Comments on: Some Thoughts on the Economy

By: uclalien

uclalien — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:56:54 +0000

vcigan makes a point I hear often: the middle class is stuck in the mud while the wealthy are speeding ahead. The following analysis seems to show that every income level is better off since 1980, and not by just a little bit. Real income has been on the rise across the board. Keep in mind that all these statistics don’t include the fact that the vast majority of products today are far superior to those of the past, which severely understates how much better off we all are.

http://austrianeconomists.typepad.com/weblog/2009/08/more-evidence-that-were-all-getting-richer.html

By: vcigan

vcigan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:43:24 +0000

To jimgable

I have a feeling that Mark would agree with you to some extent and want to get a bit more info so that the point you make is not just some bs you come up with but actually based on fact.
Obviously your comment that top 1% today pays over half of all income taxes is totally irrelevant since we are talking about aftertax income. Also your point feels like a disgusting trick designed to confuse the big picture by excluding payroll and other taxes paid by vast majority of people.
Note that I don’t give a rat’s ass about how much money top 1% makes – the more the better. What I am concerned about is the growing distance between the elite and the vast majority of the population, because that leads to destabilization of society and eventual break into banana republic or communist morass.

I cannot discuss your point about changed tax laws since you didn’t provide any relevant facts or links.

By: Why I lost my job, and probably yours too « Effing Clown Shoes

Why I lost my job, and probably yours too « Effing Clown Shoes — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:37:37 +0000

[...] Why I lost my job, and probably yours too Mark Cuban writes: If you want to know where I think we have a problem, Im happy to share. Our government doesn’t know the difference between an investor and a speculator or trader. If we did, we would understand that we should tax the trader/speculator more heavily than the investor. The investor allows entrepreneurs access to capital and allows them to work with it and build businesses, which in turn build employment and do great things for the economy. The trader/speculator pushes companies to make more money now rather than invest in doing the right thing for the company. The trader/speculator dominates the stock market today, which in turn puts pressure on public company CEOs to cut jobs and play games with their financials in order to give the appearance of stability in a far from stable market. The investor understands the bigger picture and is ok if profits fall for several quarters or even several years as long as the company will maximize its return over the long run. http://blogmaverick.com/2009/08/18/some-thoughts-on-the-economy/ [...]

By: neatnick2004

neatnick2004 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:04:47 +0000

I really dont see why we should use the tax system to discriminate against speculators- whether or not your personal belief happens to be that certain markets need liquidity or not. If I decide to buy a call for CIT Group who is at risk of going bankrupt and this helps restore confidence, why shouldnt that be rewarded (or punished accordingly)? Most companies are not around for 25 years. Capital has to be acquired/ maintained and speculators are a big part of the process.

As far as the notion that people have too much of a short-term outlook, a notion that I agree with, that is a fall-out of the tax system and welfare state, as well as the moral hazard resulting from the Federal Reserve system trying to print our way into prosperity, dont blame the speculators.

By: jimgable

jimgable — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:50:17 +0000

As an aside, this comment is overstated:

– Last CBO data I found on household aftertax income in 2006 dollars

– Middle top 1%
– 1979 $42.900 $337.100
– 2006 $52.100 $1.200.300

The tax laws changes so completely in the 80s that the comparison is weak. Now the top 1% is at least half made up of small businesses passing their profits through their personal taxes. Additionally, in the 70s everyone with high income shielded it with real estate partnerships, race horse partnerships, personal corporations and on and on.

And it ignores that the top 1% today pays over half of all income taxes. Which is a different kind of problem.

By: Marc Cuban - Traders v Investors | Bankr

Marc Cuban - Traders v Investors | Bankr — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:30:31 +0000

[...] Cuban, American internet billionaire has some interesting ideas about where the problems lie in the US economy: Our government doesn’t know the difference [...]

By: Cubs Shirts

Cubs Shirts — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:09:07 +0000

Although the idea of taxing “traders” differently than “investors,” that’s got to be an awfully difficult distinction to write into law.

By: Readings | Venture Capital Bloggers Network

Readings | Venture Capital Bloggers Network — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:54:21 +0000

[...] Mark Cuban on taxing speculators (Source) [...]

By: Xlog

Xlog — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:43:11 +0000

[...] Some Thoughts on the Economy Some Thoughts on the [...]

By: secker0425

secker0425 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:31:31 +0000

Mark, I’m a late comer to your stimulus plan, having only recently heard about it on Bill Simmons’ podcst.

Three slides on slideshare give you all you need to know, product, business plan etc.

http://www.slideshare.net/secker0425/fan-can

Hope you will look at one more.