In his weekend address, President Obama denounced “tax inversions,” i.e. a loophole that allows U.S. corporations to avoid taxes by moving overseas. “They’re basically renouncing their citizenship and declaring that they’re based somewhere else, just to avoid paying their fair share,” Obama said.
Fox Business’ Stuart Varney joined the Curvy Couch Crew and right away scoffed at President Obama’s stance as little more than an election-year ploy to make himself look good by painting corporations as unpatriotic. Any loyal Fox viewer's blood probably started boiling already. Even if those corporations are behaving - well, unpatriotically.
But just in case, Varney and company went the extra mile to make you think that if Obama wasn’t such a terrible president, those poor companies wouldn’t have to take their all-time-high profits out of the country to avoid taxes.
VARNEY: Now, the president wants to put a fence around America, stop anybody leaving, that’s what he wants to do. Instead of encouraging them to stay.
Co-host Steve Doocy just happened to have at hand a graphic showing where businesses are “not putting their money” due to high corporate rates. The country just below the U.S., ranked third, was Japan. Yet moments later, as he read a list of countries that have left the U.S., he announced with indignation that Jim Beam has gone to Japan. A quick Google search indicates the company was bought out by Suntory of Japan, not that the company fled to avoid taxes.
For even more political points, a banner on the lower third of the screen read: “JOBLESS JOLT: DO HIGH CORPORATE TAXES HURT JOB CREATION?”
Co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck piled on: “Instead of admitting that the environment here to maintain business and profit in the United States is bad, the president then is blaming companies for doing what they need to do,” she said.
“It’s unbelievable!” Co-host Brian Kilmeade added. “What is the goal of the corporation? To maximize profits and revenue for the investors and their shareholders.”
“It’s their responsibility to do that!” Varney exclaimed.
And it’s Fox News talking heads’ responsibility to demonize every single thing President Obama does, no matter how good it might be for the country, and promote corporations-as-people over people-as-people no matter how bad it might be for the country.
This post was originally published on NewsHounds where "We watch Fox so you don't have to."
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