Tag Archives: political economy

Anti-Competitive G-20

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And, yes, that includes an anti-competitive Democratic Party administration representing the US in this group of twenty.

G-20 finance officials called on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to report by July countries and jurisdictions that haven’t signed up to new international standards on tax transparency and information sharing.

“Defensive measures will be considered by G-20 members against non-cooperative jurisdictions,” the officials said in their statement after two days of meetings in Washington.

Wrong answer, guys.  Your threats just expose your own dishonesty.

If you really want to rein in the so-called tax havens, out-compete them in a free market: lower your own tax rates to competitive levels, and simplify your tax rules to eliminate your cynically Byzantine structures which serve only to benefit (or, just as bad, to appear to benefit) cronies and other government-favored groups.

The best defense is a good offense, but that offense must be directed at the right target.

“There is one thing which has not gone very global and that is taxation, which is still very much a local affair associated with national sovereignty,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

Why must taxation be standardized globalized?  What part of national sovereignty is unclear to you, Madam?

And further cynicism:

Revenue lost to tax havens is a sore point for the G-20….

It isn’t lost to you, guys; it isn’t yours to begin with, so it cannot be “lost” to you.  Again, compete: lower tax rates, and reduce the incentives to hide in “tax havens.”

And just to be clear (although, surely I’m preaching to the choir here:

haven 2. A place of refuge or rest; a sanctuary.

Thus, tax haven is a place of refuge from abuse by tax.

A Timid Administration

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Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

And in response, President Barack Obama (D) once again bowed to Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, who personally delivered the threat, and virtually to King Salman bin Abdulaziz.  Obama then responded to the Saudi threat, meekly.  He

has lobbied Congress to block the bill’s passage, according to administration officials and congressional aides from both parties….

This timidity is a part of what Democratic Party Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders (I, VT) insist they will perpetuate, should they be elected.

Elections have consequences.

Tax the Rich for the Benefit of the Rest of Us?

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The Left—Democratic Party Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders (I, VT), for instance—want the rich to pay their fair share in taxes.

What is their fair share, you ask?

(…), Clinton and Sanders answer.

Here’s what the rich are paying today, according to our very own IRS, via AEIdeas:IncomeTaxShares

Notice that.  The hated 1% already are paying nearly 40% of the income taxes being paid—that includes Warren “I’m Not Paying Enough, but Don’t Ask Me to Donate to Treasury” Buffet—even though they earned less than 20% of the total income.  Meanwhile, the poor, downtrodden, and abused bottom 50% aren’t even paying 3% of the total.

Hmm….

The Obama Legacy

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Peabody Energy Corp on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors just weeks after warning that it could do so, the latest in a string of bankruptcies that have ricocheted through the US coal-mining industry.

The move by St Louis-based Peabody, the largest US coal mining company, follows on the heels of similar moves by Arch Coal Inc, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc, Patriot Coal Corp and Walter Energy, Inc.

Certainly, Peabody’s debt and competing energy sources have weighed, as has reduced steel production along with the Obama Recovery’s drag on our economy.  However, “environmental” regulations, designed by President Barack Obama to destroy the industry have contributed both to the reduction in steel production and to Peabody’s reduced ability to function.

The destruction of an industry.  Something only a Progressive could be proud of.  And something Democratic Party Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said repeatedly that she will continue—in spades.

Pseudo-Science and Democrat Suppression of Dissent

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Attorneys General from California, Connecticut, District Of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington State, and the US Virgin Islands are banding together to push their witch hunt against science that refutes their lucrative climatista industry.  Now they’re planning on criminal and civil charges against companies that impudently disagree with the Party Line, cynically likening their case to the

Justice Department’s landmark case against “Big Tobacco[.]”

The truth of their cynicism, though, is exposed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey:

Fossil fuel companies that deceived investors and consumers about the dangers of climate change should be held accountable.  That’s why we have joined in investigating ExxonMobil[.]

Healey’s own words demonstrate that these Democrats already have determined the outcome; they’re just after carefully selected data to support her claim.  This isn’t an investigation; it’s a dishonest witch hunt, designed to protect Democrat votes and crony pseudo-science funding streams.

Full stop.