2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumDemocrats and Republicans Are Quietly Planning a Corporate Giveaway — to the Tune of $400 Billion
Why isnt anyone talking about it?
By William Greider | March 7, 2016
People attend a rally outside of the office of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) to protest an extension of tax breaks for the wealthiest two percent of Americans in December 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Young people are the good news of 2016. They see the stressful realities of American life more clearly than their elders and are rallying around the straight talk of Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, the big hitters back in Washington politics are working on an ugly surprise not just for the kids but for all of us another monster tax break for US multinational corporations.
The bad news is that key leaders of the Democratic Party including the president are getting on board with Republicans, despite some talk about confronting income inequality. Influential Democrats intend to negotiate with Republican counterparts on the size and terms of post-facto tax forgiveness for Americas globalized companies. This is real money theyre talking about a giveaway of hundreds of billions.
Why havent voters heard about this from candidates? Because Republicans and Democrats both know it would make angry voters even angrier.
The major multinationals complain about a tax problem that most citizens would love to have for themselves: Thanks to a loophole in the tax code, the companies do not have to pay US taxes on profits they have earned in foreign countries until they bring the money home to American shores. Altogether, the globalized US companies have accumulated $2.1 trillion in untaxed profits, most of it parked in overseas tax havens.
The multinationals are waiting for Congress to forgive them their debts.
snip* Senator Elizabeth Warren, as she often does, found the right words to describe this transaction. She called it a giant wet kiss for the tax dodgers. Warren and Senator Sanders have repeatedly charged that the system is rigged. Whats particularly outrageous about this new rigging of the tax code is that even though the politicians are engineering it in the midst of a presidential election, most voters dont have a clue.
in full: http://billmoyers.com/story/democrats-and-republicans-are-quietly-planning-a-corporate-giveaway-to-the-tune-of-400-billion/
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)can..thank you.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)global1
(25,251 posts)Besides electing Bernie - what can we do to stop this dead in its tracks now?
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)including tv news outlets..let them know you know they are not talking about it.
Unknown Beatle
(2,672 posts)From the article: "Whos colluding in the planned giveaway? Not just Republicans, but President Obama and Senators Boxer and Schumer, among others."
Barbara Fucking Boxer! Fuck! What a fucking letdown. Obama, doesn't surprise me in the least. Obama could have been a great president, but he chose to represent the 1% instead.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)and Bernie will not and has not been embraced by the establishment within our party.
It us up to us to make the demands and why I get frustrated when people say he
is promising "free stuff"..it was never about that.
I suspect they would very much prefer to lose the WH than see his agenda
go forward. DC has been run this way decades before Obama became
president, so what we see is how much further entrenched special interests have
become in legislation. CU was the worst thing..a truly sickening of democracy.
Voters for Bernie realize we need to confront this problem and the one
best placed to do that is the one who is NOT the recipient of said monies.
global1
(25,251 posts)please everyone - take it out to social media.
Waiting For Everyman
(9,385 posts)More of the same disgusting sell-out crap.
Tweeted. Thanks for the post.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Avalux
(35,015 posts)I see no daylight between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to corporate welfare, Hillary included.
This should be all over the news and it isn't. The American people are living in Pravda's USSR.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Avalux
(35,015 posts)Thank you for posting it here!
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)kacekwl
(7,017 posts)How Mr. Sanders do you plan to pay for all these nice things ? Maybe if these fuckers pay tax on what they should, maybe if these corporations stop holding cities hostage by getting endless tax relief before they build a new store or stadium. WTF ? I know, let's elect Trump he will solve everything. Where am I for gods sake.
SamKnause
(13,107 posts)1. It failed miserable if the intent was to boost the economy and produce jobs.
2. It was an extreme success if was meant to fatten the wallets of the tax dodgers.
This leads me to believe their intention is number 2.
Fuck bipartisanship !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Remember how Bernie said at one of the debates, when Hillary said WS
was only one street and he countered..NO, they are the most powerful
much more than most people realize.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)corporations.
VulgarPoet
(2,872 posts)There's a Frank Underwood quote that goes with this kind of thing, I've found...
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)appalachiablue
(41,140 posts)Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)WIN, Bernie, WIN!
WE NEEED YOU!
WDIM
(1,662 posts)When you are beholden to so many corporations how do you please them all at once? Give the tax dodgers a huge tax break.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)from the Hillary supporters when she approves the TPP, if she's elected.
But there won't be any, because they are OK with any and all of her policies.
pat_k
(9,313 posts)liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)not going to promise you much of anything...her meaning, imo.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)very soon. I am absolutely done with any politician of any party that is willing to give tax breaks to the rich and cut social services. My vote will never again go to any politician who does that.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Response to Jefferson23 (Reply #26)
Post removed
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)need to know? If you're not directly benefitting from this shit legislation voting
for Clinton is voting for the next enabler in chief.
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)to get Bernie's help for her winning the WH. I don't see how Bernie pulls off
a big win in Michigan, and it will only get tougher from here on out.
She may feel she does not need him, she certainly has the administration behind her and just
about every Dem governor etc. They can be rather arrogant and smug, so I don't know.
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)They simply don't.
If they do, it's proportionally negligible, compared to the agenda of simply electing Hillary.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)most Americans voters know about this deal and how it links to her politics.
Response to Post removed (Reply #34)
Post removed
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)"The tax-forgiveness scheme could bring home hundreds of billions in supposedly new revenue for those vital projects.
For cynical politicians, the deal looks like a twofer. You can please constituents with infrastructure projects and reward corporate patrons in the same stroke."
KansDem
(28,498 posts)Trickle down? [font size="1"]Trickle down? it will, won't it? [font size="2"]
bbgrunt
(5,281 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)lastone
(588 posts)We need Sanders and a whole bunch of other actual progressives to run the tables this election, anything else is the same ole people selling the same ole crap.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)They are all rich people. Their friends are rich people. Everyone else can go fuck themselves.
AzDar
(14,023 posts)jalan48
(13,869 posts)LibDemAlways
(15,139 posts)There is nothing she could do or say that would upset them in the least. it's as though they've moved to Stepford and have lost critical thinking skills.
I admit I don't favor every one of Bernie's positions 100%. I wish he was stronger on gun control. But I do know he has spent his public life fighting for people like me and he hasn't lined his pockets by taking corporate money from crooks. In this election year, we have a clearly defined choice between a candidate fighting for change and a candidate who's in bed with the people who sent the economy into the shitter in 2008. I'm with the guy who has my back.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)she will not release any info about her communications with WS. Then her hawking for
war, what is positive about her? I have my differences with Bernie as well, although not
much..but they pale in comparison to Clinton.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)And now we want to do it again for corporations? Do we really think this will do anything to stop them from continuing this behavior?
We need a bigger set of balls. Sorry for the mental image, but it's the truth.
AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)appalachiablue
(41,140 posts)PatrynXX
(5,668 posts)because some of them are Conservatives albeit just point me to known actual Liberals like Bernie otherwise it's just Conservatives who are hush hush
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ignoring the story. Whatever we have become it is clear we'll have to fight our way
out of it without their help. It is really up to us.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,014 posts)florida08
(4,106 posts)None of the FSTV programs I listen to have mention this.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Let them know you know they're ignoring the story.
florida08
(4,106 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)This illustrates how completely the political establishment is out of touch. And this is why you should give no credence to those that cry for austerity measures to deal with the deficit.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)kristopher
(29,798 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ejbr
(5,856 posts)"Most voters don't have a clue". Yes, we've seen who they are voting for
Uncle Joe
(58,364 posts)Thanks for the thread, Jefferson.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)rurallib
(62,416 posts)Remember that story from not long ago?
Have you ever felt like the government doesnt really care what you think?
Professors Martin Gilens (Princeton University) and Benjamin I. Page (Northwestern University) looked at more than 20 years worth of data to answer a simple question: Does the government represent the people?
Their study took data from nearly 2000 public opinion surveys and compared it to the policies that ended up becoming law. In other words, they compared what the public wanted to what the government actually did. What they found was extremely unsettling: The opinions of 90% of Americans have essentially no impact at all.
https://represent.us/action/theproblem-4/
Just in case we forgot, they will give us occasional reminders.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Vinca
(50,273 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)mhatrw
(10,786 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)earthshine
(1,642 posts)Whereas Hillary supporters practice elitist identity politics.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Duval
(4,280 posts)Thank you, Jefferson23.