts to deal with the structural deficit, making reforms less politically palatable. You go after high networth households for the same reason you rob banks, "that's where the money is." — Count Timothy von Icarus
Wages are the perfect culprit for central banks and governments. Anything else than loose monetary policy is given as the reason for inflation.Overall price level increases can't be wholly due to growing wages for the the bottom half of the income distribution, since they only account for 12-14% of all income and their wage gains only outpaced inflation for a few months. Their real wages have since experienced negative growth. — Count Timothy von Icarus
The US simply should look just why it's health care costs are so insanely more than in any other country. — ssu
Just Bangladesh can supply more low-income migrants than Japan and the US can absorb. — Count Timothy von Icarus
I think the recessions haven't happened because of tax increases, but lowering taxes in hope of increasing economic activity can happen and has happened. Just as lowering the price of money (the interest rate).Every time they have begun to eclipse that number there has either been massive tax cuts or a recession. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Income from a job may be important to many ordinary people, but for the rich it is the capital gains. And this presents a problem with taxation. Let's say for some reason the Leftist party would win here and would triple the capital gains tax here (that would be then a tax percentage of 99%). My reaction would to F-them and not sell anything before those crazies are out of office and the capital gains tax are normal again. For the rich, well, their assets can suddenly be then in a tax haven.Also, it is somewhat spurious when marginal rates are represented only for income taxes, not the regressive payroll tax or effectively regressive capital gains tax. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Well, at least those countries that have a steady inflow of educated young working emigrants don't have problems, if these foreigners are accepted. And they basically are accepted, if it is perceived that they bring more to the economy than they take. I mean, nobody hates tourists, even if there are those foreigners all the year around. Now if those tourists wouldn't spend anything, just hang out on the streets, people in any country wouldn't like them.I only bring this up because it is sometimes claimed that much higher levels of migration to developed countries from the developing world can fix the pensioner crisis and relieve global inequality. This is highly unlikely to work. — Count Timothy von Icarus
My point is simply that moving will at best still be an option for an extremely small share of the population when you consider the numbers. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Also of note, whenever someone brings up how Japan has stagnated so badly due to an aging population + lack of immigration... — Count Timothy von Icarus
Some real estate investors are like Trump: anything they get, any money, they put into new buildings and take as much debt as they can. Then when the building is finished and the sell it and they would basically make that profit that would be taxed, they can deduce their interest and debt and basically start a new project. Hence they can make no profit ever, but increase their assets with billions.I mean, does anyone actually defend a system where a billionaire can go years without paying income taxes? — Count Timothy von Icarus
Now I don't understand this. If there is a housing shortage, why discourage renting flats / investing in real estate?When there is a housing shortage, it automatically will become less attractive to buy up real estate, curbing the positive feedback loops that keeps leading to bubbles. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Even if this would be the case, even if the tax would go to a special fund, it would be peanuts and very inefficient to have any effect on housing. After all, profits are only taxed, and profits are a small cut from the actual investment to real estate. If the incentives for building apartments or renting them is nonexistent, then no matter where the taxes would go will not matter. There will continue to be a housing shortage.Then revenue raised from this tax goes to a special fund used for building housing units. — Count Timothy von Icarus
A draconian rate hike would not be a good idea, but something above the 5.1% might be appropriate. Yes, banks are in turmoil and seeking cash and not happy with the higher CD rates they are forced to pay.
However, I'm a novice in financial affairs. — jgill
The desire to increase profit margin is the only cause of inflation.
Wage increases are post hoc corrections for inflation. When the same goods and services cost far more than they used to, people cannot afford them any longer when and if they have the same earnings. To blame wage increases for inflation is to blame the bandaid for the bleeding cut. — creativesoul
As I've mentioned (somewhere else), a friend that works in the local central bank (part of ECB) said years ago that the Fed is between a rock and a hard place. It simply cannot move anymore in similar fashion, as the inflation mouse is already feasting on people's cash.Paul Volcker, where are you? The current feds are too timid, IMO. — jgill
Uh, but the price will rise because of the higher demand. It's the fundamentals of demand and supply. I mean, if a hundred people would desperately want something that costs 10$ and there's only one item left, you think that nobody of them would buy it for 11$ or even 20$?An increase in consumer cost of good and services is inflation. The amount of money printed does not increase cost. Supply shortage does not increase cost. High demand does not increase cost. — creativesoul
Ah! Similar ideas were floated even in Antiquity: it's the greedy baker that hikes the prices of bread! Shame on him. (Never mind things like was the state minting more coins with less silver in them to pay for everything starting from the military.)The desire to increase profit margin is the only cause of inflation. — creativesoul
At least you are correct in that the last people usually left holding the bad are workers, who see their living cost rise and then demand more pay. And naturally the state itself portrays them as the culprit for inlfation, when the real culprit have been themselves. The ones who profit from inflation are those who get the new money first. And those are the ones that can print more money. Not the workers.Wage increases are post hoc corrections for inflation. When the same goods and services cost far more than they used to, people cannot afford them any longer when and if they have the same earnings. To blame wage increases for inflation is to blame the bandaid for the bleeding cut. — creativesoul
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