On April 15, I made a statement at the Press Club in Washington, DC., in support of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), more commonly referred to as the”speculator” tax. UK FSA Chairman Lord Adair Turner supports FTT. Larry Summers wrote a formal paper recommending the tax. Strong momentum in support of the tax now exists across Europe. Yet, surprisingly, it is not at the forefront of legislation working its way through Congress. Why?
Short-termism is now widely recognized as a core illness in our financial system. The FTT is not a cure-all for this nor for any disease, but at the margin it will shift capital allocation away from short-term speculative activities toward longer-term investment while improving system resilience and raising much needed revenue in the process.
For more info, please see the press release here.
