Comments on: Why Newt Gingrich Is Wrong About Capital Gains Taxes

By: JCtx

JCtx — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:02:42 +0000

On point #4, I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. You ask “Where does Newt think these people are putting their money now” to which the answer is “They are paying it to the government in the form of capital gains taxes”. So if they did not pay it to the government, then they could put the money back into the market.

However, your point on #6 sort of makes point #4 moot in that there is no motivation to leave money in the market long term so you can take your profit and move on to something more whenever you feel like it.

I’m wondering if removing the capital gains tax might work if you also removed deductions for losses. That sort of seems fair; if you don’t contribute when you win, you don’t benefit when you lose.

By: Tawny

Tawny — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:14:50 +0000

This was really good and informative. It confirmed suspicions I’ve had about capital gains tax cuts since I was old enough to both know what they were and reason. Thanks!

By: sam_bolini

sam_bolini — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:06:02 +0000

Newt et. al. count upon the fact that most people don’t understand how the stock market works. They’ve managed to convince most Americans that buying a stock is “investing” in the same way as capitalizing a startup is. When in fact, apart from IPOs, all stock purchases add absolutely zero to the amount of capital a company has.

And while were on the subject Newt, you are right in a way. There SHOULD be no capital gains tax. Capital gains should be taxed the same as ALL income. Can you possibly tell me why not, apart from the specious arguments I’ve so eloquently debunked above?

By: jTh

jTh — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:56:50 +0000

Oh come on, #1. You can find the exact opposite of any good sense at the Heritage Foundation!

By: realitys_liberal_bias

realitys_liberal_bias — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:10:44 +0000

Number 6 is so glaringly obvious you don’t have to be an economist to understand the logic.

By: killbornj

killbornj — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:19:45 +0000

And I can go to the Heritage Foundation’s website and find an economist that says the exact opposite. The only thing economists agree on is the basic principles of supply and demand. Even Marx and Engels agreed on this.