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

Why, Yes! Of Course! The Voters Will Vote to End Social Security, Medicare, Dodd-Frank and the EPA Because the IRS Improperly Hassled Political “Social Welfare” Organizations and the DOJ Issued Sweeping Subpoenas of AP Phone Lines!

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? It began yesterday morning, with a Politico article by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, and an accompanying video by Allen, suggesting improper actions of the IRS resulting from its inability to adequately handle the tsunami of exempt-organizations applications, coupled with the DOJ’s overly aggressive use of its subpoena powers […]

Catch of The Day: Tim Duy

Carpe diem, indeed: Mr Bernanke’s own appointment in 2005 was a case in point. There were several candidates that year. According to people involved, then-President George W. Bush leaned towards Martin Feldstein, a former economic adviser to Ronald Reagan…. But Mr Feldstein was a director of the insurance company AIG, which restated five years of […]

Poised for progress

This quote has a number of meaning perhaps.  Jay offers one in the form of a question…and more from Bill Black in an interview: The real news BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, we’ve cleared away the rubble of the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes. So […]

Four easy fixes for corporate taxation

Everyone “knows” that the corporate income tax is a mess. Ask any company. They pay too much in corporate income tax, face rates higher than in any other OECD country, and are just following the law when they use tax havens to keep profits eternally deferred from taxation and to perform general sleight-of-hand.   Don’t […]

Moving in the right direction: US, UK, Aussies to share tax info

by Linda Beale Moving in the right direction: US, UK, Aussies to share tax info One of the (many) ways by which rich, sophisticated taxpayers who are also ultra-greedy have managed to avoid paying their fair share of taxes is to move money offshore through trusts and “companies” set up in various no-tax/lo-tax, hi-sun jurisdictions […]

How Wall Street Stole Main Street

This graph speaks volumes: Profits as a Percent of GDP: Financial Corporations vs. Nonfinancial Corporations We saw a big decline in real businesses’ profit share in the 40s, then a slower semi-steady decline through the 70s, as wages constituted a larger share of GDP. Financial corps doubled, expanding and increasing profits, but they remained small […]

Orrin Hatch on tax reform at the ABA–a predictable right-wing rant

by Linda Beale Orrin Hatch on tax reform at the ABA–a predictable right-wing rant Orrin Hatch was the keynote speaker for the ABA Tax Section luncheon today in DC. Having never heard the man in person, I was surprised at the bumbling nature of his speech. He came across as an old man reciting a […]