Monday, January 14, 2008
The "investor class" speaks
In your capacity as a saver and investor of money, in which you provide capital so that companies can grow their business, you do not want the Democrats to win. At least according to a poll of financial advisors:
Nothing worries financial advisers more than the prospect of a Democrat's being elected president in November, according to a quarterly poll by Brinker Capital Inc.
The fourth-quarter edition of the Brinker Barometer, which polled 236 advisers in December, found that 22% indicated that a "Democrat in the White House" worried them more than all other economic or geopolitical concerns....
When asked what their greatest tax concern would be under a Democratic administration, 81% of advisers cited a potential increase in the capital gains tax, an income tax increase and heavier taxes on dividends.
Of course, most voters do not think of themselves as investors even when they are, just as they do not think of themselves as "food eaters" or "carbon emitters". Even if they did, financial advisors might not be the best proxy for the investor perspective. With those two qualifications, though, the financial advisors are on to something: It will be impossible for Democrats to achieve their redistributive objectives without raising taxes on capital gains and dividends, and raising those taxes will, inevitably at the margin, deter savings and investment by United States taxpayers.
5 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Jan 14, 08:09:00 AM:
I wouldn't ask a Democrat for help with my own money, let alone have them touch it! So how would I let one run the country's budget?!
They would give all the money away to terrorist organizations "for peace". Yup, thats one man's opinion though. But no one's perfect, I do have to admit that. This video has the worst of everyone, it's pretty funny. http://urlbrief.com/48790f
By 
Georg Felis, at
Mon Jan 14, 10:48:00 AM:
It would be fascinating to see a graph of the “short” positions of the major Democrat fundraisers as election time approaches. After all, the last time we elected a Clinton with a majority Dem House and Senate, we got the largest tax increase in US history. And History tends to run in cycles (because of people who ignore it).
-- Stock Market: A method for separating suckers from their money without the need for cards or other gambling devices
By , at
Mon Jan 14, 11:04:00 AM:
Like low capital gains rates, lower marginal top bracket rates have done wonders for GDP growth or capital investment or return on investment in the stock market...
Theory v. reality, I'll take reality, especially if the decreases in revenue are offset by increased structural deficit spending.
By amr, at
Mon Jan 14, 03:14:00 PM:
I have recently retired and have most of my money in IRAs/401ks, but I have a portion in stocks through funds. Guess what, soon I will be taking that money out and paying the low capital gains tax rather than wait for the promised doubling of that tax by the Democrats. I keep thinking of the elderly which have their money in the market in some form and may see their taxes double thanks to the Democrats but continue to vote Democratic. The Democrats keep saying we are on the verge of a recession and they are making it and will make it so.
Now if they would only cut spending. But how can you promise that and win elections.
By , at
Tue Jan 15, 04:52:00 PM:
The previous president saw the Dow roughly triple, and the current one dropped the dollar under the loonie.
Screw the data though, it's better to cite opinion polls.
