It doesn't matter if the investment is long term or short term, the risks associated with at-will employment are not at all the same.  Stock prices are far more volatile than employment statistics.  Tesla jumped 15% today, while AMC dropped 11%.  How many company workforces fluctuated so drastically?

Hourly workers can easily see their earnings fluctuate that much week to week.  And that's real to them.  Stock price fluctuations do not affect the owner of the stock unless they intend to sell soon.

You're confusing hourly workers with part-time workers.  Many hourly employees work a consistent schedule with little or no variation in pay. 

An employee is free to seek other and/or supplemental employment in a slow period and many in seasonal industries do so.  When the value of stock decreases, an investor cannot simply liquidate the asset, recover the money and put it into another investment because the principal has been reduced.

If you want to argue that all income, regardless of inherent risk, should be taxed equally fine, that's an opinion and you're entitled to it, but don't try to justify it by claiming the risks are the same, because they're not.

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When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

Hourly workers can easily see their earnings fluctuate that much week to week.  And that's real to them.  Stock price fluctuations do not affect the owner of the stock unless they intend to sell soon.

You're confusing hourly workers with part-time workers.  Many hourly employees work a consistent schedule with little or no variation in pay. 

An employee is free to seek other and/or supplemental employment in a slow period and many in seasonal industries do so.  When the value of stock decreases, an investor cannot simply liquidate the asset, recover the money and put it into another investment because the principal has been reduced.

If you want to argue that all income, regardless of inherent risk, should be taxed equally fine, that's an opinion and you're entitled to it, but don't try to justify it by claiming the risks are the same, because they're not.

The risks are different but not different enough to justify special treatment.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

You're confusing hourly workers with part-time workers.  Many hourly employees work a consistent schedule with little or no variation in pay. 

An employee is free to seek other and/or supplemental employment in a slow period and many in seasonal industries do so.  When the value of stock decreases, an investor cannot simply liquidate the asset, recover the money and put it into another investment because the principal has been reduced.

If you want to argue that all income, regardless of inherent risk, should be taxed equally fine, that's an opinion and you're entitled to it, but don't try to justify it by claiming the risks are the same, because they're not.

The risks are different but not different enough to justify special treatment.

I don't agree, but okay.  What about the source of the income?  Does investment in an industry that supports the public good and/or provides much needed services deserve any special consideration?  If your capital gain is from solar energy development and mine is from Exxon, should we pay equal taxes?

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When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

The risks are different but not different enough to justify special treatment.

I don't agree, but okay.  What about the source of the income?  Does investment in an industry that supports the public good and/or provides much needed services deserve any special consideration?  If your capital gain is from solar energy development and mine is from Exxon, should we pay equal taxes?

If your point is Democrats are more likely than Republicans to complicate the tax code, I agree, they are, and it ain't great.

I don't know if we agree that the government should have some role in pushing solar energy over petroleum. Climate change is real and we need to import less stuff in general to protect the value of the dollar. There isn't a "great" way to do it, but probably the "least bad" way for them to do it would be offering prizes for breakthroughs. That's what John McCain proposed.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.