The Tobin Tax: The Fix-It Plan Wall Street Hates … But Can’t Seem to Kill

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently came out in favor of a " Tobin tax " - a small tax on financial transactions, proportionate to the size of the transaction. The Tobin tax idea also has been proposed by Britain's former prime minister, Gordon Brown, and was proposed in Congress by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio , D-OR. Every time a Tobin tax is proposed, it has failed to gain traction - which isn't surprising: Wall Street, with its international affiliates and legion of lobbyists, hates the idea. Even so, the Tobin tax idea just refuses to die - which is a good thing, since it is probably the best way of curing some of Wall Street's pathologies. To understand how the Tobin tax can benefit investors, please read on...