It's only speculation

This little piece is in the current issue of Mother Jones magazine, for an article on the proposed Financial Transaction Tax, which is a tiny tax on the sale of stocks, bonds and derivatives. Unlike sales taxes generally, which are basically regressive, an FTT would largely only affect the rich.

The tax is seen as a simple way of generating revenue, as well as curbing more destructive Wall Street behavior, like speculation via high-frequency trading (which was the culprit for the flash crash in May 2010, and others like it). The article even mentions Dean Baker, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (who I linked to in a previous post about an FTT in Italy), who believes the tax could raise over $130 billion a year. Pick up a copy of Mother Jones and read all about it, along with some great stories, including Shane Bauer's experience as a private prison guard.
Here's my issue:

Thank you so much to my wonderful AD, Ivy!