The Truth About Taxes
In this cross-post from Our Fiscal Security, Tamara Draut, vice president of Policy & Programs at Demos, gives us a quick list of the top 10 tax stats.
1. The government collected less in taxes in 2010 than it has in over three generations, and tax rates are at historic lows.
2. The Bush tax cuts added $1.7 trillion to the nation’s debt over 2001-2008, which is more than it would cost to send 24 million kids to four-year public universities.
3. Corporate income taxes totaled about 1 percent of GDP this year, 60 percent lower than 40 years ago.
4. General Electric, which reported $5 billion in U.S. profits, paid ZERO taxes this year. Exxon Mobil, the most profitable corporation in history, paid ZERO federal taxes in 2009.
5. The Bush tax legacy means we currently tax wealth less than work: middle-income paychecks are taxed at 25 percent compared to stock dividends and capital gains for the wealthiest, which are taxed at a top rate of only 15 percent.
New Budget Blueprint a ‘Voice of Reason,’ Says Trumka
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A new budget “blueprint” that makes job creation and long-term investments the cornerstones for a sustainable federal budget is a “starting point for the debate over budgeting for broadly shared prosperity,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. The proposal is a:
voice of reason and sanity in a budget debate that has become increasingly unhinged from reality. It’s a surreal debate in which people who claim to be deficit hawks hypocritically clamor to bust the budget by showering the richest Americans with over $700 billion in wasteful tax cuts, while starving the economic growth essential to budget vitality.
The proposal, “Investing in America’s Economy: A Budget Blueprint for Economic Recovery and Fiscal Responsibility,” was developed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), The Century Foundation and Demos. It was released today.
EPI research and policy director John Irons told a tele-press conference this afternoon that the plan puts “jobs and economic growth as the Number One priority” and provides:
substantial and sustained increased funding for job creation…[and] solid footing for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid in long term….Failing to invest adequately is not fiscally responsible.
‘Our Fiscal Security’ Offers Solutions, Not Slogans, to Revive Economy
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A project launched last week, Our Fiscal Security, offers a new framework for thinking about the federal budget that balances fiscal responsibility with priorities designed to strengthen the American economy.
The project, a partnership of the Century Foundation, Demos and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), points out that while a growing middle class is the foundation of any growing and healthy economy, the U.S. middle class is being tested by
falling incomes, lost wealth, high unemployment and record foreclosures. Rather than making the choices necessary to re-establish a solid economic foundation, some politicians are succumbing to a slash-and-burn approach to the federal budget.
Instead, according to the group’s statement of principles (to which you can add your signature here) the responsible path to economic recovery, includes:
- Jobs First
- Invest in America
- Protect Social Security
- Fix the Real Problem: Health Care Costs
- No More Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest
- Reward Work, Not Just Wealth
- Hold Wall Street Accountable
Shuler: We Need to Let Young People Know About Unions
Nearly 300 young activists and students came to Washington, D.C., last week for the A Better Deal 2009 conference, and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler was on hand to let these young people know that the labor movement is here to fight for them.
Sponsored by Demos and an array of youth and progressive organizations, A Better Deal 2009 looked at jobs, debt, education, health care and other issues facing young people in a challenging economy. The Electrical Workers (IBEW) were there as well and have a great new video on the conference and young people’s concerns about building a strong economic future.
Here’s what Shuler has to say on the need to make the union movement accessible, relevant and attentive to the next generation:
I think now is the perfect time to reach out to young people, because of the economic devastation that we’ve been experiencing. I think young people have been disproportionately affected, and we need to connect the dots for them and make sure they know that the labor movement is the best answer to their economic troubles.
Shuler: Young People Must Take Lead in Building a New Economy
Today at Demos’ A Better Deal 2009 conference, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler got a chance to lay out her vision for a new economy—and to hear from young leaders about what they need.
Shuler, the youngest person ever elected as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, is making outreach to young people her top priority as a leader in the labor movement.
In a wide-ranging speech that touched on making sure new jobs are good jobs, financial reform, health care and the Employee Free Choice Act, Shuler talked about the crisis the nation faces—and the opportunity we have to fundamentally rebuild our economy so it works for future generations.
I don’t need to tell you that we’re in an economic crisis. Your generation is living it.
Live Coverage of Liz Shuler at A Better Deal 2009
Seth Michaels is posting live from the 2009 A Better Deal Conference.
Today, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler is speaking at “A Better Deal 2009.”
The conference, which runs today and Friday, is hosted by Demos, an advocacy organization focused on building a fairer economy, and a variety of sponsor organizations focused on youth and the economy.
Shuler will speak about the challenges facing young people and the policies we must fight for to build a better future.
We’re covering Shuler’s speech live on Twitter, and you can follow it right here.
Tomorrow, Join Us for ‘A Better Deal’
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Tomorrow, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will give the keynote address at the A Better Deal 2009 conference here in Washington, D.C.
The conference, which runs tomorrow and Friday, is hosted by Demos, an advocacy organization focused on building a fairer economy, and a variety of sponsor organizations focused on youth and the economy.
Shuler Kicking off Conference for ‘A Better Deal’
Continuing the fight to build a fairer economy now and for future generations, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will give the keynote address at the upcoming A Better Deal 2009 conference hosted by Demos, an advocacy organization focused on building a fairer economy.
The conference, set for Oct. 15-16 in Washington, D.C., will look at the crisis facing today’s young people in an economy that just isn’t working for them. As documented in the AFL-CIO report, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade,” young people are struggling to find good jobs that provide them with fair wages, health benefits, retirement security and decency on the job. The next generation could be on track to be the first in a century to be worse off than their parents, and that sets a dangerous standard for generations to come.
Report: Women Workers the Hidden Casualties of Manufacturing Job Loss
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The media image of the unemployed factory worker is usually male. But the reality is that working women have been hurt as much as men when it comes to manufacturing job loss. The impact is often worse for women because many are single parents.
A new report by the public policy research group Demos shows when women lose manufacturing jobs, they rarely manage to get back into jobs with similar pay or benefits. Public training programs, through the Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) or Workforce Investment Act (WIA), often are inadequate to fill the gap.
The report, “Hidden Casualties: Trade, Employment Loss & Women Workers,” highlights the need for decent training for decent jobs with good wages, career progression and such key supports as child care and paid leave.
Click here to download the report.
Banks Need Restructuring, Not Bailouts
The Treasury Department’s bank bailout plan is built on the faulty assumption that the financial crisis is the result of a temporary lack of a market for current financial products—and presumes the losses can be made up after confidence in the system is restored. The reality is that the entire financial services industry needs to be restructured and the sooner, the better, two experts said recently.
Writing at the Campaign for America’s Future website, Susan Ozawa points out that during a recent conference, Damon Silvers, vice chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), and economist Robert Kuttner said broader and deeper changes need to be made than the Treasury plan envisions. They spoke April 8 at the “Lifting the TARP: Is a Reconstruction Finance Corporation a Better Way to Restore the Banking System?” conference sponsored by Demos in Washington, D.C.
