Administration Rolls Out New Tax-Shelter Curbs
By Susie Madrak Monday May 04, 2009 10:00am
This is quite interesting, not the least for the reason that the administration kept it under wraps. Guess they're anticipating the howls of pain from those high-rollers anticipating their tax increases!
WASHINGTON — President Obama presented a far-reaching set of proposals on Monday that are aimed at the tax benefits enjoyed by companies and wealthy individuals harboring cash in offshore accounts.
These steps, he said, would be the first in a much broader effort to fix a “broken tax system.”
Mr. Obama made the announcement in the Grand Foyer of the White House, standing alongside Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and the Internal Revenue Service commissioner, Douglas Shulman. His remarks echoed the sentiment he voiced again and again during the presidential campaign, when he pledged to crack down on "illegal overseas tax evasion."
The proposed tax overhaul, which will be fully unveiled later this week when the administration presents a more detailed budget, could help raise $210 billion in revenues over 10 years, the administration estimates.
... The president thus set up an unusually frontal clash with big business over the tax advantages enjoyed by companies with extensive overseas operations.
Large multinational companies like Microsoft, General Electric and Cisco have been bracing for such an initiative from the Obama administration. Critics of the approach say that it could lead not to the administration’s hoped-for repatriation of jobs but rather to job losses or higher prices as companies try to compensate for a greater tax burden.
The sweep of the administration's plan took some tax experts by surprise, and foreshadows potential fights with big businesses later this year over some of their most cherished breaks, particularly as Congress looks for revenue to pay for new initiatives.
Dave N.: It will be interesting to watch Republicans figure out a way to oppose this measure without looking too blatantly in the pocket of the wealthy. No doubt we'll be hearing more cries of "fascism" or "socialism" or maybe "satanism" in the process.
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the money for UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE.
I'm too lazy to look it up...but I believe that there is something like $8 billion in lost tax revenues hidden in these offshore accounts.
Before we go off paying everyone's medical bills, how about we pay off at least some of the national debt?
edit:
Never mind.
$2.1 billion a year? Maybe?
This won't pay for squat. It's not even enough incentive to keep jobs in the US.
more than enuf to do both.
Thank you for your support on the elimination of these tax shelters.
I'm not averse to all taxation. A corporation is a fictional entity created by the state (another fictional corporate entity) to reduce liability on the individuals that run a company.
I don't think this should be allowed, actually.
But as long as it's allowed, then the state might as well be able tax corporations in exchange for the privilege of doing business in a limited liability situation. Two wrongs don't make a right, but I can't blame the state for taxing corporations.
That would actually be $21 billion a year.
Yeah, need more coffee.
Well $21 billion a year. Let's see that's about 0.19% of our $11 trillion debt. With compounding interest, that'll help pay it off in .... never.
Obama and the democrats know d... well this bill will not pass.. This is what the republican reserves (blue dogs 12 in the senate) are for.. They are backup for republican-Global-Empire's policies and a safety net for controlling all issues relating to keeping wealth and power in the pockets of this Global Empire....
We have been and are still electing Republicans on our democrat ticket...
What ever happen to the investigation into Rove , Bush , Cheney , Rumsfeld , Halliburton , Blackwater , etc..
Democrats raised h... as if they were going to do something and thing when it was time to put up and shut THEY SHUT UP..
Rove not only testimony was behind closed doors and not under oath as he stated , but the democrats do not even comment about Rove or any of the criminals anymore..
We are being play good cops (D) ,,, Bad Cops (R)..
The transfer of power and wealth to the Global Empire is almost complete...
all you nay saying bastards?
Kinda takes the wind outta yer weak-ass "Obama's bought and paid for by big business" theory dunnit?
POW!
The devil's in the details.
and btw...I didn't really think of you as being in "nay sayin bastards" club.
Obama, McCain, no difference? Bullshit.
Some people just can't STAND it when Obama does something right.
I suggest those kind of people go to freeperville or some other damn "right" wing blog.
it could lead not to the administration’s hoped-for repatriation of jobs but rather to job losses or higher prices as companies try to compensate for a greater tax burden.
ANYTHING to keep from lowering corporate pay.
If you want to get to one of the roots of the economic problems in this country, it starts with offshoring. Large corporations got tax breaks to move their manufacturing operations overseas. Ending those tax breaks and creating new ones to incentivize keeping manufacturing jobs in the US is long overdue.
Can't argue that.
I think we need to roll out the meme that it is a patriotic duty to pay your taxes (which it actually is). While nobody should pay more than they owe, they also should not aggressively and creatively look for ways to avoid paying taxes. More particularly they should not find ways to cheat and illegally avoid paying taxes (which is what tax havens are all about). That is a form of financial treason.
Avoiding taxes is unAmerican.
Avoiding/refusing taxation is one of the founding principles of this nation.
Look at the list of complaints in the Declaration of Independence and it's there:
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document...
How many people consent to all the taxes they pay?
There are a few other interesting things in there, like extraordinary rendition:
A lot of the complaints, though, were things that only a king or dictator could pull off...
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
How many people consent to all the taxes they pay?
Without getting too deep into this...that is why a representative government was formed.
"Taxation without Representation is tyranny."
The U.S. wasn't formed to avoid taxes. It was formed by by people interested in self determination.
How much does your Representative really represent you?
All Dems of course !
Ah ha! I found you. You're the one to blame for all this mess!!!
j/k ;)
One of the reasons for the American Revolution was being taxed by a foreign country.
This is using a foreign country to avoid US taxes.
The colonies were part of the British Empire, populated largely by Englishmen and their descendants. The colonies were, in effect, part of England. That's why the American Revolution is much of a misnomer. It was a secession. We didn't overthrow the government of England. The French Revolution was a true revolution. It overthrew the old government and installed a new government. The American Revolution severed ties to a central government without overthrowing it and installed a new government closer to home. That's secession.
But saying England was a foreign country to the colonies is like saying that people in Alaska and Hawaii are being taxed by a foreign government simply because they aren't contiguous with the rest of the US.
Alaska and Hawaii are represented in the federal government, but the colonies weren't represented in the government of England. Being governed by a Parliament in which one is not represented probably starts to feel like being governed by a foreign country, especially when the Intolerable Acts then started to impinge on the colonists choosing their local government representatives as well.
A better modern example might be Washington D.C., which doesn't get voting representation in congress, but is still expected to pay federal taxes.
directly or indirectly around taxes.
If there is something Americans loathe is paying taxes, and that is probably one of the few universal traits of this most diverse of societies...
Start with AIPAC/BLOODYISRAEL. There's a big, big, big, $$$$$$ pit, and we never do get to vote on whether BLOODYISRAEL should have it's yearly 'stipend'. GAG!!!
liberalNmoderation,
he has been bought by big business. this is the way it will work.
this legislation may be enacted depending on what happens in the house and senate.
this is just a shot across the bow of corporate america.
the thing is these corporation are looking for friendlier countries to move to.
they know that the jobs last over the last year will never come back and that america as a consumer of goods is on the way out. there are better markets emerging.
some of the ceos will continue to live in america they just won't work here or have their head offices here.
Obama will never sign this legislation in to law
I remain cautiously optimistic.
It's about time!! The right wing nut cakes are going to have nightmares about this one. They've been snarking about it along with the rest of America, but little did they ever expect that something will actually be done about it. OUCH!! Tighten the wire!!
And as for the wealthy Swiss bank account holders who have been living off UNDECLARED profits for the past 50 years, their game is coming to an end. They need to be held accountable for their scam once they are exposed for the cheaters they are.
HORRAY PRESIDENT OBAMA!! Hope I can believe in. Let's all plair FAIR!
have Swiss banks themselves earned off of 60+ years of interest from stolen Nazi loot? That money should be returned to families of Holocaust survivors, as well as the original amount of stolen money.
Tangent.
I'm going to act like one of C&L's smart ass posters.
Never in a million years will that money be returned. Just. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.
Just kidding, of course I hope it will.
"America; Who Really Pays the Taxes", by Donald Bartlett and James Steele. It's all there and it's worse than you think.
Will this include Xe?
scrambling to find reasons to heed their corpoRat masters and block or debilitate the "proposals."
This:
Ain't gonna be any more than a side-show...
So shut the fuck up and pay your fucking taxes, assholes!
Paying taxes is just paying another bill.
Deadbeats and Republicans don't pay their bills.
That's funny. I don't remember being forced to get cable tv and cell phones.
food. Also... Right?
And no one forces me to buy food.
I don't have to buy food at all. I've got a little space in my backyard. I could grow my own and trade with others to get food. Also, If I so chose, could starve myself to death. But no one is putting a gun to my head and forcing me to pay for food.
But our bloated military, corporate cronyism, kickbacks, bailouts, and debt...those are the things that I am forced to pay for.
Those are my involuntary "bills."
Just stop earning money ..
And spending money ..
And you'll NEVER pay any more taxes.
Gar-an-teed!
Yeah, I could build my own roads if I put my back into it. That does not change the fact that living in a society has a set of contractual obligations, some of which involve having to pay for part of the cost of having a society to begin with...
I guess the sky isn't falling after all.
On an aside: I heard some idiot newswoman on CNN say earlier that "firms have to ship jobs overseas to create more jobs here". Now is everybody who watches CNN really that stupid? It only took a few seconds to remind me why I don't watch that crap.
GO-Bama!!!!
"No doubt we'll be hearing more cries of "fascism" or "socialism" or maybe "satanism" in the process."
Is there any "ism" they haven't used yet? I have a new word for them, ismism. That way they can cover all the isms with just one simple utterance.
such a hard on for Obama, we could use "priapism" on them ;)
With the end product being "jism"!
This is an important distinction.
"They're closing tax loopholes, not raising taxes."
I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the wingnut subliminal message about hating your own government, and not wanting to pay for it has been so deeply rooted in the public mind that it can and will be spun as a 'tax grab.' There are so many people that actually DO see evading taxes as their right, and their stance against tyrany. (Just like speeding tickets and re-light cameras. People have gotten the impression that it's their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to speed when there isn't a cop around to give you a ticket. Thus, getting caught speeding, or running a red light by a camera is somehow unconstitutional.)
Since the idea that avoiding taxes is an expression of freedom is so deep rooted in the public mind, the wingnuts will try to spin this as a tax grab. It's OUR duty, therefore, to counterspin it with the correct argument that when the wealthiest people manage to avoid taxation through these loopholes, and (sometimes) illegal activities, it's YOU, REGULAR PEOPLE that end up paying the difference. (Not to mention the fact that the wealthy have no right to complain, since they currently enjoy the lowest top-tax rates in HISTORY. To be given the lowest marginal tax rates in history, and then whine that it's your constitutional right to avoid paying even THAT much is just adding insult to injury.)
The money that the wealthy shelter from taxation by keeping it in Bimini isn't anything to be cheered by the middle class, given that it's the middle class who'll end up paying the difference. We need to remind them of this, because you can sure bet the right wing will be trying to convince them otherwise.
will discern behind the well-financed howls of pain the Owners will relentlessly generate until it becomes "politically impossible" to proceed...
Bloomberg: Obama Proposes $190 Billion Tax Increase on Companies (Update4)
2.3% ???
Do the companies also pay income taxes in the countries where they made that $700 billion? If so, then while the U.S. only collects 2.3% in taxes, the actual percentage in taxes that the company pays overall for it's overseas operations might be much higher. I really don't know and was hoping someone might help enlighten me.
Yes, it kind of blows the right wing argument about the business tax being lower in Ireland than it is in the U.S. out of the water when, in fact, most U.S. corporations are not actually PAYING the American business tax. The number of large U.S. corporations that actually pay the so-called 35% business tax is really very, very small. In fact, I think the 2.3% figure you've quoted is a little on the high side. Most of the larger companies not only pay ZERO business tax, but many are even SUBSIDIZED by TAX MONEY.
IIRC, a few years ago Exxon-Mobile booked the largest profit in the history of the world, paid 0% (nada, zip, zero) taxes and received a federal subsidy from the Bush administration.
Here is a link to an even more disturbing story. It seems that about 57% of US corporations an 72% of foreign corporations operating in the US paid no federal income taxes for at least one year in the period 1998-2005. Doesn't sound overtaxed to me.
wallStreet/financial elites want it their way ALL the time. obama recognizes the lack of economic balance we have. he also understands the INVESTMENT that we need to make in this country to compete. this is an old battle that elites often win. NOW it's out of balance. in addition to that china is going to be less involved in subsidizing our TAXation. corporations/ELITES want a good deal all the time. NObody should get the deal they want all the time. what gets me is that the financial talking heads basically threaten us saying the cost will be shifted to us and they will layoff more people. i say we call their bluff. this country is still has the most innovative/creative workforce....the elites just don't want to pay for it BUT they want the infrastructure that comes from TAXation. LOOK at some of the countries they set-up in they have TAXation that provides infrastructure that corporations can count on. this has been going on for years. wealthy individuals move their money around the world hiding profit. so because we don't collect maybe TAXes go up to keep pace. at some point the country needs to look at itself and decide what's best for itself. infrastructure in this country is lacking. CHINA is going to a universal healthCare system. we need to compete. we need the revenue for investment in this country.
Good for Obama. I'm sick of large corporations who get rich off doing business in this country being able to escape taxes and hide their profits in off shore accounts.
It's always "fascistic" or "socialistic" or "satanic" with these assholes when someone makes them pay more in taxes on their mega fortunes than most of us will see in a lifetime as income.
And even if they paid what they truly owe, they'd still have more than many 3rd world countries.
Oh this should make rightarded traitor's heads explode, big time!
Good times. Obama does something right. Those 800 new IRS agents will bring in much needed money from these thieves.
I bet that a lot of big shots have puckered parts of their anatomy right now....and I don't mean their lips.
The bottom line in all of this is sheer greed.
good job pres Obama
this is all just smoke and blow the rich get loopholes high priced lawyers will slice thru anything you throw at the rich and make it all useless!allways have ,allways will!
The guy can't do anything right...even when he at least tries to. Honestly Tyree, there is no difference between you and Hannity.
well l&l you being a shyster yourself id think youd know how easy it is to get around laws,
It's all public relations...
Nobody on the planet with the cognitive capacity exceeding that of a sponge who doesn't know that those "proposals" are dead meat.
He can't even get unanimous support of the Dims on his budget.
It's a pr stunt, designed to whip up the proles, and make it look like he's doing something.
but its bullshit, because it NAGAHAPUN!!!!!!!
Chuy, you guys are easily distracted...
Maybe "whip[ping] up the proles" is exactly what he's trying to do, i.e. plant the seeds of public support for the measure. "Dims" who vote against it will then have to explain themselves.
Doesn't reflexive cynicism get awfully fucking boring?
I'll be watching this carefully to see if you are right. I really care about this issue.< I hope you man up and apologize to the majority here if you are wrong.
because whoever fights this, after WE bailed out the banks and wall street, is gonna have a very difficult time explaining their motives for voting nay come election time.
THIS is the kind of sneaky shit I've been hoping for. The surprises. The 'Not business as usual' moves.
I hope this works.
they cry "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" as if jobs are a gift of some sort, and are not required for the creation of revenue and profit.
Not if you have slavery, which is what they really want.
As Adam Smith observed, all value (and wealth) in the economy is created by labor (not capital). He also believed that the laws should favor labor over capital.
Do you remember that story that 60 Minutes did a few years ago about the dot-com millionaire who took his business public (just before the dot-com bubble burst) and made $25 million on it. $25 million meant he owed $9 million in taxes, so he went to a fancy, slick accounting firm that offered to flip his profits through a series of offshore tax havens and obscure currency exchanges, so that he would owe ZERO tax on it. In fact, in the end he owed no tax, but the accounting company charged him $7 million to do all this, and thus he saved $2 million, gave $7 million to the accountants, and zero to the IRS.
The IRS then managed to get the sharpest tax lawyer they could find to cut through all the obfuscation, and said "sorry that doesn't count, you still owe us the $9 million." So this guy freaked out, and sued the accounting company for his $7 million back.
The story was meant to be about our convoluted tax code, but at one point Leslie Stahl hit him with a question totally out of left field. She asked "while you were doing all of this, didn't you feel the least bit GUILTY that you're living in the U.S. but not paying any taxes in it?"
The guy looked like he'd just been struck on the head by a giant turnip! As if that whole annoying issue of MORALITY had never occurred to him before (and given the business culture over the last 30 years, I'm not surprised), he stuttered for a minute, and then fell back on the standard talking point..."uh..NO I didn't feel guilty, because I felt I'd DONE my fair share for America by creating JOBS and PROFITS and stimulating the economy, and blah blah blah!" Apparently, in the right wing nutosphere, that whole concept of "freeloader" only applies to people that are so poor they fall below the taxable income level, but recieve government services anyway. Not to millionaires who duck all income taxes, but still benefit from government, so long as they "create employment."
Well heck, every time I walk into a restaurant and buy a hamburger I'm creating employment and stimulating the economy, too. Maybe I shouldn't be payin' any damned taxes either!
It's socialist communist muslimism, just like Hitler!
This is sheer, pure propaganda.
There is absolutely NO FUCKING WAY any such legislation weold EVER end up on Obama's desk for signature.
NONE!
Y'ouddayerfuukinMAHND!
Who do you think owns the place?
Please see my post above.
Poor Cindy McCain. She probably has a couple of business at that Cayman address she's going to have to close down now. She and John may have to cut back to 4 houses and 3 cars and leave the private jet parked for a while.
No one knows sacrifice like a Republican has to sacrifice during these hard times.
Who has more to lose?
*sniff* *sniff*
I wonder if some of those folks in DC who are crying about the taxes their children and grandchildren will have to pay due to the national debt, might be the same ones who have money hiding out in offshore banks. Just wondering.
If you're against government spending and want to secure your children's future, then wouldn't you do what you could to sock away money in a tax haven? Like buying gold coins and sticking them in a wall safe. The government doesn't know its there, so they won't try to tax it.
There was the point that patricia was trying to make, flying at supersonic speeds!
She's implying that people who put their money into tax havens are somehow responsible for the national debt and should do "their part" to pay it down.
Was that not her point?
Well, I damned sure am not responsible for any of it. So you bet your ass that I'm pissed off when the government spends like drunken sailors and then comes to me to pay part of the bill.
edit:
I see now.
I live in DC and do not work in the government.
I think PoP was using "people in DC" as shorthand for "people in Congress."
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I wasn't "implying", I was wondering. I have no idea who has money where, but someone has money in these banks and I was simply wondering if they were some of the ones.
Yes, I was referring to elected officials in DC, not the average DC citizen.
"Well, I damned sure am not responsible for any of it."
Hahah! Yeah, sure you're not. You didn't go to a public school or college or send your kids to one, never drove on a public highway, never had your freedoms or commerce protected by a public Army, Navy and Air Force, never flushed your crap into a public sewer, or drank a glass of water from a public waterworks, never rode on a public bus or subway, or took a flight from a public airport, or had your house protected by a public fire department, or your life protected by a public police department. Not you, you're a SELF made man.
tax havens are doing no less than stealing from the rest of us who do not have the rrsources to call upon to secure our tiny holdings.
Maybe I'm weird or something but I just do not cheat on anything. I feel it's unfair to everyone for anyone to cheat on their taxes. Maybe some people can cheat and sleep easily at night, but I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. I believe in paying my share and if others don't, that's up to them.
that's probably why you are a calm and rational person. Have you ever wondered why the prescribing of antidepressants and medication to help people sleep has been rising? Kind of hard to put your mind at ease and rest when you have a black heart and are a mendacious, hypocritical conflicted piece of crap.
I guess when the mafia comes to your door and asks how much money you have in your bank account you tell them the exact amount because if you didn't, that would be cheating.
you've crossed into the realm of the ridiculous.
I believe he's a natural-born citizen of that realm.
How the fu*k did the mafia get into this conversation.
Is this the strawman mafia?
I guess people who love the government can never see it as the organized criminal gang that it is.
Govt lovers? What's love got to do with it? I just believe in being honest. I know these days honesty seems like such a quaint word, but it's still attractive to me. It's easier to live with it than without it.
some people/corporations and yes some of government can justify deception.
but for people to think government is at fault for everything is ridiculous.
wallStreet/financial elites are plenty dirty. there will always be a tug of war between government and private sector otherwise there will be too many losers from playing the game. currently, the demographic economics are out of balance many economists have pointed this out. it's time to move the pendelum the other way. there has to be less of a economic gap between the have and have nots.
"I guess people who love the government can never see it as the organized criminal gang that it is."
If you hate the idea of government that much, I suggest you move to a country that doesn't have one.
Like SOMALIA, for instance. Please go. It's a libertarian's dream.
exactly.....well said. the very upper elites would go without government if they
could. the rest of us 99.99% should be somewhat thankful. it's tough when you have these jaded romantics that have 'dreams' of having a country run like the HBO show "deadwood". running a democracy takes sophistication and compromise. some don't get the compromise element. the wealthy can't and should NOT have it their way all the time.
"the very upper elites would go without government if they could. "
Well, the ones that read Atlas Shrugged in High School, and get off on the idea that they're more valuable than the rest of us, attributing 100% of their success to work and brains, and NONE to luck or the environment they were lucky enough to be born into, like to THINK they could go without government.
When, in reality, a whole village full of John Galts would probably STARVE to death if they had to live without plebes to do all their dirty work. (Can you imagine the Howells living on Gilligan's Island without The Skipper and Gilligan to do all their work for them? I thought not.)
You can have all the guns you want or can afford. You don't have to pay much in taxes, although you may need to pay a fee to your local war lord so that he does not behead you for fun. Also there is pretty much no government to speak of.
And I heard, that if you manage to survive 20 years time in Somalia... you are pretty much a "self made man."
If they were putting their actions were their mouths are, I would expect the libertarian movement to be organizing some massive exodus to Eastern Africa, a la Jonestown. But I am afraid we won't ever be so lucky...
yeah it may sound romantic to them, but try walking around mogadishu if you look like you anything of value. if you want to see Darwinian philosophy in action. elites/corporations are always looking for ways for the general public to pay/subsidize their business. many of us commoners PAY plenty in FEEs,subsidizes and hidden costs. look at healthCare the average family of four that have healthCare ins. pay an extra $500.00 a yr. to subsidize people that don't pay...essentially a TAX.remember BUFFET said he pays more in TAXes(%) than his secretary.
And I guess people who whine 24/7 like fucking babies over having to pay taxes can never realize that despite their protests their goal is to be freeloaders.
"I feel it's unfair to everyone for anyone to cheat on their taxes. "
In my day we used to call somebody who lives in the U.S., and makes use of all the public services and protections that it provides, but refuses to pay for any of them A FREELOADER. That's what this debate is really all about. I can't think of anything more repulsive than the fact that, when a mansion catches fire in the U.S., and the Fire Department comes in to save it, those firemen were most likely paid by the GARDINER and the MAID in that mansion, and NOT the owner.
From the NY Times.
By an American living in Amsterdam.
Origins of the Dutch social welfare system, some details how it works, and most interestingly how it supports the very successful Dutch Free Market capitalist system.
Going Dutch - How I Learned to Love the European Welfare State
Obama and the democrats know d... well this bill will not pass.. This is what the republican reserves (blue dogs 12 in the senate) are for.. They are backup for republican-Global-Empire's policies and a safety net for controlling all issues relating to keeping wealth and power in the pockets of this Global Empire....
We have been and are still electing Republicans on our democrat ticket...
Blue dogs are the republicans ACE card... They have been electing these republicans on the democrat ticket over the past years for occasions just like this. Just think we have been supporting and funding them for these type of occasions to screw up.
These 12 republicans ,, going under the name of blue dogs will cancel any and all policies which the corporate republicans and this Global Empire wishes..
Democrats with real democrat values and American citizens at heart are a thing of the past. Ted Kennedy is one of the last to leave the party...
There is too much money and power involved to join the Global Empire for the elected officials to turn down..
The is about the elected officials not only for building their wealth and power, but they are building wealth , jobs and power for the children and their children's children...
You have seen time and time again where they refuse to stop taking funds from these lobbyist and you know d... well when they take them there is price to pay... The price does not effect them ,, but me and you and our children..
This transfer of our tax , wealth and power is the latest in deceit the democrats as well as the republicans are forcing on the American citizens..
Were are the jobs??? Still going overseas at a quicker rate and we are paying for it with the bail out and tax welfare to them..
Let you or I steal thousands of dollars from these Global crooks and we would be in jail... This Global Empire is worst then any terrorist organization in history in destruction and deaths to American citizens..
They have unsafe working conditions which kill and injury workers, They feed up poison through they production of their production (land , water, air), they feed us food which is unsafe and we have worst food control and safety over what we eat then the third world countries...
Now they are moving off shore and have join in partnership with foreign countries so there will be no law suits or reprisals against them for the poison food and products.
18 of the 40 Republicans in the Senate are up for re-election in 2010.
* Richard Shelby of Alabama
* Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
* John McCain of Arizona
* Mel Martinez of Florida -- will not run
* Johnny Isakson of Georgia
* Mike Crapo of Idaho
* Chuck Grassley of Iowa
* Sam Brownback of Kansas -- will not run
* Jim Bunning of Kentucky
* David Vitter of Louisiana
* Kit Bond of Missouri -- will not run
* Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
* Richard Burr of North Carolina
* George Voinovich of Ohio -- will not run
* Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
* Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania* Jim DeMint of South Carolina
* John Thune of South Dakota
* Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas -- may retire to run for Gov.
* Bob Bennett of Utah
That's 18 of them. Almost half the 40 Republicans in the Senate.
that are not running or may run for Gov. are all in serious trouble, and they know it.
The others are in such deep red backward districts, taht they will likely be elected again.
I've looked over the list and can't find one that I think will be toppled easily.
As for those first five...I think the Dems can flip 3 of the 5 seat (Martinez - FlA, Brownback - Kansas, Voinovich - Ohio). Would not shock me if Spector lost the Dem primary either.
right on the money pete , doubt you can convince any here though , pie in the sky looks so tasty!
Yeah, I agree that the Blue Dog Democrats are really a Republican farm team, but they might be open for a deal. They vote for the reformed tax code provided it includes a provision that makes buying assault weapons tax-deductable. (Jerks.)
Obama and the democrats know d... well this bill will not pass.. This is what the republican reserves (blue dogs 12 in the senate) are for.. They are backup for republican-Global-Empire's policies and a safety net for controlling all issues relating to keeping wealth and power in the pockets of this Global Empire....
We have been and are still electing Republicans on our democrat ticket...
Blue dogs are the republicans ACE card... They have been electing these republicans on the democrat ticket over the past years for occasions just like this. Just think we have been supporting and funding them for these type of occasions to screw up.
These 12 republicans ,, going under the name of blue dogs will cancel any and all policies which the corporate republicans and this Global Empire wishes..
Democrats with real democrat values and American citizens at heart are a thing of the past. Ted Kennedy is one of the last to leave the party...
There is too much money and power involved to join the Global Empire for the elected officials to turn down..
The is about the elected officials not only for building their wealth and power, but they are building wealth , jobs and power for the children and their children's children...
You have seen time and time again where they refuse to stop taking funds from these lobbyist and you know d... well when they take them there is price to pay... The price does not effect them ,, but me and you and our children..
This transfer of our tax , wealth and power is the latest in deceit the democrats as well as the republicans are forcing on the American citizens..
Were are the jobs??? Still going overseas at a quicker rate and we are paying for it with the bail out and tax welfare to them..
Let you or I steal thousands of dollars from these Global crooks and we would be in jail... This Global Empire is worst then any terrorist organization in history in destruction and deaths to American citizens..
They have unsafe working conditions which kill and injury workers, They feed up poison through they production of their production (land , water, air), they feed us food which is unsafe and we have worst food control and safety over what we eat then the third world countries...
Now they are moving off shore and have join in partnership with foreign countries so there will be no law suits or reprisals against them for the poison food and products.
"It will be interesting to watch Republicans figure out a way to oppose this measure without looking too blatantly in the pocket of the wealthy."
That's easy. Just whine ad nausium about the added burdon on business, while forgetting to mention wealthy individuals who have hedge funds in the Bahamas, and illegal Swiss Bank accounts with Phil Gramm.
will be MUCH more entertaining, I guarantee you...
They're going to have not to sound too much like Pukes...
I heard then candidate for President Obama talk about tax reform and closing loopholes for tax cheats during that campaign and hoped fervently that he would follow through on this talk and that is wasn't just rhetoric. And, now his administration is actually moving on this and giving Congress the support it needs from the executive branch of the government to reform tax law and get everyone to pay his fair share of taxes and to end the abuses of a broken system. Congress has a lot of work to do in tax reform and repairing a broken system but now at least it has regained the mantle of power and legitimacy it has to do such work. That's been absent for a long time while this economy has been looted by those who could afford to engineer the thievery.
pink and frilly?
with puppies and kitties and duckies in the clouds?
I'll ask again: Doesn't reflexive cynicism become draining?
I think maybe you are on the wrong site. You really seem like a fucking right winger.
The average voter will not look kindly on anyone in DC who fights this, especially with the economy the way it is and so many people in such financial straits. Sympathy for big business will be as hard to find as WMD in Iraq.
that's how i am looking at this. the TAX payers bailed out wallStreet. NOW the public is demanding some fairness and re-investment in the country. it's NOT going to look good arguing this move by obama. having said that they will spin it and threaten us for wanting it to be fair. REMEMBER many of states are hurting because of a rise in use of public services and the decrease in TAX revenue collected from property TAXes due to all the empty homes. NOT all but wallStreet indirectly has some responsibility for that. these TAX changes will NOT go into effect until 2011. this is about balance and bringing some fairness to "the people". i see many hear doubt that. i say obama is trying to do what he said.
Maybe someone should publicize the tenants of Satanism:
http://www.churchofsatan.com/
Sounds a lot like Ayn Rand to me, maybe the republicans that are going Galt should convert?
Large corporations have escaped their fair share of the tax burden, it is about time they do.
the IRS and giving back their teeth to go after corporations instead of small businesses and individual middle class tax payers?
with much less effort they can get orders of magnitude more return, than having to go after lots of single individuals.
My oh my listen to them cry foul now ! Kudlow just crapped his pants . It's about time the government authorized corruption stops . I don't know about the bail out etc. but Obama and his administration are a breath of fresh air ... finally ! What a joy it is to watch and listen to the Repugs and the right wing nuts now !
And you can expect to see other countries do something similar very shortly.
I'd also expect cigarette companies to be picked apart in their entirety very soon too, they've knowingly sold addictive chemicals for years, and burdened countries around the world with the cost of caring for the cancer-laden bodies of their victims.
Its just a question of which country kills them off first.
No matter what Obama does, there are people who are ready to fight it. Doesn't really matter if it is good for our Country, that seems to be beside the point. Kind of like the repubs. are ready to fight whom ever he wants as a Supreme, before he has even chosen anyone. I truly believe, Obama will be able to get our Country back on the right track, despite those who want him to fail.
I can hardly wait to hear what Paul Krugman has to say about this.
Something tells me with the state of the global economic crisis, a lot of other countries are going to jump onboard too. God love Obama for trying, but I hope he's wearing that kevlar vest regularly - he's pissing off people with a LOT of money.
GOBAMA!! I'm not happy with the fact he's soft on immigration or that he is not taking any leads in going after Dick and George, but this tickles me pink. It's about time these umbrella corporations and the 'richer than God' folks are going to have to start paying for what I believe is their part in destroying this country. I remember reading a couple years back about the Walton family (of Walmart) personal tax refund was billions of dollars. That's just ridiculous. In the mean time regular middle class Joe's were footing most of the tax burden while the wealthiest people are hiding their money. Look out...here comes the tax man. Don't worry, domestic beer and wine isn't really all that bad. There is also a millions ways to fix beans, hamburger and rice.
Gods' protection and speed, President Obama.
Sort of funny how "tax and spend" seems to work better than tax cuts. If only corporations and those who are wealthy paid there fair share of taxes like they did 40-50 years ago of 90%, then the tax code would be less problematic if they just paid their taxes. De-regulation has been the cause of all this greed and having offshore "untaxable" accounts...As for the middle/working class, since Obama promised to provide tax relief for 95% of people, assuming that number makes less than $250,000 annually, how can it be orchestrated if the upper class are reluctant to pay their taxes? And, where will the money come from for Obama's stimulus - if the wealthy refuse to pay their taxes and their brown-nosing teabaggers of the white, lower-class help enable it?
NPR already had a line-up of mouthpieces for the tax scofflaws, including "think tanks", who warned of the dire consequences to the economy and unforeseen consequences of expecting more of these scofflaws than other countries.. sounded like the shills for the new stadia and the so-called economic development incentives.. And as at least one comment above suggests, the dims look as likely to be as bad as the repukes.
Obama's gonna especially need us on this one..
are a good start to repatriating some tax money, but there is an even more insidious money pool...the huge amounts of trust fund money rolling over from generation to generation (often offshore). I believe that inherited wealth is the single biggest threat to democracy. It creates a "super-class" of parisites that live off the innovation, creativity, sweat and/or crime of a usually dead, often distant, relative. The UK and Europe have used confiscatory estate taxes to break up these trusts and level the playing field (by the way, I'm talking about the super-rich, your Waltons, Getty's at al). Bernie Madoff started the initiative, the Dems should finish it.
I totally agree. Wealth inherited by stealing land from Indians, stashing money slaves earned for white bastards, and ill gotten gains from war profiteering like in the bush Crime Family are all ways the parasites as you say are still living off of money they do not deserve and should give back. In the case of war crimes, people like Cheney, Bush, etc. must be brought to justice. Seriously.
Amen!
And make those taxes retroactive! Chew on that you rich cheap bastards!
And all of these privatization parasites should be forced to pay a much higher tax rate. All they do is destroy middle class jobs, and pocket the taxpayers cash for shit services!
Does the Obama administration actually believe that moving against the Big Businesses is going to have a positive effect?
I would have thought he would have learned something from the trashing, he got when he told the big business community he was going to tax them.
If you recall the stock market took a huge nosedive, the financial system crumbled and the American taxpayer was facing with a 2trillion dollars deficit so far .The only ones who as far as I can tell got ahead was Big Business.
I am perplexed on who is the one given him the advise, it seem as though he has not as yet learned from his experiences of the past.
Big Businesses, may take it apron themselves, to move to more Big Businesses friendly countries. If that is the coming scenario, we as consumers better be accepting of paying much more for our goods
This will expose the whores who are in the pockets of big business and the wealthy on both sides of the isle and there are a lot of Dems among them who right off the bat are making bullshit excuses and calling for "studies" , our government is owned folks and not by we the people . This one is not " a gimme " for Obama .
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