Here he is on December 18th 2008. A Tobin Tax is a wonderful idea and it should be implemented.
Here he is on September 2 2009. One country is floating the idea of a Tobin Tax. This is a very bad idea which must be opposed.
The difference seems to be that we should impose a Tobin Tax upon ourselves while the Caymans should not impose a Tobin Tax upon themselves.
Quite why though is difficult to see.
Tim
You plumb new depths of inability
A Tobin Tax is charged at high level on foreign exchange dealing
The Cayman suggestion is a charge on wire transfers through Western Union and the like – targeted not at financial trading as is the Tobin Tax but at the very poorest in Cayman’s community – it’s temporary workers
I oppose that because it is deeply regressive and socially divisive. It’s a pity you don’t
Richard
Tim adds: But Richard, a Tobin tax would indeed tax all such transfers: because they are indeed foreign exchange transactions. It’s the same tax.
No Tim, the Cayman proposal is a straightforward selective transaction tax, which as Richard says, is aimed at the poorest – the migrant workers. The ‘Tobin Tax’ is a comprehensive tax on financial transactions aimed at the richest institutions. I guess most of your readers don’t bother with the details so that’s all right then.
Tim adds: But a Tobin Tax would tax exactly such transactions wherever it is aimed at. If you’re going to tax international currency movements then you’re going to tax, umm, international currency movements. Good grief, the Cayman’s newspaper that Richard links to specifically calls their proposal a Tobin Tax.
What bit of “if international transactions are to be taxed then international transactions will be taxed” don’t you get?
I think RM and CW dislike the idea of making the poor poorer unless they can make the rich poorer too.
Maybe they think that money has little ID chips in it that say “this £ is converted into dollars and loaned to a poor coffee farmer so exempt it from the Tobin Tax”
Or maybe they think that my Paypal payments to Kiva reach Guatamalan fruit stall vendors via the Totally Worthwhile Activities Transfer System that is a Tobin-free international currency exchange system.
Or maybe they don’t think at all and merely let their facile ideology do the talking.
You want intellectual consistency?
My God, man, that’s uncalled for!
Hey, have I said “weapons-grade cock-end” recently?
Yes you have.
Consistently.
RM is indeed a funny little man.
PC, unfortunately for you lot here Little Richard has in fact got a very big mouth.
Unfortunate for Richard, surely. Unfortunate for “us lot”? Why?
Also, what constitutes “us lot”?
I guess most of your readers don’t bother with the details so that’s all right then.
Tee hee! I suppose by “details” you mean “where the tax is aimed at”. Touching faith in legislative intent there. Ever heard of the law of unintended consequences? Any idea why the legislators have never tried to abolish the law of gravity?
Also, I noticed that Murphy has such a strong grasp of the details that he misused an apostrophe:
it’s temporary workers