12,500 Dow= 12,500

12,500 Dow with an added 8.8% capital gains tax on Jan 1= 11,400 "felt" Dow as compared to Dec 31.
That 1,100 point differential went to the US treasury.

Hence my notion to take capital gains within the next 6 weeks.

Too bad the IRA charitable rollover is gone. It would have been a perfect storm for charities this giving season, and a lot of good would have been done. Rather than paying interest on Chinese loans to pay for handouts that are just a memory now.