Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Perry’s Flat Tax Proposal

by Linda Beal Perry’s Flat Tax Proposal The Atlantic has a good summary article contrasting Perry’s Flat Tax proposal (an alternative choice to the income tax, that is modeled after Steve Forbe’s flat tax, which will result in much lower taxes for the wealthy because of the deductions it retains along with the zero taxation […]

Perry Proposes (no surprise) a flat tax…

by Linda Beale Perry Proposes (no surprise) a flat tax…. Rick Perry, one night after what has been termed an ‘invigorated’ debate performance, has climbed on the flat-tax bandwagon (presumably meaning a flat-rate consumption tax a la the national retail sales tax idea).  See Tumulty, Rick Perry to Announce Flat Tax as Part of Economic […]

Herman Cain, funded by Koch Bros, Says "Let the Little Guys Pay Taxes

by Linda Beale Herman Cain, funded by Koch Bros, Says “Let the Little Guys Pay Taxes (not the uber-rich) The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” ran a ‘mini-op-ed’ segment on Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan, called “What’s So Bad About a Flat Tax?” New York Times (Oct. 14, 2011) (with the subtitle: Isn’t Herman […]

Barney Frank and the need for a risk-based bank fee

by Linda Beale Barney Frank and the need for a risk-based bank fee That post about the McCain-Paul environmental devastation and revenue decimation bill (somehow mistakenly given the label of a “jobs bill” by the misguided pair ) suggests the unprecedented extent to which our Congressional reps now believe they can use and abuse national […]

Senators Levin and Isakson: millionaire surtax vs corporate repatriation subsidy

by Linda Beale Senators Levin and Isakson: millionaire surtax vs corporate repatriation subsidy The PBS News Hour last night interviewed Senators Levin and Isakson on the jobs bill (video and transcript available here). Isakson was first off.  He sounded like a right wing sound bite machine: we’re overregulating businesses so we need a “time out” […]

GOP Representative moves to increase deficit–and aid the investor class

by Linda Beale GOP Representative moves to increase deficit–and aid the investor class The GOP has made lots of fusses lately about the deficit. According to the party line, earned benefits that Americans rely on for health care and retirement income just “have” to be reduced, no matter how painful it is to the GOP-controlled […]

More on Repatriation–WIN America corporatist lobbying group’s strike back on Heritage

by Linda Beale More on Repatriation–WIN America corporatist lobbying group’s strike back on Heritage In a recent posting, I commented further on the lack of arguments supporting the corporatist lobbying drive for another “repatriation tax holiday” for multinational corporations that have stashed more than a trillion abroad (often through gimmicky transfers of intangible property such […]

More on Occupy Wall Street–Stiglitz and Madrick add their voices

by Linda Beale More on Occupy Wall Street–Stiglitz and Madrick add their voices Jim Swan, the Not-an-economist blogger who writes about “economics and the economy in the wake of the financial crisis”, is definitely a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. In an earlier post, I noted the addition of labor concerns to […]

Robert Reich’s After Shock and Corey Robin’s Freedom Arguments

by Linda Beale In earlier posts on ataxingmatter (here and here), I reviewed Robert Reich’s 2010 book, After Shock, and wrote about his suggested cures for the problems made most visible in the 2007 crash and the Great Depression that followed. The gist of the book is summed up in the following quote: “[L]eft to […]

Information Reporting on foreign depositors in US banks–Florida’s GOP delegation shamefully supports tax evasion facilitation

by Linda Bealecrossposted with Ataxingmatter Information Reporting on foreign depositors in US banks–Florida’s GOP delegation shamefully supports tax evasion facilitation Many wealthy Americans have taken advantage of banking secrecy in other countries, particularly Switzerland, to hide their assets and income from the United States, thus avoiding paying their fair share of taxes on their riches.  […]