Trumka Dissents from Jobs Council Report
The 72-page report, issued yesterday by the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, makes many solid suggestions for how to address our nation’s jobs crisis, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. But Trumka says the fundamental focus is so flawed that, as a member of the council, he issued a dissent to the report. In sum, Trumka writes:
I believe the report downplays the need for a proactive role for the U.S. government in many of these areas; fails to address the significant additional revenues needed to address the challenges identified on an appropriate scale; and in many cases erroneously identifies the root causes of the underlying structural problems.
While agreeing with the report’s support for a vibrant and growing manufacturing sector, Trumka says the report does not address the fact that “our government’s own policies with respect to trade, taxes, and currency have created enormous competitive disadvantages for American-based producers.”
And while Trumka shares the report’s goal of attracting more investment and good Read the rest of this entry »
Walker Ignores Voters, Signs Radical Budget
This is a crosspost from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO by Karen Hickey in AFL-CIO Field Communications.
On Sunday afternoon behind closed doors, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed the most radical budget in Wisconsin history. Although the taxpaying public was blocked from the signing, hundreds protested outside as they had for months, while Walker silenced the voters and plowed forward with this agenda.
This budget will result in a major loss to the quality of life for the people of Wisconsin by crippling economic support systems for middle income and working class families and slashing education, health care and funds for local communities. This budget raises taxes on the working poor with children while lowering taxes for the elite and wealthy. Read the rest of this entry »
Corporations Get Tax Refunds, the Wealthy Get Tax Breaks
Two quick hits here on how the rich aren’t like you and me.
From 2008 to 2010, a sample of major corporations showed they earned $173 billion in combined profits—yet not only did they not pay taxes, but they actually got money back from the federal government in the form of tax benefits. In the study, Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) looked at a dozen major corporations and analyzed their profits and their effective federal corporate income tax rates between 2008 and 2010.
Next, 10 years after Bush tax cuts kicked in, the top 1 percent of earners (making more than $620,442) received 38 percent of the tax cuts, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The lowest 60 percent of filers (making less than $67,715) received less than 20 percent of the total benefit of Bush’s tax policies.
Meanwhile, really rich lawmakers are trying to cut the federal budget on the backs of working people, so they and their rich coporate cronies can keep raking in the tax benefits at the expense of the rest of us.
Corporate Profits Soar 81 Percent but Few Jobs Created
On the eve of tomorrow’s unemployment report for April, we get this news from Fortune:
Profits of the 500 largest U.S. corporations soar by 81 percent ($318 billion), the third largest percentage gain in list history…Wal-Mart holds the number one spot for the second year in a row…Exxon Mobil leads profits with $30 billion, for the eighth year in row.
The stunning leap in profits is so excessive even Fortune writers are writhing in their leather chairs:
We’ve rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans….The profits derived partly from productivity gains, including workforce reductions. And many 500 companies are growing faster overseas than in the U.S.
Here’s the full list of the top moneymakers: http://bit.ly/mnrPsI.
So what are Wall Street CEOs doing?
New Tools Bring State Corporate Tax Breaks to Light
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Each year, state and local governments give out billions in tax breaks and subsidies to corporations in return for a promise that the company will create new jobs. While most states disclose the names of companies receiving state and local tax breaks, cash grants and other subsidies for job creation, the quality of the reporting varies widely. In fact, about a dozen states are still keeping taxpayers in the dark, according to a new report.
The report, “Show Us the Subsidies,” by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit, non-partisan research center, shows that Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Ohio were found to have the best economic development disclosure.
“With state legislators making painful political budget decisions, corporate tax breaks should be completely visible so spending for economic development should be transparent,” says Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First.
The Truth About Taxes
Have you heard about the so-called “tea parties” happening today? Honchos of the extremist right are orchestrating top-down events to protest paying taxes for a proposed federal budget that’s designed to stimulate the nation’s flattened economy and support basic infrastructure and public services. Ironies abound in these protests: In some areas, protestors are urged to take public transportation to the events. Key word here is “public,” as in paid for by taxpayers.
The media talking heads pushing these events are spewing a lot of venom toward a presidential administration they can’t control, one not beholden to special corporate interests. In doing so, their rhetoric is bordering on the treasonous: Fox’s Glenn Beck, who’s holding a $500-plate fundraiser for the San Antonio tea party, has begun advocating secession. (Hat tip to Media Matters for this and all its great work.)
