Nine Pictures of the Extreme Income/Wealth Gap

[Marcus Bryant]

In a capitalist system they would have eaten and died.

The End.

That is an eloquent statement, one that every purported free marketeer should take to heart. And in the good ol' US of A, you can run a company into the ground, cause a pile of losses to shareholders, and not end up in federal pound it in the ass prison (provided your incompetence was legal). Naturally, it looks like there were plenty of illegal acts committed for which no one will be punished.

Madoff? Madoff lost the wrong people's money. That's what happened to him.

[Winehole23]

This is a total subversion of American life, of the two major political ideologies, and common sense.

Yah. You'd think there'd be more people hopping mad about this.

I used to think the general lack of organized vehemence wrt the results of the financial debacle in 2008 simply meant people were unaware of the monstrous insult to their way of life those events represented, if it wasn't bad enough already that it was a brazen, multi-generational swindle. Now I'm more inclined to think they simply don't care so long as they continue to get the goodies.

We were against it before we were for it. Whatever. We deserve whatever's coming next. Cowards too stupid to defend their liberty won't keep it very long.

[Winehole23]

Can you really tell me with a straight face that 2008 was surprising at all to you?

Shocked my conscience. It's still shocking to me.

I think the fallacy is to think that TBTF is a '08 concept.

Overreading, perhaps. I don't think I said so. 2008 is a key inflection point, is all.

The trend, as you and MB have both pointed out, is a long one.

[ElNono]

Shocked my conscience. It's still shocking to me.

I guess you see these operatives more prominently when you're living overseas for any decent amount of time. Oftentimes, they basically purport to represent America. Which is maddening, because for somebody that have lived in the US long enough, I know much better about the real, day to day American people.

Overreading, perhaps. I don't think I said so. 2008 is a key inflection point, is all.

The trend, as you and MB have both pointed out, is a long one.

Point taken. I think all 3 of us are singing more or less the same tune here at this point.

[LnGrrrR]

The End.

That is an eloquent statement, one that every purported free marketeer should take to heart. And in the good ol' US of A, you can run a company into the ground, cause a pile of losses to shareholders, and not end up in federal pound it in the ass prison (provided your incompetence was legal). Naturally, it looks like there were plenty of illegal acts committed for which no one will be punished.

Madoff? Madoff lost the wrong people's money. That's what happened to him.

Legal incompetence was as obvious as can be when it came to Mr "I don't recall" Gonzalez. If I tried to pull that stunt, I'd probably be in jail.

[Marcus Bryant]

How many actually understood what was groundbreaking and problematic about giving the Treasury Secretary $700B, with minimal restrictions, to subsidize some of the wealthiest individuals and ins utions on the planet?

Perhaps many didn't care, as long as their financial well-being was maintained or improved? Or, as I submit, they did not understand, but took at face value that the potential crisis was that serious. The entire American establishment ins uted a full-court press to get it passed. The people have the power, in theory. But divide and conquer is a winning strategy, even in a nation of 300 million, each isolated in their own echo chamber, and inundated with official propaganda at every turn.

[Marcus Bryant]

What are we actually expected to pledge allegiance to anymore? The Republic that stood? A Cons ution that we are told doesn't mean what it says? At this point it appears that whatever a majority of representatives can be persuaded to pass will be law.

[Sisk]

"college track is, and should be, for everyone"

Europeans, esp the Germans, are way ahead of the US here. Germany's vocational/apprentice/work-study training is the envy of France and UK.

And of course, Europeans have always "tracked" kids to academic HS or non-academic/vocational HS.

Another of Americans' lies they tell themselves is that every ugly duckling must be given the (academic) chance to become a swan. Of course, that very rarely happens, so we have millions of ugly ducklings on the wrong track.

Where did you go to school? Since you're clearly so intelligent.

[LnGrrrR]

MB, personally speaking, I believed that we might be in a much worse way if we didnt keep these structures in place. But the moral hazards we introduced in fixing the situation have in no way been resolved. I guess I'm naive to think that representatives might actually be somewhat shamed into doing the right thing.

[Winehole23]

I guess you see these operatives more prominently when you're living overseas for any decent amount of time. Oftentimes, they basically purport to represent America. Which is maddening, because for somebody that have lived in the US long enough, I know much better about the real, day to day American people.

It's one thing for US businessmen to get an edge abroad by claiming they represent the USA. That's us robbing y'all.

It's another thing entirely to hold up the US Congress on the highway in the plain light of day.

[Winehole23]

At this point it appears that whatever a majority of representatives can be persuaded to pass will be law.

Mob rules.

[Winehole23]

[boutons_deux]

How Corporations Have Mastered the Art of not Paying Their Fair Share of Taxes

Since the second world war, corporations have shifted much of the federal tax burden from themselves to the public – and especially onto the middle-income members of the public. No wonder a tax "revolt" developed, yet it did not push to stop or reverse that shift. Corporations had focused public anger elsewhere, against government expenditures as "wasteful" and against public employees as inefficient.

"We find a significant fraction of firms that appear to be able to successfully avoid large portions of the corporate income tax over sustained periods of time. Using a 10-year measure of tax avoidance, 546 firms, comprising 26.3% of our sample, are able to maintain a cash effective tax rate of 20% or less. The mean firm has a 10-year cash effective tax rate of approximately 29.6%."

General Electric (GE) deserves special mention. The New York Times reported that its total tax payment amounted to 14.3% over the last five years. Citizens for Tax Justice corrected that down to 3.4%, as the profits tax it paid in the US. Thus, GE paid a far lower tax rate on its income than most Americans paid on theirs. In 2009, GE received a huge $140bn bailout guarantee of its debt from Washington. By choosing GE's chief executive, Jeffrey R Immelt, to head his economic advisory panel, President Obama effectively rewarded the corporate programme: give us more and tax us less.

According to the US Census Bureau, corporations paid taxes on their profits to states and localities totalling $24.7bn in 1988, while individuals then paid income taxes of $90bn. However, by 2009, while corporate tax payments had roughly doubled (to $49.1bn), individual income taxes had more than tripled (to $290bn).

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/149991

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Giving total lie, yet again, to WC's whining about UCA corps paying too much tax.

[Winehole23]

Giving total lie, yet again, to WC's whining about UCA corps paying too much tax.

The foot stamping is evident from a great distance. Yours and his.

[Winehole23]

You two are very alike actually.



(Vain, dogmatic, dismissive, clairvoyant, infallible and incurious.)

[ElNono]

It's one thing for US businessmen to get an edge abroad by claiming they represent the USA. That's us robbing y'all.

It's another thing entirely to hold up the US Congress on the highway in the plain light of day.

Is it now?

[Winehole23]

Agree or disagree as you wish, that's my personal take. Maybe I should have seen it coming. Bully on you if you did.

[boutons_deux]

You two are very alike actually.

(Vain, dogmatic, dismissive, clairvoyant, infallible and incurious.)

Thanks. You've almost pulled your head out of your ass.

Meanwhile, GFY.

[Winehole23]

Thanks. You've almost pulled your head out of your ass.

My opinion's not much changed in the last year and a half. Maybe it just now has begun to penetrate your thick skull...

[ElNono]

Agree or disagree as you wish, that's my personal take. Maybe I should have seen it coming. Bully on you if you did.

I'm fine with disagreement, wino.

[Winehole23]

The reversal of perspective is striking for this US native who has never lived abroad.

[ElNono]

You're certainly not the only one that got jobbed. Fool me twice...

[Sisk]

Answer the question, boutons. Where did you go to school?

[boutons_deux]

"Answer the question"

The answer is always: GFY

[TeyshaBlue]

You two are very alike actually.



(Vain, dogmatic, dismissive, clairvoyant, infallible and incurious.)

un able?