budget deficits

Congress wraps up appropriations, goes home for the holidays

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Remember just a few short weeks ago when Tea-Publicans were apoplectic over highly edited videos from an anti-abortion group attempting to smear Planned Parenthood, and the GOP House Freedom Caucus vowed that they would shut down the government if Planned Parenthood was not immediately defunded?

monstersAnd remember these same Teabaggers threatening to shut down the federal government over Syrian war refugees being allowed to enter the country after the terrorist attack in Paris, because they were all pissing their pants in fear,  terrified of monsters under their bed?

Yeah, that never happened.  to Paraphrase from the Bard’s MacBeth:

A Teabagger is but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Always remember that everything Teabaggers do is about providing grist for the Mighty Wurlitzer of the right-wing noise machine of the conservative media entertainment complex, and to pick the pockets of the rubes foolish enough to believe what these grifters tell them. They only vote against a bill when they are assured that there are enough votes for passage, so they can safely proclaim how they voted against the bill (without any consequences). It is all just a con game.

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11 European countries pass Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions

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Robin-h-05-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Eleven European countries, who collectively account for two-thirds of the EU's economy, have passed a new financial transaction tax.

Also known as the Robin Hood Tax in the US, a financial transaction tax charges a small percentage fee for every stock market deal. The new European law will charge a rate of 0.1% on any trade of shares or bonds and 0.01% on any financial derivative contract, according to an article in Think Progress. These tiny percentages would raise an estimated 57 billion euros per year if all 27 of the European countries adopted the law. (At an exchange rate of 1 EU = $1.33, that is an estimated $75.8 billion in US dollars per year of revenue generation.) In addition to raising funds, the financial transaction tax discourages speculative computerized trading. Also know as "rent seeking," computers are set up to buy stocks and sell them quickly– sometimes when the profit is just pennies. If you do enough of this automated micro-trading, you can make a bundle of money; but this speculative behavior adds volitility to the market and produces nothing except fot the gamblers who are in the game. The Ed Schultz Show has a great explanation here. 

 In all, 40 countries worldwide have adopted a financial transaction tax. The 11 countries who have passed the Robin Hood Tax recently include two European powerhouses– Germany and France– plus Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, and Estonia. The financial problems facing Greece, Spain, and Italy have been in the news for years. This tax will help cash-strapped governments to become more stable. 

Gosh, what other country is facing dire financial choices and needs an infusion of cash? Find out how the Robin Hood Tax would help the US economy after the jump.