AFL-CIO Attacks Freq Traders

The nation's largest labor union in concert with many Democrats are pushing a tax on high-frequency trading, the type of trading that has contributed big profits to Goldman Sachs among others:

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/56789-afl-cio-d…

Basically, they're calling for a one-tenth of one percent tax on every stock transaction, so that individual investors won't notice the tax but it will eat into a significant portion of large program traders' profits.

Ultimately designed to discourage ultra-fast short-term trading, it will be interesting to see what will happen if this passes.

 

Firstly, why does the AFL-CIO care?

Secondly, what do they think will happen to retail investors when liquidity dries up and spreads widen? They may be too ignorant to notice, but in aggregate they will certainly bear the cost.

Thirdly, I hope these communists realize that, for every job in finance lost because of this shit, three of their jobs shoveling shit will disappear.

Of course, even if they could understand any of those points, I doubt they could count high enough to get there. Honestly, reading the news these days makes me physically ill.

 

Why do so many morons think it's wrong to make money these days? I read the news nowadays and everyday some other BS comes out attacking someone for making too much money and the only thing it does is make me want to become obnoxiously rich just to rub it in these tools' faces.

 

When will Main Street figure out that Bonuses(comission)structure on Wall Street is no different than any other commission job?! You get a single, sometimes dual digit % of what you bring in. When GS gives its top trader or banker a 10M bonus, it's not for sh** n giggles, it's because he made the firm at least 100M. Why not tell the salesman at Saks that he'll only collect $1 on the $8000 custom Armani suit he sold?! I agree w. franklin. Way to hate on those that chose to make money.

 
Best Response

Before opining on this, I'd want more inquiry into high-frequency systems. Providing liquidity is important, but picking up fractions of pennies whilst front-running institutional orders should be restrained.

Everybody who has, does or anticipates working in finance should start considering that the industry contributes an inordinate amount to GDP; so large, in fact, that it brings all forms of the EMH - which your laissez-faire arguements are predicated upon - into doubt.

GS has spent hundreds of millions developing this software - is this really a productive investment. Sure, it improves their bottom line, but does it really serve what the financial industry's purpose should be?

I think it's time we all start thinking about value-added.

 

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