A repository for Marcospinelli's comments and essays published at other websites.

Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave

Tuesday, January 1, 2013


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

Help a brother mining company out – Sec. 307 and Sec. 316 offer tax incentives for miners to buy safety equipment and train their employees on mine safety. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to bribe mining companies to not kill their workers.

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

Tax credits for foreign subsidiaries –  Sec. 323 is an extension of the “Look-through treatment of payments between related CFCs under foreign personal holding company income rules.” This gibberish sounding provision cost $1.5 billion from 2010 and 2011, and the US Chamber loves it. It’s a provision that allows US multinationals to not pay taxes on income earned by companies they own abroad.

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

$9B Off-shore financing loophole for banks – Sec. 322 is an “Extension of the Active Financing Exception to Subpart F.” Very few tax loopholes have a trade association, but this one does. This strangely worded provision basically allows American corporations such as banks and manufactures to engage in certain lending practices and not pay taxes on income earned from it. According to this Washington Post piece, supporters of the bill include GE, Caterpillar, and JP Morgan. Steve Elmendorf, super-lobbyist, has been paid $80,000 in 2012 alone to lobby on the “Active Financing Working Group.” 

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

For Goldman Sachs, Sec. 328 extends “tax exempt financing for  York Liberty Zone,” which was a program to provide post-9/11 recovery funds. Rather than going to small businesses affected, however, this was, according to Bloomberg, “little more than a subsidy for fancy Manhattan apartments and office towers for Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Corp.” Michael Bloomberg himself actually thought the program was excessive, so that’s saying something. According to David Cay Johnston’s The Fine Print, Goldman got $1.6 billion in tax free financing for its new massive headquarters through Liberty Bonds.

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

For Disney, Sec. 317 is “Extension of special expensing rules for certain film and television productions”. It’s a relatively straightforward subsidy to Hollywood studios.

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Some of what's in this legislation? 

MASSIVE CORPORATE WELFARE.  

Really.

For NASCAR, Sec 312 extends the “seven year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complex property”, which is to say it allows anyone who builds a racetrack and associated facilities to get tax breaks on it.  

Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html#hpLF14OOQy3P3kIM.99
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Treat the online support for Obama with suspicion:

There's a leaked email that has gotten surprising­ly little attention around here. It's the one where AaronBarr discusses his intention to post at DailyKos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, HBGary people are talking about creating "personas"­, sockpuppet­s. This isn't new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars & coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government­, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA -  whose enemies are labor unions, progressiv­e organizati­ons,  journalist­s, and progressiv­e bloggers,  a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet­.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HBGary emails, it involves creating an army of sockpuppet­s, with sophistica­ted "persona management­" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidental­ly cross-cont­aminating each other. Then the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.


In another Word document, one of the team spells out how automation can work so one person can be many personas:

Using the assigned social media accounts we can automate the posting of content that's relevant to the persona.  In this case there're specific social media strategy website RSS feeds we can subscribe to and then repost content on twitter with the appropriat­e hashtags.  In fact using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/he­rself to key individual­s as part of the exercise, as one example.  There are a variety of social media tricks we use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas.
It goes far beyond the mere ability for government stooges, corporatio­ns or PR firms to hire people to post on sites like HP. They're talking about creating  the illusion of consensus. Consensus is a powerful persuader. What has more effect, one guy saying BP isn't at fault or 20 people saying it? For the weakminded­, the number can make all the difference.
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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


You mean commenters? 

Two reasons:  

Most here at HP who are dancing are political operatives paid to post positive and upbeat accolades, to create the impression that Democratic politicians are working in the 99%'s interest.  I'll post a comment after this with links for how this works.

Others are like sports' fans, who see political parties like their favorite sports teams, and cheer whatever they do.  

I'm an old OLD liberal Democrat who has never voted for a Republican and never will.  But I can't imagine ever voting for another Democrat again.  It's like Coca-Cola and Pepsi at this point - The same, different brand.

Ask yourself why so many Republican voters post happily at what Republicans achieve?  It's certainly not in their interests (unless they're filthy rich, one of the 1%).  
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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


The legislation extends the “seven year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complex property”, which is to say it allows anyone who builds a racetrack and associated facilities to get tax breaks on it. NASCAR

This legislation contains an extension of special expensing rules for certain film and television productions”. It’s a relatively straightforward subsidy to Hollywood studios, and according to the Joint Tax Committee.  DISNEY

This legislation offers tax incentives for miners to buy safety equipment and train their employees on mine safety. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to bribe mining companies to not kill their workers.

Also, this bill contains subsidies for Goldman Sachs Headquarters – Extends “tax exempt financing for  York LibertyZ one,” which was a program to provide post-9/11 recovery funds. Rather than going to small businesses affected, however, this was, according to Bloomberg, “little more than a subsidy for fancy Manhattan apartments and office towers for Goldman Sachs and Bank OfA Corp.”

Bloomberg himself actually thought the program was excessive, so that’s saying something.

According to DavidCayJohnston, Goldman got $1.6 billion in tax free financing for its new massive headquarters through Liberty Bonds.

But my favorite part of the legislation is the $9B Off-shore financing loophole for banks – Very few tax loopholes have a trade association, but this one does. This strangely worded provision basically allows American corporations such as banks and manufactures to engage in certain lending practices and not pay taxes on income earned from it. According to this Washington Post piece, supporters of the bill include GE, Caterpillar, and JP Morgan. Steve Elmendorf, super-lobbyist, has been paid $80,000 in 2012 alone to lobby on the “Active Financing Working Group.” 

Then there are the tax credits for foreign subsidiaries –  An extension of the “Look-through treatment of payments between related CFCs under foreign personal holding company income rules.” This gibberish sounding provision cost $1.5 billion from 2010 and 2011, and the US Chamber loves it. It’s a provision that allows US multinationals to not pay taxes on income earned by companies they own abroad.

And much more .  The Joint Committee on Taxation in 2010 did an analysis of what many of these extenders cost. You can find that report here.
About Nancy Pelosi
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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Banking and corporate industries.

Big pork to Goldman Sacks, to Disney, to NASCAR, and others.

Do you really have to ask when they rush to pass this on NYE?
About Nancy Pelosi
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


That's what both political parties are hoping you think.  It's really time for you to learn to read legislation, get active and learn what's in these bills.  Because this one is another massive corporate giveaway, welfare for the rich, with tax breaks for offshoring jobs left intact.  From Goldman Sacks and Disney to NASCAR, it's a pork fest.

If you don't wise up, then stop voting.  You're helping nobody, particularly yourself, by assuming Democrats work in your interests and voting for them.
About Nancy Pelosi
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


Pipe down - NASCAR made out like a bandit with this legislation.  Seriously.  It's loaded with corporate welfare.
About Nancy Pelosi
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Read more...

Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


This bill is loaded with corporate pork.  From Goldman Sacks to NASCAR, and continued tax breaks for offshoring jobs, Republican and Democratic politicians paid off their benefactors just fine.
About Nancy Pelosi
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Read more...

Fiscal Cliff Deal Passed By Congress After Republicans Cave


This deal is filled with corporate pork, corporate welfare, and continues tax breaks for offshoring jobs.

Eight Corporate Subsidies in the Fiscal Cliff Bill, From Goldman Sachs to Disney to NASCAR:


Throughout the months of November and December, a steady stream of corporate CEOs flowed in and out of the WhiteHouse to discuss the impending fiscal cliff. Many of them, such as Lloyd Blankfein of GoldmanSachs, would then publicly come out and talk about how modest increases of tax rates on the wealthy were reasonable in order to deal with the deficit problem. What wasn’t mentioned is what these leaders wanted, which is what’s known as “tax extenders”, or roughly $205B of tax breaks for corporations. With such a banal name, and boring and difficult to read line items in the bill, few political operatives have bothered to pay attention to this part of the bill. But it's critical to understanding what's going on.

The negotiations over the fiscal cliff involve more than the Democrats, Republicans, the middle class and the wealthy. The corporate sector's here in force as well. One of the core shifts in the Reagan era was the convergence of wealthy individuals who wanted to pay less in taxes – many from the growing South – with corporations that wanted tax breaks. Previously, these groups fought over the pie, because the idea of endless deficits did not make sense. Once Reagan figured out how to finance yawning deficits, the GOP was able to wield the corporate sector and the new sun state wealthy into one force, epitomized today by GroverNorquist. What Obama's (sort of) trying to do is split this coalition, and the extenders are the carrot he’s dangling in front of the corporate sector to do it.

Most tax credits drop straight to the bottom line – it’s why companies like Enron considered its tax compliance section a “profit center”. A few hundred billion dollars of tax expenditures is a major carrot to offer. Surely, a modest hike in income taxes for people who make more than $400k in income and stupid enough not to take that money in capital gain would be worth trading off for the few hundred billion dollars in corporate pork. This is what the fiscal cliff is about – who gets the money. And by leaving out the corporate sector, nearly anyone who talks about this debate is leaving out a key negotiating partner.


KEEP READING

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