Capital Gains Tax

Following is a response to the post "Capital Gains Tax".


“When Barack Obama talks taxes clearly does not understand them. Not surprising for community organzier.”

You seem to imply that community organizers lack the intellect to understand taxes. By that reasoning, I suppose, they also lack the intellect to be a Constitutional scholar or president of the Harvard Law Review. Is that your position? Because Obama was both.

It’s odd that someone who has such disdain for government programs also has such disdain for community organizers. It begs the question whether there is a form of community activism that you would approve of, or rather if you believe that everyone is on their own.


“Heres why. Assuming his goal of raising the capital gains tax is to pay for his socialism he will do the exact opposite of what he wants to.”

Perhaps in another post you could define socialism and clarify which aspects of Obama’s plan you think fall into that category.


“The three times in history that taxes were raised where in 1981, 1997, and 2003. In the years following the revenue from those taxes soared 49%, 49%, and 88% respectively. The only time when the rate was raised, revenues decreased 44%.”

I assume you misspoke and meant taxes were lowered in 1981, 1997, and 2003. Regardless, the comment is completely devoid of context or references, for example what kind of taxes, how much, and what were the other economic circumstances?

Furthermore, many groups including the Economist editorial board(1) and the CBPP disagree with your conclusions. Even Lazear, Chairman of Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, had this to say in 2006: “Will the tax cuts pay for themselves? As a general rule, we do not think tax cuts pay for themselves. Certainly, the data presented above do not support this claim.”


“So how does Obama think raisng the tax from 15% to 28% think that he will get more money.”

You are misinformed about his tax plan. He originally said that it would be “not more than 28%.” And more recently: “The top capital-gains rate for families making more than $250,000 would return to 20% -- the lowest rate that existed in the 1990s and the rate President Bush proposed in his 2001 tax cut. A 20% rate is almost a third lower than the rate President Reagan set in 1986.”

Read it for yourself: WSJ Opinion, August 14, 2008: The Obama Tax Plan


“Since 52% of americans own stock 52%, not the top 1% like he says, they will get a tax hike.”

Not true. See FactCheck.org for an explanation.
Q: Would raising the capital gains tax rate hit the middle class?
A: More than 80 percent of all capital gains income went to those making more than $200,000 a year in 2006. Very few making under $50,000 would be affected by any increase in the top capital gains rate.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/there_he_goes_again.html


"'Fleeced' by Dick Morris"

Dick Morris … Dick Morris, hmmm. Oh yeah, he was the guy who resigned from the Clinton campaign for letting his prostitute listen in on conversations with the President of the United States.



(1) Economist: Tripe is back on the menu; Tax policy.(George W. Bush's tax reform)

“Instead Mr Bush has returned to the tried and tested: boosterism about the benefits of tax cuts…”

“…Mr Bush is not the first president to try to grab the credit for good economic news, ignoring the role, for instance, of low interest rates. The real chutzpah lies in the degree to which the Bush team claims that tax cuts are the cause of the economy's strength.”

“…Even by the standards of political boosterism, this is extraordinary. No serious economist believes Mr Bush's tax cuts will pay for themselves. A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office suggested that, after ten years, up to one-third of the cost of a 10% cut in income taxes can be recouped from higher economic growth. That fraction may be higher for cuts in taxes on capital alone. But it is nowhere near 100%. What is true is that the timing of temporary tax cuts can affect revenues temporarily. Thus, a chunk of last year's surge in corporate tax receipts was thanks to the expiration of the temporary investment incentive in 2004.