- November 7, 2012
The Huffington Post
Visit the publisher's websiteMembers of Congress who received good marks in an Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) report card on inequality fared well in the election.
The report card awarded "A+" grades to 12 House members for doing the most to narrow America's economic divide over the past two years. Eleven of these won their races, including: Representatives Robert Brady (D-PA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), John Conyers (D-MI), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) lost his seat to a Democratic challenger.
- November 7, 2012
The Huffington Post features report “Executive Excess 2012: The CEO Hands in Uncle Sam's Pocket”
Visit the publisher's website • See the reportWell, let's take a look at just who exactly wants to "help" us "fix the debt."
Fix the Debt is co-chaired and co-"steered" by an array of politicians from both sides of the aisle.
But there are others on the steering committee. One of these is Dave Cote, CEO of Honeywell. Cote ranked 11th on a list compiled in a recent study conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies of executives who have saved the most from the Bush tax cuts. According to the IPS, Cote's taxable compensation for 2011 was a bit over $55 million, and he got out of paying about $2.5 million thanks to the Bush tax cuts.
. . . This is the dream team Peterson has assembled to pull us out of this whole mess. Oddly enough, you may have noticed, the lineup looks strikingly similar to that of the team that put us in this mess in the first place. . .
Let's be very clear, Peterson and his gang are fixated on the debt because they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes!
- November 6, 2012
rabble.ca
Visit the publisher's websiteThough the U.S. joined the EU and Japan at the WTO to gang up on Ontario's green jobs strategy, not everyone south of the border agrees with the Obama administration's hypocritical position (ahem, Buy American).
"Ontario's [feed-in-tariff] is designed to achieve the twin goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change and transitioning to a clean-energy economy. These laudable goals are also shared by the Obama administration," wrote U.S. labour and environmental groups in a letter to the USTR on October 18. "We believe it is imperative that governments have the flexibility to put in place policies to address these goals, and that trade rules not undermine such efforts."
The letter, which was endorsed by ActionAid USA Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Center for International Environmental Law, Communication Workers of America, EcoEquity (USA), Friends of the Earth U.S., Global Exchange, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Policy Studies (Global Economy Project), Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch and Sierra Club, supported the Green Energy Act despite the local content requirements.
- October 27, 2012
San Diego Free Press features article “ 10 Filthy-Rich, Tax-Dodging Hypocrites Pushing Disastrous Austerity on America”
Visit the publisher's website • See the articleFix the Debt claims their agenda is not just about spending cuts. But when it comes to their tax proposals, they use the slippery term “pro-growth reform” to push for cuts in deductions that are likely to include credits for working families and — you guessed it — more corporate tax breaks. Chief among these is a proposal to switch to a territorial system under which corporate foreign earnings would be permanently exempted (instead of being taxed when they are returned to America).
This idea, also supported by the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission, would make it even more profitable for big corporations to use accounting tricks to disguise U.S. profits as income earned in tax havens. Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that such tax haven abuse will cost the Treasury more than $1 trillion over the next decade.
So who are the CEOs who are telling the rest of us to be responsible and tighten our belts after they’ve spent decades stiffing the U.S. Treasury? Of the 80 members of Fix the Debt’s CEO Fiscal Leadership Council, here are 10 that stand out as the biggest hypocrites:
- October 27, 2012
Salon.com features article “ 10 Filthy-Rich, Tax-Dodging Hypocrites Pushing Disastrous Austerity on America”
Visit the publisher's website • See the article - October 26, 2012
AlterNet features article “ 10 Filthy-Rich, Tax-Dodging Hypocrites Pushing Disastrous Austerity on America”
Visit the publisher's website • See the article“Fix the Debt” is a coalition of more than 80 CEOs who claim they know best how to deal with our nation’s fiscal challenges.
These are guys who’ve mastered every tax-dodging trick in the book. And now that they’ve boosted their corporate profits by draining the public treasury, how do they propose we put our fiscal house back in order? By squeezing programs for the poor and elderly, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
This idea, also supported by the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission, would make it even more profitable for big corporations to use accounting tricks to disguise U.S. profits as income earned in tax havens. Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that such tax haven abuse will cost the Treasury more than $1 trillion over the next decade.
- October 26, 2012
24/7 wall street features report “Inequality Report Card: Grading Congress on Inequality”
Visit the publisher's website • See the reportThe Great Recession has brought the disparity between the rich and the poor to the forefront of the news. The Occupy Wall Street movement and terms such as the 99% and 1% further highlight the attention about the subject.
Read more: States with the Widest Gap Between the Rich and Poor - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/10/26/states-with-the-widest-gap-between-the-rich-and-poor/#ixzz2AR0FacpeAdditionally, we looked at the Institute for Policy Studies’ Inequality Report Card, which provided grades to senators and congressmen based on their voting record related to income inequality.
- October 16, 2012
The Valley Advocate features report “Inequality Report Card: Grading Congress on Inequality”
Visit the publisher's website • See the report“The growing gap between the rich and the rest of us didn’t just happen by chance,” notes Sam Pizzigati, IPS Associate Fellow. “Conscious political decisions—on taxes, on trade policy, on regulations—have all been driving the divide.”
“Members of Congress have the capacity to make sure all Americans, not just a privileged few, share in the wealth that we all together create,” adds IPS Associate Fellow Sam Klinger. “With this new report card, voters can see for themselves how well their elected lawmakers are meeting that responsibility.”
- October 15, 2012
The Nation
Visit the publisher's website“There’s no getting away from it,” said Tudor, “the Robin Hood Tax will soon be in place across much of Europe, and four out of the five major economies.”
Anderson, a relentless warrior for the FTT, said the progress is Europe offers key lessons for US progressives: “I think it’s been a brilliant example of inside/outside strategy.” She notes the “tremendous amount of work done to win the hearts and minds” of Europeans.
- October 6, 2012
ABC News features report “Inequality Report Card: Grading Congress on Inequality”
Visit the publisher's website • See the reportTheir "Congressional Report Card for the 99 percent" identifies 17 members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle, listed on the group's website, who they say are most friendly to the 1 percent of Americans who have the most assets and income.
The group gave 48 representatives and 11 Senators a grade of "F" and 14 representatives and five Senators a grade of "A."
Scott Winship, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, which has often been cited as a "centrist" think-tank, said longer-term trends in inequality are driven mostly by the strength of financial markets than the legislation the Institute for Policy Studies analyzed.
[however] Isabel Sawhill, senior fellow [also] at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Center on Children and Families, said the Bush tax cuts "very clearly favor the rich."
She called the report "very interesting and well done."
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In many countries around the world, there is growing momentum behind proposals to place a very small tax on transactions of stock, currency, derivatives, and other financial assets. Such financial speculation taxes are one of the few available options that could generate the enormous financial resources required to pay for the continuing costs of the global financial and economic crisis, including reducing the high rate of job loss, and to achieve key development, health, education and climate change objectives in developing countries. Even at very low rates, such taxes could also discourage the type of short-term financial speculation that has little social value but poses high risks to the economy.