Ocasio-Cortez sponsored new bill takes aim at Wall Street transactions
Investing in the stock market could get much more expensive if Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets her way.
The New York freshman congresswoman is the leading co-sponsor on a new bill introduced by Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio dubbed the Wall Street Tax Act of 2019. The proposed bill aims to hit Wall Street transactions including the sales of stocks, bonds, and derivatives with a tax of 0.1%.
This comes as Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic socialists are gaining support among centrists within the party.
In an article published by Vox, economist Brad DeLong, who served in the Clinton administration, said, "Our current bunch of leftists are wonderful people, as far as leftists in the past are concerned. They’re social Democrats, they’re very strong believers in democracy. They’re very strong believers in fair distribution of wealth. They could use a little more education about what is likely to work and what is not, but they’re people who we’re very, very lucky to have on our side."
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposal would "increase revenues by $777 billion from 2019 through 2028." The CBO also says, “The tax on financial transactions would reduce taxable business and individual income”.
While many Democrats have a favorable view of this bill, FOX Business’ Charles Payne finds that “there's always a punitive side to these so called economic schemes” and that the rich and powerful, who are the intended target of this bill, can always find a way around paying while the average American will “end up paying a heavy price anyway.”
Fox News contributor Deroy Murdock says that it's just another effort by Democrats to punish people who have worked hard to earn a living.
“Like so much of what the left is doing today, it’s about the punishment. Let’s get back at the rich, they’re not paying their fair share,” he said. “This is all part of the sort of class warfare we’ve seen the Democrats gin up in a big way in the last few months.”
Murdock adds that the wealthy aren't the only ones involved in the stock market that could be impacted by the Democratic legislation.
“You’ve got people who have got 401(k)s, they’ve got IRAs, you’ve got unions, union members who have got their pension funds who invest in Wall Street. So this is not just people walking around Park Avenue in top hats. These are regular people who’ve got their retirement assets put aside on Wall Street to be built up so they can have pensions, retirements, and comfort when they stop working.”
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Tiana Lowe of the Washington Examiner finds that "there's this weird perception about the stock market that it benefits the wealthy and not the working class" but in reality the stock market largely benefits the average American's retirement savings. Lowe argues that a tax on stock market transactions would only make things more difficult for those trying to get involved in it.
This legislation is the latest attempt by Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats to target America's wealthiest and highest earners.