WP:
Actually, I don't mind taxing dividends if you got rid of the corporate tax. Corporations should be taxed on a pass through basis, that is not at all. And of course we should have a straight, across the board 12% flat tax, no deductions (not even real estate), but that won't happen in my lifetime.
Bubbles are the result of investor greed, which Wall Street is more than happy to cooperate with.
The conflict of interest affecting accounting firms is real, and not solvable by tax policy, imho. We need real accountants who believe that opining on the company's numbers is the most important task they do, and not just a "loss-leader" activity (like selling 2 gallons of milk for the price of one) to be used as a gateway to more lucrative consulting work.
I would not, however, move to separate investment banks and analysts. I don't really believe people bought Cisco or Intel or Yahoo on the basis of what a Meeker or a Blodgett said or didn't say. Most the people didn't even have accounts with Merril Lynch or Morgan Stanley or whoever. Analysts from I-banks are useless for investors when they make investment/disinvestment decisions. They're only useful to provide, in compact form, summaries of the sectors, companies and numbers (and they're quite useful there).
I guess this note is an "If I were king" kind of note.
Kb |
