Dear reader,
from now on the split between reporting on pure facts and providing a bouquet of different viewpoints/angles to a subject and the authors comments on that facts is becoming reality. So this is the first article of such a kind where facts can be found here and comment to those facts will follow here:
When the compilation of articles on the subject "Tobin tax" was made it became clear that it has a long history going back to the early 1970s where it popped up every from time to time and was dismissed shortly afterwards. So latest wave of cries for such a financial transaction tax (FTT in short) was seen short after the event of the collapse of Lehman Bros. and the turmoil on financial markets short after this has happened.
But one must see beyond the usual arguments of politicians who SUGGEST that the introduction of such a new tax will eliminate financial turmoil once and for all. First one have to acknowledge that some of the statements of backing of such a FTT are not static but more like what the Americans know as "flip-flopping". So constantly changing opinions by the same authors. So if you read the fact based piece of the Tobin tax you will see such contradictions e.g. in the positions of dutch government over the last couple of month (of the year 2011).
Another much stronger "must see" is the use of taxes to punish some behavior or steer it in the one desired direction. Of course politicians argue only with such "uttermost useful steering function" of taxes as we can see also on other subjects such as "tabacco tax" on behalf of citizens health or "eco tax" on CO2 emissions or "luxury taxes" on e.g. cars in some European countries. Of course no such politician would dare to say: "We are in need of additional financial sources so this new taxation if for our budget" which comes closer to the naked truth. What will happen when all smokers will quit smoking or all car users would get rid off of conventional cars in order to use only electricity propelled ones ? Anyone making a strong case for keeping such rational and wise behavior tax free ? It is a bit like almost no alcohol or drug addict will approach you in the city and asking you money for the use of his addiction but instead he/she will argue to be hungry and therefore in need of your donation ! Only once i saw a beggar on the steps of a public staircase with a mug for donations and a small sign reading "for beer". The author must admit he liked that honesty.
So taxes are in fact first serving the spending sprees of politicians and only then comes the function of "legitimation" in order to sell the bs to the (hopefully) unsuspecting public. And of course never ever tell the public about alternatives which are even more likely to work as the supposed approach by the ones with the biggest trumpets. Best of all are current German politicians following the lead of Angela Merkel and singing unisono the song of "there is no alternative". Of course hoping that constant repetition of that phrase will finally not convince but "reeducate" citizens that the leaders of the choir will know for sure the only right songs to sing. So of course none of the those maestros will like people to read such findings as of the CPB - the independent research institute and advice body to the dutch government which also dismisses this taxation as some kind of witchcraft (with only rough estimates how much it will cough up for the budgets) and also give those alternatives those politicians are frantically trying to hide from the public eye. They like to hide to facts of evading such taxes and also that it will become in fact a kind of VAT for financial products and therefore being paid only by the last one in the chain (individual customer) and staying neutral for the traders. How about the demand of more collateral for financial transactions in order to secure them or to changes in how profits of companies being taxed. So fast bucks creamed off risky financial transactions or gambling in a casino can be taxed much higher than profits made by factories, retailers etc where always goods are exchanged with money leaving a more or less small profit. A taxation of company profit will always benefit the country where it is located and much harder to avoid then if they just dislocate their trading place for those products where there are no taxations of financial transactions.
How about personal liability beefed up for creating financial harm to companies and public ? The latter one peppered with also some criminal charges the higher the damage is to the public. So how about 10 years imprisonment for every 1 bn resulting damage by irresponsible behavior of managers ?
Hiding is also going on when it comes to political gains by repeating the arguments of left leaning or even members of the extreme left when it is always a good idea to promote the idea to "make the rich pay". One can rub his eyes when a former center-right politician such as Schäuble is tweeting a song written by Attac the notorious group promoting international socialist ideas. And of course those wil argue only to hit banks when in fact they also hit pensioners and investors in e.g. life insurances promising some extra profits because of capital management being done by insurer. And besides financial gains for politicians involved most of them will be sure to find enough support among their potential voters when they shout enough against "evil banks" and by omitting the embarrassing fact that banks and public finances mishandled by exactly those politicians are just two sides of exactly the same coin ! One is dependent on thee other and what happens when banks are taking steps to minimize risk and REFUSE to buy up crap formerly known as "secure sovereign bonds" we also just saw: They put pressure on the ECB to buy more of the banks refusal items. And public is forced to buy evermore BS ! Ever thought of the possibility that FTT could be just a cover story, a sleeping pill for much more painful approaches ?
So by coming back to "capitalistic basics" would be just enough to deter at least the most devastating damage done by financial weirdos. But of course this a conclusion of someone who is not acting/speaking on behalf of a manager of almost unlimited funds gained through a large part from extortion of its own fellow citizens and for another part of extensive borrowing to the mutual benefit for banks and the treasurers of public finances. They will keep suggesting more taxation as if they have proved themselves to be best managers of funds just in those recent times where public finances are on the brink of collapse because funding parts dry out or in case of Germany where peculiar state owned banks with many politicians involved on the boards of those banks are among the largest losers of the last 3-4 years. (IKB, HRE, HSH Nordbank, Bayern LB, Sachsen LB, West LB etc) So losers will try to "steer" even more in future where in the past they failed utterly ? Would you trust a drug addict to be a honest trustee of other peoples funds ? Anyone buying thee argument for milking financial transactions in order to save the money for later as another safety umbrella for failing banks ? Or anyone disagreeing with my educated guess that all revenues will be eaten up by ever expanding public employment and fat cat pensions for all members of the "administrative caste"
