Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
Now that we have celebrated Thanksgiving, I was struck by the news that Congress is considering legislation that would grant large tax breaks to corporate citizens and actually remove tax breaks for the poor and the middle class.
‘ “This Congress seems willing to give huge tax cuts to big businesses—who are already doing better than ever—but somehow can’t prevent tax increases on 50 million working Americans that will occur when expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit expire,” Harry Stein, the Associate Director for Fiscal Policy at American Progress Action Fund, told ThinkProgress. “This is a great deal for CEOs and a terrible deal for struggling families.”’ Nation of Change
One of the most amazing aspects of the proposed legislation is that it was reached as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. In light of the hug tax breaks for corporations, one is left wondering, just what did the poor and the middle class get in this “compromise”? The answer to that question is, not much.
“Under the terms of the $444 billion agreement, lawmakers would phase out all tax breaks for clean energy and wind energy but would maintain fossil fuel subsidies. Expanded eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit would also end in 2017, even though the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that allowing the provisions to expire would push “16 million people in low-income working families, including 8 million children into — or deeper into — poverty.” The proposal would help students pay for college by making permanent the American Permanent Opportunity Tax Credit, a Democratic priority.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of the package would make permanent tax provisions that are intended to help businesses, including a research and development credit, small business expensing, and a reduction in the S-Corp recognition period for built-in gains tax.
The costs of the package will not be offset.” Nation of Change
As I understand the proposed “compromise”, large corporations that in many cases do not pay any taxes, will get 2/3rds of the tax breaks outlined in the legislation, including fossil fuel corporations, at the expense of clean energy. If you are a large corporation, especially those that deal in fossil fuels, your Christmas may have come early this year. But don’t worry, it seems that in many ways, corporate citizens enjoy the ability to avoid Federal taxes entirely and in some cases, actually get money back from the government! All while not paying any Federal taxes.
If you need some examples of corporations hitting the tax jackpot, you need to look no further than here. I guess it really pays off to be a corporation when it comes to tax time.
“It seems incomprehensible that Boeing, Ford, Chevron, Citigroup, Verizon, JP Morgan, and General Motors, with a combined income last year of $74 billion, would pay no taxes, and in fact receive a combined refund of nearly $2 billion. The data comes from a new study called Fleecing Uncle Sam, which goes on to note that the unpaid taxes of almost $26 billion could pay for Pre-K education for every 4-year old in America.” NOC
The good news is not everyone in Washington is going along with the proposed compromise. The Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew has blasted the proposal.
“On Monday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also blasted the emerging agreement as “fiscally irresponsible” and doing “very little for working families.” He said, “Any deal on tax extenders must ensure that the economic benefits are broadly shared. We are committed to working with Congress to address the issue in a manner that is fiscally responsible and extends critical tax benefits for working families.” Nation of Change
President Obama also threatened a veto if the legislation, as currently written is approved by lawmakers. Sen. Harry Reid has also backtracked his original approval of the compromise and “denied it “signed off” on any deal without commenting on the specifics of the story.” Nation of Change
Was Congress expecting that most Americans would be in favor of losing tax benefits to profitable corporations? Why would any legislator want to give tax legislation “gifts” to corporations which at the same time would harm green energy firms and millions of individuals?
Don’t the Waltons and the Koch Brothers already make enough money? And in the case of the Koch Brothers, much of their earnings are at the expense of our environment, so why give them more tax breaks?
The best answer that I can come up with to those questions is to follow the money. The large corporations and some of the wealthiest individuals and families in America believe in the Gordon Gecko philosophy of “greed is good”.
In my opinion, the House of Representatives and the Senate are wholly owned subsidiaries of these very same corporations and the House and Senate members must deliver the pork to their bosses. What do you think?
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leej, I do not want to get into the shooting of Brown. I was hoping to keep the focus on folklore and myth. The myth is Brown was a “gentle giant.” That was false on its face. We must choose our heroes wisely.
“It ranks #313 in the US, and 1,968 globally.
By comparison, this blog, Res Ipsa Loquitur, ranks 35,554 nationally and 173,776 globally.”
Chuck,
And the use of Executive Orders is only about the quantity as well, right?
Nick, I bet.
As for Brown Wilson said he didn’t know about the robbery when he first encountered him. To me, shooting 12 times indicates an officer out of control of himself and his reactions.
“Following a return of no indictment in Brown’s death, 286 pages of released grand jury documents illustrate what appears to be a threefold failure of law enforcement and the justice system: An officer’s inability or unwillingness to defuse a tense situation in an already “anti-police” neighborhood, a sloppy investigation, and a prosecutor’s divergence from a traditional grand jury strategy.”
In the 1992 Supreme Court case of United States v. Williams, Justice Antonin Scalia explained that, “Neither in this country nor in England has the suspect under investigation by the grand jury ever been thought to have a right to testify or to have exculpatory evidence presented.” The U.S. Constitution does not require prosecutors to present evidence favorable to the defense. It is the grand jury’s role to decide whether there is enough evidence for a criminal charge. Yet McCulloch presented evidence both against and in favor of Wilson’s prosecution.
According to grand jury witnesses, interviews with Wilson after the shooting were not taped and an investigator from the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s office said he did not take measurements or his own photographs at the crime scene. The investigator, who said he’s been in the field for 25 years, told the grand jury his camera battery was dead so he used photographs provided by the St. Louis County Police Department for his investigation instead, the Washington Post noted.
Investigators also did not photograph Wilson’s bloodied hands before he washed them twice at the station. After, Wilson said he put on gloves and placed his gun into an evidence envelope himself. When St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch asked whether it was standard procedure for an officer involved in a shooting to handle the evidence, Wilson replied, “I don’t really know.” McCulloch did not press further.
McCulloch allowed the officer to testify for hours in front of the grand jury and never challenged Wilson’s account of his confrontation with Brown. McCulloch also presented the jury with all the evidence gathered, regardless of whether it supported or contradicted a prosecution. “Our goal was that our investigation would be thorough and complete, to give the grand jury, the Department of Justice and ultimately the public all available evidence,” McCulloch said Monday, following the jury’s decision not to charge Wilson.
The justice system is intended to guard against overzealous prosecution. But it’s up to the judge and grand jury members, not the prosecutor, to provide the counterweight or counter-arguments.
leejcaroll – Wilson’s defense was self-defense. He was not making a claim he did not do it. Actually little evidence would come from the gun other that it fired the fatal rounds.
2 shots were inside the car, one hitting Brown. According to some on this blog he was firing from over 100 feet away. There is no way he would get blood on his hands unless it was his own, at that range. Of course, several of us have made the point, that at that range he never would have hit Michael “I didn’t steal the cigarellos” Brown.
According to the FBI, witness intimidation began immediately. The story was crafted to make Michael look innocent and Wilson look guilty Witnesses backed up Wilson’s story but refused to become official witnesses. Other witnesses were found to have never been there when it happened, but purported to have been eye-witnesses. Oh, and Brown’s little companion in theft has been convicted of lying to police, so he’s hardly a reliable witness.
leej, We have discussed the crooked attorney who screwed you and I have total empathy for you on that. As you might imagine, I’ve encountered many people screwed by crooked, incompetent, and lazy attorneys.
leej, Come on, NO apologies needed. I have become increasingly concerned about people from BOTH sides of the political spectrum becoming hyper skeptical of people they oppose and blindly accepting of people they like. I say this w/ trepidations but I was prescient on Michael Brown. I saw the video of the strong armed robbery minutes before he was killed and said “This guy has a violent criminal past.” It was OBVIOUS to me. Well, records are coming out and it APPEARS to be the case. I REMAIN skeptical and would like these records verified, but they show a violent juvenile record, as well as his short adult life showing violent arrests. He was not the “gentle giant” as portrayed. leej, I knew that from the time I saw the video.
Nick, I apologize then about you being asked about your credentials.
As for me I have checked people out, not here but when I have to hire them and even when their credentials were impeccable I have been taken to the cleaners, as it were.
As for something like Kos, I only went to check him out because of this discussion, Otherwise I have no interest in it. I don’t know to what benefit it would be to lie when a lie can be proven so easily. I see your point but I doubt most people who read his stuff care about his pedigree, just what information is given in the articles. (At least that’s me)
Pete,
I have to believe you can do better than that. Seriously, you are truly grubered if you believe the American people have forgotten ANY of this administration’s incompetence. Ultimately it boils down to this: Those that voted and supported the Bush presidency have to take ownership of the choice they made; same with those that have supported Obama’s. Just own it already.
The benefit Kos would get is as stated previously, it gives him street cred w/ liberals. It makes him a convert! We had a discussion recently about the politics of people. So much is determined by what people so for a living, if anything @ all. There are few conservative teachers, govt. employees[LEO being an exception], etc. There are few liberal real estate, insurance, etc. people.
leej, You are incorrect about people questioning my veracity. They have here. And, I have stated I encourage people to check me out. I have told people how to verify my PI and teaching license. The latter has expired, until I get 6 continuing education courses. I did not take the questioning of my credentials personally, even though it was done nastily. Don’t kid yourself leej, most people are only skeptical of people they don’t like or w/ whom they disagree. I am skeptical of all claims. I am a positive person, but a skeptic about people’s claims by profession. It has served me well. It would serve you as well.
And what proof would that be, a paycheck from the CIA? I do not think anyone here has said I do not believe you are a PI until I see your license or other proof, or proof that someone who says they are an attorney, nurse, etc are other then what they say they are absent proof.
We have seen with the president even proof does not persuade those who are convinced of their truth as opposed to reality.
I doubt most of those who read Daily Kos have any idea what his background is so I am not sure what benefit he would get from lying about it.
I’ve never seen any documentation of the early years of Kos. Oh, I have read his profile in Wikipedia, and have heard him speak of being a Republican, but I won’t believe it until I see documentation. It is all self reported and fits a narrative that gives the little man “street cred.” To me, it’s folklore until I see evidence. That should be everyone’s stance on every person who puts themselves out there as a pundit. Skepticism is healthy. Choose your heroes carefully, I have only a few and they are only people I know, not think I know.
Care to document that claim Nick? That Kos’ conservatism when younger is a myth? In point of fact, the fact he was a Republican activist until his Army service during the first Gulf War. That speaks to his early politics.
Fact: During the 1988 presidential election, he served as a Republican precinct captain in Illinois.
Kos was in the Army from 1989-92. He wrote later, “I went into the Army as a Republican…..I came out as a Democrat … [W]hen you live side by side with … your fellow soldiers and you realize that they’re not a number, that they’re actually human beings and they have families, it’s a lot harder, I think, to talk about sending them to die for things that aren’t really that important.”
The story about Kos having been a conservative early in life is a fable.
@leejcaroll . . . as the author pointed out in his article already.
olly, stay with that “grubered” meme. Benghazi!! was getting stale and hard for the sarah palin types who don’t have a clue what country it’s in or continent it’s on.
pete – Benghazi is coming back. Look for new hearings in both houses in 2015. If I were the administration, I would be hiring more attorneys.
and there are those who are bought and stay bought.
An example of The Faithful. Those poor banks, so put upon, they suffer so.
Cracks me up how people still think the Democrats are for the poor and middle class. They just use them for votes.
Washington is nothing more than a battle between the two sides of Wall Street.
“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” George Washington
“History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance.”- James Madison
Matthew – Madison forgets all the times the government forced the money-lenders to lend them money and then reneged on repaying it. It is thought to be the reason that the Templars where attacked is that the king owed them far more money than he could every repay. It was easier to kill the Templars and seize their goods.
Sandi,
Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are many conservatives who realized how wrong they were. One notable example is Markos Moulitsas, who was a conservative Republican. After he got out of the Army and finished law school, he realized how wrong-headed he had been. His blog, Daily Kos, is now one of the most influential blogs on the internet. It ranks #313 in the US, and 1,968 globally.
By comparison, this blog, Res Ipsa Loquitur, ranks 35,554 nationally and 173,776 globally.
Have you heard of David Brock? He is the author of the best selling book, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, published in 2003.
Then there is me. Raised in the deep south, there was a time in my life when I was waaaaayyyyy more conservative than I am now. Then I woke up. Probably because I have a conscience.
Chuck – there are always sell-outs.
Paul, when you get past the “Our Plutocrats ate better than yours” mentality, get back to me. In the meantime, America is screwed.