Investors vs Taxpayers
December 06, 2009
– Comments (8)
There have been many comments and "pundifications" on T.V., in blogs, in newspapers, in the Hallowed Halls of Congress ( snort), and can you believe it, even in CAPS; that investors and the markets are profiting at the expense of the taxpayers. Many good, and some not so good arguments are made to support this position. But I would like to take exception to this, (in my opinion) "myth".
I would submit that investors are the taxpayers.
Due to many factors, more and more of those who in the past were included in the ranks of "taxpayers", are no longer paying taxes. In fact, many have moved into the category of "taxreceivers"; as an ever decreasing percentage of the the populations, pays more and more of the taxes (refering primarily to income taxes here).
Yes, there are those on "Wall Street", that fit into a special category of their own, but we tend to overlook how many Americans really are investors, either directly or indirectly.
Some invest directly in the market for their own accounts, but there are also many more who invest through ownership in Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Pension Plans, Retirement Accounts, Insurance Companies, Annuities,the investments of companies that pay salaries,and many other avenues.
Even the "bailout" of Fannie and Freddie supports taxpayers (as well as taxreceivers) investments in homes, keeping their values from falling even further than they have, and hopefully bringing about a recovery sooner than might otherwise have happened.
Rather than belabor the point, ( I'm sure that others will be more than willing to point out the errors in my argument), I would simply state that Investors and Taxpayers are one and the same.
In the words of the immortal POGO, I will wrap it up by saying, "We have met the enemy, and it is us".
Good luck with your investments, Uncle Sam needs the money.
JMO and worth exactly what I am charging for it.
Foolanthropy on.
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