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47% by the numbers.

Malcolm — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:00:14 +0000

Recently a video of Mitt Romney at a political fundraiser speaking on the upcoming election was leaked. The video has caused an uproar in some and a faint wisp in others. The quote going around is

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Now the thing about the quote that is the most troubling to some is that the feeling is that he is writing off half of America. Me personally I think the more telling thing is that if you take a look at the map below of the states with the most nonpayers. Three states had more than 40 percent nonpayers — Mississippi (44.5 percent), followed by Georgia (42.5 percent), and Alabama (40.3 percent) — all three are red states. The remaining top ten were largely in the Sunbelt: Florida (39.0 percent), Arkansas (38.8 percent), South Carolina (38.8 percent), New Mexico (38.7 percent), Idaho (38.6 percent), Texas (38.5 percent), and Utah (38.3 percent). All but two of the top ten — Florida and New Mexico — are red states.

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GOP and the Right at it again

Malcolm — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:30:47 +0000

The GOP and the far right are at it again trying to distort the presidents words to make it seem like he is a socialist, capitalist hating fascist (their words not mine). I am all for some one having their own convictions and beliefs but when you deliberately take some ones words and change the meaning and the context that is not only deceit but outright lying. This time it is taking a snippet of what the president said and implying that he means business did not build it themselves rather the government did. Nothing could be further from what he said and misconstrue the main point. The presidents belief and mine as we is that millionaires in this country although they worked hard for what they have they where helped by the infrastructure of this country (roads, financial institutions, schools, consumers). The GOP wants to take “You didn’t build that” and say the president was talking about “your business”. But if you look at the full quote below you can easily discern his intent.

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

“The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.”

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The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit The Super Rich–And Cheat Everybody Else

Malcolm — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:50:01 +0000

This was pretty interesting I will have to do more research on this.

http://www.democracynow.org/2004/5/18/the_covert_campaign_to_rig_our

We speak with Pulitizer Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston about his new book Perfectly Legal. Johnston argues that most Americans are “being duped into supplementing the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the rich and powerful.” [includes rush transcript]
Filed under David Cay Johnston, Taxes

The income gap in the United States is greater than many imagine —- the top 29,000 Americans have as much income as the bottom 96 million. And in recent years tax burden for the richest Americans -—- especially corporations — has been falling sharply while everyone else’s has risen.

A study by the General Accounting Office found that almost two-thirds of America’s corporations paid no federal income taxes during the late 1990’s, when corporate profits were soaring. Nine out of 10 companies paid less than the equivalent of 5 percent of their total income.

A new book by Pulitizer Prize winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston argues that most Americans are “being duped into supplementing the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the rich and powerful.”

The book is titled “Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit The Super Rich — And Cheat Everybody Else.” Last month Johnston was awarded top honors at the 2003 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards for the book.

Transcript

AMY GOODMAN: I began by asking David Cay Johnston about just how the tax system works.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Most Americans, no matter how much they make, assume that people who make more pay a larger share in income taxes. That is a progressive tax system. We don’t have that. If you made $60,000 last year, you paid a larger share of your income in income taxes and social security taxes to the government than people who made more than 10 million a year. That top group’s average income by the way, was $25.6 million. If you made $400,000, that’s a lot of money, but if you made $400,000, you paid a larger share of your income just in income taxes than people who made more than $10 million. That is people who made in a week what you worked for all year. We are shifting the burden of taxes steadily off the richest people in America and onto people who work. The very top taxpayers, the 400 highest income taxpayers in America, their taxes have gone from 30 cents on the dollar, which doesn’t strike me as an onerous burden, in 1993, down to 22 cents on the dollar at the end of the Clinton administration and now under the bush administration, they’re down to 17.5 cents on the dollar. Everybody else in America during those year, their taxes went up from 13 cents on the dollar overall to 15.

AMY GOODMAN: Who is doing this?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Both parties are doing this. They’re doing it because they’re listening to a narrow group of very well to do people who do not want to pay taxes, who do not want to share in the expenses of the country that has made them rich. And they want you to pay their taxes. Those are the people who get access. Every politician will say you to, you can’t buy my vote. Generally, that’s true. The problem is that you and I don’t have the real access, and the proof that Congress is thinking about the super rich came two days after 9/11. The House Republican leadership introduced ten bills to address 9/11. One of them was a tax bill. What did it do? It gave estate tax relief, which did nothing for the firefighters and police officers and army sergeants at their desk and nurses and the busboy at the World Trade Center. All of those people that were killed. A tiny handful of people, but that’s what Congress thought these people needed, was estate tax relief even though 99% wouldn’t pay estate taxes.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s slipping it in as a very opportune time.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: That was just for this group of people. That was just for this group of people, but it’s indicative of what Congress is thinking about, what’s on the minds of Congress are not the concerns of ordinary Americans who want to educate their children, you know, who want to engage in enjoying life. Their concerns are about the super rich and within the super rich, those who are very anti-tax.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the CEO of Coca-Cola?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Oh, sure. He’s indicative of a major problem that many workers don’t understand is affect affecting them. During the years that Roberto Aswada built a billion dollar fortune. The way he did that is having a serious effect on ordinary workers. Senior executives have unlimited 401(k) plans. There’s a special law for them. Ordinary Americans are allowed to save up to $13,000 or if you are may age, $16,000. Let’s say that you are a CEO of a big company and you get paid $105 million. You make 5 million in cash and pay the taxes. That’s about $1.7 million. Your effective tax rate is less than 2% of your income. The other 100 million stays on deposit with the company. The company invests it on your behalf and you take the money when you are ready to retire. The problem is the company doesn’t get to take a deduction for that $100 million. It has to pay the government $35 million in taxes. While every year, senior executives add to these accounts and there are lots of them, not just the CEO.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Soon the company comes to the workers and says, you know, Amy, we know you have had this health care plan but we just can’t afford it anymore. It’s too expensive. Or that pension plan you were counting on, we are going to freeze it when you are 52, so you will only get a third of the benefit that you were expecting at retirement because we can’t afford it. It’s the competitive pressure from the guys in the executive suite going into the pay pool and gouging it. It’s not from the people down the street. Congress could stop this in a minute. And furthermore, raise revenue by saying there’s no more deferrals.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about Dick Cheney and his deferred payment plan from Halliburton, the fact that this man is a sitting Vice President of the United States, and continues to be paid off by —

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: He cashed out of his plan except for his pension, which would not make him in the position any different than anyone else.

AMY GOODMAN: But is he getting an annual paycheck from Halliburton still to this day?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Oh, he will when he turns 65. I’m not sure if he is 65 years old yet. Actually, that doesn’t trouble me. He’s cut his other ties to the company. What should trouble people is here is a guy in a short period of running this company built up a $36 million cash-out plan when he left, and set up, I forget exactly how many, but many, many offshore vehicles that were designed basically to avoid taxes. Almost every big corporation in America now is using a variety of devices from renting a mailbox in Bermuda to moving their intellectual property offshore to avoid taxes. We just had a report from the investigative arm of Congress, the general accounting office that 60% of American corporations paid no corporate income tax between 1996 and 2000.

AMY GOODMAN: Say that again.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: 60% of large corporations paid no federal corporate income tax from 1996 to 2000. That five-year period.

AMY GOODMAN: How does that work? What do you mean they just get a foreign post office box?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, two years ago I broke the story to the New York Times about companies going to Bermuda. Ingersol-rand went to Bermuda. They’re the people that built the jackhammer that built Mt. Rushmore. The Bermuda government in return for a fee of $27 allows them to be a Bermuda company prohibited from doing business in Bermuda. They send one executive to Barbados and under a treaty that dates to the Cold War, the company is then able to take its profits in the US, and could avert them into tax deductible expenses, send them to Barbados, and put the money wherever they want in the world and stop paying US income taxes on the profits. In the process, they shift the burden of government off of them and onto you. So, they get all of the benefits of being here, the courts to enforce the contracts, the military to protect their assets but you and I get the bill.

AMY GOODMAN: Enron.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you tell us about Enron, and taxes?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, Enron was an extreme example of taxes. Their tax department was turned into a profit center. The people in the tax department were expected to turn up a profit. A little known fact here, Enron, although people think of it as a Texas company, it is actually an Oregon Public Utility Holding Company. It bought Portland’s General Electric. Since 1997, the people and businesses in Portland have paid about $620 million in their electric rates that were supposed to pay the state and federal income taxes of General Electric. Portland General Electric shipped the money upstairs to Enron. Enron paid no taxes. Imagine how rich could you get if you could buy a business which the law says that you will collect the income taxes from your corporation as a customer as a specific amount of money and you get to pocket it. That’s what Enron did.

AMY GOODMAN: We are talking to David Cay Johnston, and Perfectly Legal is his book. As you researched this book, what most surprised you?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Oh, that the middle class and upper middle class literally subsidized the wealthiest people in America. If you are making $50,000 a year the federal government will take about $2,000 from you this year, or as President Bush would say, $2,000 of your money, and funnel it to the super rich through overtaxing you on social security. Americans are paying in advance for their social security benefits up to the limit on social security incomes. That money is being used to finance tax cuts for the super rich, who in 10 or 15 or 20 years will have to pay higher taxes to get that money back. So, the time value of about 1.8 trillion dollar is being transferred from the middle class to the super rich. The other thing that astonished me is the stealthy way that the Bush tax cuts were financed. The Bush tax cuts include a half trillion dollar increase on middle-class and upper middle-class Americans. Particularly families with children. You’re 30 times more likely to pay the stealth tax increase if you have children than if you are single, which is against the rhetoric that you hear from the Administration. Under the law that the Administration relied on, if you become ill or your spouse or child does, and you spend more than 7.5% of your income trying to keep your loved one or yourself alive, Congress taxes you for doing that. It increases your income taxes. It uses that money to finance tax cuts for the super rich. It’s just outrageous.

AMY GOODMAN: David Cay Johnston, author of Perfectly Legal, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times reporter.

http://www.amazon.com/Perfectly-Legal-Campaign-Benefit-Everybody/dp/1591840198

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Herman Cain: Most Black People Too Poor To Tea Party

Malcolm — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:01:03 +0000

How come the Tea Party (Aka Republican Party) can always manage to find them an Uncle Tom? Until he starts going off script (Michael Steele, Colin Powell anyone) then it will be “Well he wasn’t a true conservative”. If he thinks this Uncle Tom Foolery is really going to get him the Republican nomination he is highly delusional! So I guess that he is implying if blacks simply Joined the Tea Party (Aka Republican Party) we will be rich overnight, that old “Trickle Down” effect!!! (Link to Article)

Asked about his own position as the most prominent African American in the Republican party these days, Herman Cain is fond of saying he refuses to “stay on the Democratic plantation like he’s supposed to” or that he refused to drink the liberal Kool-Aid.

Asked why more African Americans haven’t joined him at tea party rallies and conservative conventions like the Faith And Family Conference in DC this weekend, the millionaire ex-CEO has a different explanation. African Americans, Cain told TPM, are too poor to tea party.

“They can’t afford to,” Cain said. “So I think the first reason is economics. If you just look at the sheer economics of it.”

“If you look at the typical income of a black family of four it’s going to be lower than a non-black or white family of four,” he explained. “Generally speaking on average, white families are much more economically prosperous than black families. So, many black families don’t have the economic flexibility to go to a CPAC conference.”

Most tea partiers, Cain said, “own their own business, or they have the type of job where they have the flexibility where they can go to the rally.”

“Or they’re retired,” he added.

That’s just not the kind of job African Americans have, he said.

“If you are a blue collar, hourly worker and you’re not the business owner, you’re not going to take off or ask your boss to take off unpaid to go to a rally,” he said.

Cain was rare in that as a minority conservative leader he declined to criticize the conservative movement or the GOP for the lack of diversity at tea party events or rallies. White Republican leaders have often said they need to do more to reach out for more racial diversity, and other prominent African Americans on the Republican side have said the same thing.

Asked about the sea of white faces that greet the visitor at nearly any conservative gathering — even some focused on racial diversity — Cain said there were two extra factors that went beyond economics. Population demographics was one answer, he said, and the other was what he called Democratic “demagoguing” of the Republican party and conservatism.

“Anecdotally, I happen to believe that at least a third of blacks who vote are conservative,” Cain said. “But the left has intimidation tactics that cause some people who may not be as outspoken as I am to stay silent.”

There’s been some evidence in past polling that Cain may be right about the ideology of African Americans, but 2010 exit polls showed the African American vote was around 90% Democratic.

As for the population numbers, Cain said it’s unrealistic to expect a large African American contingent at conservative events when one factors in the racial makeup of the country and the economic breakdown of blacks vs. whites.

“if you see 100 out of 1000 black faces in the audience, that’s par for the course [based on population numbers],” Cain said. “What lowers that is economics.”

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Yes We Can! Health Care Reform Is here!

Malcolm — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:29:44 +0000

Tonight, finally after a grueling election where we were asked to be more involved then ever in our life time. After a year of our first African-American president in office where we saw attacks that were so divisive, so racist, so bigoted. Where the Democrats and Independents and to a small extent Republicans who were disenchanted with their party we finally, finally took a real step forward in America. A step to really make ourselves the greatest country on earth. To me the idea that the U.S. could not in fact implement Universal Health Care and in fact make it better then any country out there that has the same process in place. I know that we can the problem was just summoning enough courage to embrace change, FINALLY!!! Take a look at the Congressional Budget Offices take on health care. They truly believe that health care as it exist today is unsustainable. I hope that people can move forward and really work to the common good of all.

My post on a current Facebook page:”
“The current system as is was unsustainable if you look at the Congressional budget office which both parties use to look at things objectively, the retiring baby boomers will bankrupt the system. (http://www.cbo.gov/publications/collections/health.cfm). Therefore reform has to happen. The idea is more people in the pool will offset the cost. Currently the uninsured show up at the emergency room and the taxpayers end up paying the price. With more preventative care and the risk spread around the costs will be reduced. Don’t be scared of change we need to think progressively and come up with new solutions. Our current system is over 50 years old and out dated. And just because this piece of legislation passed it doesn’t mean it has to be the end, if Republicans think there are more reforms to be made then please stand up and fight for them. We need to move forward to better the system!”

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Mortgage Crisis far from over

Malcolm — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:16:49 +0000

The economy has slowed down from it’s outright free-fall in 2009. Although there has not been a rebound in jobs we have seen a slowing of layoffs and a rise in consumer confidence. The remaining question out there is “Is the Mortgage Crisis Over?”. Honestly the fed is saying we are in the clear but what else could you expect them to say. To speak the truth about anything negative seems to get an immediate reaction from Wall Street. It seems that the politicians are highly sensitive to doing anything to the point where they are slammed if they say anything negative. It seems to be regarded that affecting wall street is not acceptable but wall streets effect on the average person is more then accepted, in fact accepted to the point that the American tax payer has to make up for wall streets short comings. I will digress from going into the way this country is now run by corporations and instead focus on the mortgage problem itself. Many claim that the median housing price has fallen around the country the lack of a dramatic decrease in home prices in California is due to the fact that everyone wants to come to California.

California is unlike any other place on the earth, at least in my humble opinion but I could be biased seeing as how I have been a California native since 1978. Recently the housing prices in California have gone absolutely nuts. The actually period where housing went crazy would tend to be around 2001. Prices rose at such an astounding rate and the advent of companies such as New Century, Countrywide and Option One who specialized in mortgages not seen in the industry prior to this point led to rapid fraud and escalation of housing prices in California.

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Recession not effecting everyone!

Malcolm — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:35:06 +0000

Read this on Bloomberg this morning I guess not everyone is having trouble in this recession seems like these two fellas are doing quite well. I would be interested to know where they received these funds, who they were smuggling them for and why?

Japan Probes Report Two Seized With Undeclared Bonds

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By Shunichi Ozasa and Makiko Kitamura

June 12 (Bloomberg) — Japan is investigating reports two of its citizens were detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland.

“Italian authorities are in the midst of the investigation, and haven’t yet confirmed the details, including whether they are Japanese citizens or not,” Takeshi Akamatsu, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said by telephone today in Tokyo. “Our consulate in Milan is continuing efforts to confirm the reports.”

An official at the Consulate General of Japan in Milan, who only gave his name as Ikeda, said it still hasn’t been confirmed that the individuals are Japanese. “We are in contact with the Italian Financial Police and the Italian Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Ikeda said by phone today.

The Asahi newspaper reported today Italian police found bond certificates concealed in the bottom of luggage the two individuals were carrying on a train that stopped in Chiasso, near the Swiss border, on June 3.

The undeclared bonds included 249 certificates worth $500 million each, the Asahi said, citing Italian authorities. The case was reported earlier in Italian newspapers Il Giornale and La Repubblica and by the Ansa news agency.

If the securities are found to be genuine, the individuals could be fined 40 percent of the total value for attempting to take them out of the country without declaring them, the Asahi said.

The Italian embassy in Tokyo was unable to confirm the Asahi report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net.

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Wal-Mart vs. Amazon (Good for consumers)

Malcolm — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:12:51 +0000

According to this article found here, Wal-Mart intends to take on Amazon for a piece of consumer electronics market. Bad news for Amazon.com and Best Buy but good news for us consumers.

It is the classic face-off between the king of bricks-and-mortar and the ruler of the e-commerce world. Wal-Mart (WMT) is about to up its bet on consumer electronics, a highly profitable and growing part of Amazon’s (AMZN) business.

At stake is whether physical stores can take back business from e-commerce sites which have been besting them at sales growth rates for nearly a decade.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart is “revamping the electronics departments in its more than 3,500 U.S. stores this week, ramping up an aggressive battle with Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Amazon.com.”

Taking market share from Best Buy will only prove that Wal-Mart can still use its large numbers of stores and customers and its ability to sell merchandise at low margins in bulk to take business from a smaller bricks-and-mortar. Amazon is another matter.

Amazon holds several advantages that will make Wal-Mart’s task hard, if not impossible. The first is a nearly infinite selection of consumer electronics that come in every size, color, and configuration. Amazon also allows people to comparison shop effortlessly and stay out of crowded stores. Its shipping practices often allow people to get products sent to their homes at no cost.

If Amazon has proven one thing over the years, it is that it can grow faster than almost any retailer that relies on physical locations. There is absolutely no reason to think that will change.

Top Stocks blogger Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

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Housing Bubble has many little bubbles yet to burst!

Malcolm — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:20:43 +0000

I have been reading allot lately about the current housing market in the OC (Orange County, CA) . If you are from Southern California or just California in general then you know that the housing market was overly inflated here since 2000-2001, in fact the markets in the U.S. with the worst losses also happen to be the markets that experts predict still have the furthest to fall. Those markets Nevada, Florida and California were the markets with the most rampant speculation by real estate investors and the new crisis coming to light “Heloc Abuse“. It is not reported in the main stream media but many people out there on the blogosphere are starting to write about it. Also I came across this article in USAToday where it mentioned that the Government is sitting on thousands of REO properties.

Since 2007, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has acquired at least 110,000 foreclosed houses, its records show, spending about $12.2 billion to reimburse lenders after the owners defaulted on government-backed loans. So far, HUD has been able to recover only about $5.5 billion by reselling them. It has about 38,000 homes still for sale.

A vast majority of these homes are in the Detroit metropolitan area and we all know what the economy is like there. On average homes in the U.S. have a year to year appreaciation of 3-5%, on the chart found here you can look at the median home price apprecceation in CA from 1997 to 2004.

1997	$186,490	5.2%
1998	$200,100	7.3%
1999	$217,510	8.7%
2000	$241,350	11.0%
2001	$262,350	8.7%
2002	$316,130	20.5%
2003	$371,520	17.5%
2004	$450,990	21.4%

This to me suggest that we have a long way to go to correct the prices back to where they should normaly be. So what does this all mean? Well in my opinion we have several bubbles yet to burst:

Massive speculation by real estate investors who unless they are cash rich will simply walk away from ever increasing losses on there investments.
Rampant heloc Abuse by people who used there homes as atm/credit cards and now find their deep well of wealth drying up.
The government (as well as banks) holding on to an enormous backlog of REO properties that if put on the market would lower housing prices even quicker.

So the housing bubble has burst but there are many little bubbles waiting to pop too!

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Comparison of John McCain and Barack Obama tax plans

Malcolm — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:39:09 +0000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

Comparison of the McCain and Obama Tax Plan. So if you look at this the claim is that Obama is a socialist cause he supposedly wants to “Redistribute wealth”. Honestly the whole tax system is a redistribution of wealth. The government is taking your wealth and using it to preserve and build up the infrastructure of the country. Look at this chart from the independent Tax Policy Center. Obama’s plan only gives slightly more to those making $111k or less. The biggest difference is on the rich side, specifically those making over $2.87 million a year. If you look at the last figure in the chart the average change in the plans is quite small under Obama less then 1% while McCains is actually 2% so who is actually pushing for the more drastic change in a redistribution of wealth?

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