flacaltenn
Diamond Member
You do realize that the 2nd time tax on stock investments is utter bullshit, right? especially where it comes to 401k, which are PRE tax investments.
Post #57, Daffy.
About half of working families have 401k's, but that doesn't mean that half of all investments are via same.
Further, there are limits on how much can be contributed to these vehicles, and time restraints and mandates on withdrawl.
In short, with reference to your "You do realize that the 2nd time tax on stock investments is utter bullshit, right?", it seems it applies more to your post.
nope. most stock investments made beyond the 401k investments are corporate. THEY sit on them for years, where the EARNINGS of the rest of us are taxed immediately, letting their piles of money earn piles of more money without being taxed while the rest of us pick up the tab, and while the actual value of the money they eventually owe is much lower in the future than it would have been in the present, increasing the cost to the rest of us.
Sounds like you have your greedy Socialist eye on those Baby Boomers retirement funds don'tcha? Because THOSE aren't taxed immediately. (Roth vs Traditional, ect). The reason for that is to ENCOURAGE savings for retirement. THAT increases the immediate "cost" to all of us in exchange for encouraging that savings. You're not alone. The scavengers of the redistribution movement already have dibs on that pile of cash. They'd LOVE to raid individual pensions and retirement funds for IMMEDIATE gratification -- just like the Soc Sec Surplus was stolen and squandered for all those years. Or how the GOVT (both Fed and State) are MISMANAGING employee retiree accounts and UNDERFUNDING them for IMMEDIATE gratification. That's not the society that WE (your opposition) wants.
Same deal with Cap gains. Contrary to your view that investment shouldn't be treated specially -- We've made the decision that folks SHOULDN'T be sitting on piles of cash. They should be encouraged to start new businesses, to loan that money to others, and to VOTE with their cash on what new product and ideas should succeed.
That is FAR preferable to relying on the GOVT to REMOVE all risk to life by paying for your retirement and picking the market winners and losers in a Centralized manner. Your prescription would hobble any attempt to rebuild and reshape our economy for 21st Century World competition.
We'd have to just cannibalize what's left and continue throwing the expensive furniture on the fire.