Advocates of a tiny but lucrative tax on financial transactions are increasingly hopeful that President Barack Obama’s need to more firmly establish himself as the Main Street candidate in 2012 will lead him to back the measure.
The tax — though nearly inconsequential on a per-trade basis — would reap billions in revenue from Wall Street’s most rapacious institutions while also cutting down on their incentive to engage in the high-stakes, lightning-fast gambling that has proven particularly lucrative for them, at the expense of others.
If Barack Obama fails to vigorously support this tax, he should change his campaign slogan to “No Hope. No Change.”
