Econ. Professor: Average US Stock Holding Lasts Just 22 Seconds

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Buy! Sell! Repeat. Quickly.

In a thorough discussion of America’s economy over the past century with TheRealNews.com, economist Michael Hudson noted that the average financial transaction in the U.S. lasts an astoundingly short 22 seconds. According to Hudson, President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends and a professor of economics at the University of Missouri, the average foreign currency investment lasts just 30 seconds.

In the interview, Hudson summarizes the drastic shift in American tax policy since the early 1900s, explaining how falling tax rates for the wealthy, and on financial transactions, encouraged people to make money on Wall Street than with deals surrounding tangible goods. The computerization of financial transactions then exacerbated this trend, making it easier to buy and sell at a frantic pace.

“All of a sudden you have the economy encouraging speculation in real estate, in stocks and bonds, instead of direct investment,” Hudson said.

Hudson also criticized theories that low taxes lead to economic growth, calling that “junk economics.”

“Prosperity and wealth grow fastest when income tax rates are highest, and wealth slows and the economy slows when taxes are cut,” Hudson said.

Watch the full interview:

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