Dems: House GOP’s Stimulus Plan Would Actually Raise Taxes For Many Americans | The Plum Line

Dems: House GOP’s Stimulus Plan Would Actually Raise Taxes For Many Americans | The Plum Line
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This is a bit in the weeds. But here goes. According to Dems on the House Ways and Means Committee who have crunched the numbers, the GOP plan, which would reduce income taxes, would as a result shove millions over on to the Alternative Income Tax rate, which would be higher for them. Dem Ways and Means spokesperson Matthew Beck emails me this statement making the case:

In 2008, 4.2 million Americans had to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The Republican proposal would lower marginal tax rates for individuals, but would not reduce AMT rates. Current law requires you to pay the greater of the two rates, so many of those receiving this lower marginal rate would now be held liable for the AMT.

There is no question that Congress needs to — and will — act to prevent the number of taxpayers hit by the AMT from growing to an estimated 26 million this year. However, we confirmed with the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation that 26 million people would still be forced to pay the AMT this year under the GOP bill. Essentially, their tax bill would give with one hand and take away with the other, leaving 26 million families without the tax cut they promised in their bill. ...

Income of 400 richest Americans doubled during Bush era ... lowest tax rate on record

The Raw Story | Income of 400 richest Americans doubled during Bush era
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And during the first six years of George W. Bush's presidency, the average income of those 400 people actually doubled to $263.3 million, according to the data.

Between 2005 and 2006, those 400 Americans saw their income rise nearly 23 percent, and through the first six years of the Bush administration their average tax rate fall by a third, to 17.2 percent, Bloomberg reported.

That 17.2 percent tax rate was the lowest the group has paid on average since the IRS began keeping track of the country's 400 biggest taxpayers in 1992, the agency's data shows.

The big reduction -- from 2001's 22.9 percent tax rate for the group -- was "due largely" to ex-President George W. Bush’s push to cut tax rates on most capital gains to 15 percent in 2003, Bloomberg reported. Bush administration tax cuts that benefit the wealthy will expire by 2011, unless extended or made permanent by Congress and the president. ...
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Now wealthy people, McIntyre said, pay income tax rates far less than those of working-class citizens because of tax breaks. The current 15 percent capital gains tax, down from 28 percent in 1997, benefits investors with big portfolios, the International Herald Tribune reported.

“The conservative approach of putting big corporations and the very wealthy ahead of the middle class has failed to create prosperity that can be shared by all Americans," writes Think Progress. ...

Chase CEO says 'stupid things were done by American banks,' as bankers lose Davos clout

The Raw Story | Chase CEO says 'stupid things were done by American banks,' as bankers lose Davos clout:
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“God knows, some really stupid things were done by American banks,” Dimon said Thursday.

But the 52-year-old banker, who oversaw his company's acquisition of failing U.S. banks Washington Mutual and Bear Sterns last year, also wondered where Washington's policy makers were while U.S. banks were laying groundwork for the ongoing meltdown.

'Where were they? They approved all these banks,” Dimon said." ...

Bush Latest GOPer to Show Democrats Better for the Economy | Crooks and Liars

Bush Latest GOPer to Show Democrats Better for the Economy | Crooks and Liars: "Bush Latest GOPer to Show Democrats Better for the Economy | By Jon Perr Sunday Jan 25, 2009 6:30am

Bush Latest GOPer to Show Democrats Better for the Economy

By Jon Perr Sunday Jan 25, 2009 6:30am

On Friday, the New York Times provided a jaw-dropping analysis of the dismal state of the economy under George W. Bush. Just days after the Washington Post documented that Bush presided over the worst eight-year economic performance in the modern American presidency, the Times charted his historic failure in expanding GDP, producing jobs and fueling stock market growth. As it turns out, Bush is just the latest Republican to confirm the maxim that Wall Street and the economy overall almost always do better under Democratic presidents. ...

tax corporations according to the value added to their output that occurs in the US.

CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names:
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"The main source of the economic crisis is the infantile belief of US policymakers that an economy could be based on debt expansion. As offshoring moved jobs, incomes, and GDP out of the country, debt expanded to take the place of the missing income. When the offshored goods and services were brought back to be sold to Americans, the trade deficit rose, adding another level of financing for an economy that consumes more than it produces."
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The federal government’s likely solution to the debt problem will be to monetize the debt, that is, the government will finance its deficit by printing money. Debt will be inflated away. But for those Americans without jobs or whose incomes do not rise with inflation, life will be cruel.

Life is already cruel for Americans living on retirement savings. Not only has the stock market bust reduced their wealth by half, but also their remaining assets are producing no income. Interest rates are so low that debt instruments produce no income, and there are scant capital gains in the stock market. Retirees are living by consuming their capital.

America’s economic policy of low interest rates and debt expansion bodes ill for everyone living off their savings. Their future prospects are even worse as high inflation will destroy the value of their savings, especially if held in cash or debt instruments, including “safe” US Treasuries.
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One way to do this is to tax corporations according to the value added to their output that occurs in the US. Corporations that produce their products for US markets abroad would have high tax rates; those that produce domestically would have low tax rates. ...

e will have to create jobs on a scale unheard of in decades in his nation

P. Sainath: The Freefalling Economy: "Changes Ahead You'd Better Believe In | The Freefalling Economy | By P. SAINATH

When the applause dies down, the first African-American President of the United States will have to deal with things less cheerful than his Inaugural Ball. The US is losing close to 16,000 jobs a day on average. (That was 14,000 a day just a month ago.) It lost over 1.1 million jobs in just the two months of November and December. And the December loss in payroll employment (5,24,000) recorded by the Bureau of Labour Statistics, is a provisional figure. It is likely be revised upwards by several thousand - as were the numbers of earlier months.

This means that 2008, with 2.75 million jobs lost, was the worst year for layoffs in the United States since 1945. What does President Obama do? And what will he have to confront in doing it? He will have to create jobs on a scale unheard of in decades in his nation. Unemployment benefits, giant public works, massive infrastructure spending, a good health system, all these would also help lessen the hardship ahead. He will need - assuming he wants that - to flip a system where wealth still flows most disproportionately towards the top 1 per cent. In any effort he makes, he will run into an awesome corporate power - already regrouping from Meltdown Phase I."