H.R. 1068, the Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street's Bailout Act.
Wall Street Transaction Tax Proposed by Democrats Ryan J. Donmoyer
Dec. 3, 2009 (Bloomberg) -- A group of congressional Democrats proposed taxing large transactions in stocks and derivatives, an idea that has received a cool reception from the Obama administration. [...]
.25 Percent for Stocks
The measure would be based on legislation DeFazio proposed in the House that would apply a tax of 0.25 percent or 25 basis points to stock transactions in excess of $100,000, and a levy of 0.02 percent or 2 basis points on derivatives including futures, options, swaps and credit default swaps.
Harkin and DeFazio said the proposed new levy is backed by more than 200 economists, the AFL-CIO labor union federation and business leaders including Warren Buffett and Vanguard Group Inc. founder John C. Bogle, now president of Bogle Financial Markets Research.
Members of the House Populist Caucus, chaired by Representative Bruce Braley (IA-01), held a press conference on Thursday to endorse a bill that would "assess a small fee on Wall Street day traders to pay down the national deficit and invest in America's middle class families."
(on infrastructure vs tax cuts (with clip)... - promoted by poligirl)
I hope everyone caught this gem last night on The Rachel Maddow Show. This encapsulates the fight we in which we are now engaged, not so much against the Republicans anymore as against the centrist, pro-corporate wing of the Democratic party. The nature of the stimulus bill, infrastructure vs. tax cuts, is now the battlefield. Here is the must-see interview....
Especially if you are represented by a Democrat in either the Senate or the House, contact them and let them know where the priority must be......it's one long word that begins with an "i"!
(go Jeff Merkley - our Progressive Blue endorsed candidate for the OR-Sen! - promoted by poligirl)
Senator Feingold traveled all the way to Oregon today to campaign for Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. Feingold spent the day in Portland, Oregon and then headed out to Eugene, Oregon to hold a rally for Merkley at the University of Oregon. Feingold was joined by none other than Rep. Peter Defazio and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. Follow me below the fold to find out more about today's event....
Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley
I sauntered over to Blue Oregon and just discovered this story. Pete Defazio, the Democratic Representative in Oregon's purplish-red 4th district wrote a letter to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton asking them to quit with the negative attacks. Defazio was mentioned as a possible candidate to challenge Senator Gordon Smith. Defazio announced back in April that he would not be running for the Senate. I understand why, he sits on three committees and chairs the transportation subcommittee on highways and transit. More below the fold...
