Ark, I just wanted to point out that a ROTH is not tax free. Taxes are already paid on that income before it's invested. So it's the opposite of a tax deferred investment like a 401K. But it's not tax free. Democrats wouldn't hear of not getting a piece of our earnings.

If you have not read the fair tax book, it's essential.  We need to get rid of the IRS.  Fair seems so far from the thinking of our politicians.  They don't want fair, they want to punish the productive.

Ark have you read the fair tax book? 

Hang on, while the capital gains rate can have an impact on demand to invest in stock it is helpful to remember that pre-crash depending on who you believe 40% to 50% of stock was held in accounts not subject to capital gains taxation. Those who benefited from the capital gains tax cut (which I don't have a problem with, I have problem with the lie) gained far more from the creation of tax sheltered accounts bringing more money to the table than the capital gains cuts benefited those with the tax sheltered accounts.

The individual investor is far more likely to invest chasing the market while the 401k, 403b, and Roth flavor investors were plugging money into the market every week from payroll contributions (and matches) creating a more stable market and creating weekly demand for stock purchases.

While the capital gains tax rate would have some degree of influence on how willing the 50% to 60% invested that influence pales in comparison to the influence of the fundamentals (profitability, dividends, future revenue projections, balance sheet, etc).

The benefit of the increased demand through the capital gains cut was the trickliest of trickle down.

I suspect with the current fundamentals in the pot, we could slice the capital gains tax rate to say 5% and find only marginal benefit to the stock market.

You said
There is no lying going on.  Capital gains rates on any part of the market do influence the return on the entire market.



Even a marginal benefit would greatly appreciated by everyone.  However, it could possibly have a greater benefit if the market saw that the current administration changed from its present course and instead adopted an economic policy of doing all it could to make the US a great country to invest in instead of worse.

It seems that every time we turn on the TV this last couple of months, another Democrat is admitting to owing back taxes. I guess it's just another clear indication of the Republican/Democrat philosophical divide. Republicans don't want to pay any NEW taxes and Democrats don't want to pay and OLD ones. :)

i have a proposal.
if you dont pay taxes you get no vote.
i think when the US started you had to be a property owner to vote.