In the constantly churning pool of Republican Presidential candidates, a seemingly political newcomer has risen to the top (for now): Herman Cain. Mr. Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza where he engineered a leveraged buy-out from Pillsbury, isn't really a political newcomer or outsider, though. He only appears to be because he personally has … Continue reading Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan and the 99%
taxes
What’s the 99%, the 1%, and the 53% All About?
The OccupyWallStreet movement has helped push the meme of the "99%". But to what are they referring? And what's the remaining 1%? The 99% reference refers to income distribution in the U.S. Income distribution is when we line up all the households in order according to their income from lowest to highest. Obviously with somewhere … Continue reading What’s the 99%, the 1%, and the 53% All About?
Government Tax Breaks for People Who Speculate in Oil Futures
Gas prices have come down a bit recently, but it's not hard to remember the over $4 a gallon gas prices of just a few weeks ago. At the time, I wrote that I (and some others) suspect that these occassional spikes in oil and gas prices were due to speculators, particularly hedge funds and … Continue reading Government Tax Breaks for People Who Speculate in Oil Futures
Robert Reich Connects The Dots to Tell What’s Happened To Our Economy In 2 Minutes
Berkeley Professor and former U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Robert Reich has put together a good, short 2 minute 15 second video that explains a large part of what's happened to the economy over the last 30 years. In summary, Reich connects five "dots": The economy has doubled since 1980 but wages have been flat. … Continue reading Robert Reich Connects The Dots to Tell What’s Happened To Our Economy In 2 Minutes
Millionaires Don’t Move to Avoid Taxes – Empty Threats
I've commented on this before, but it's worth repeating. Millionaires, despite all their bluster and threats to move when taxes are raised, simply don't move. It's empty threats. If income tax rates are raised on millionaires, they actually stay put. This means it is indeed possible to improve state government finances by using a very … Continue reading Millionaires Don’t Move to Avoid Taxes – Empty Threats
The Key to Lowering Your Taxes – The Accountancy Shanty
Ok, one tip on how to lower your taxes paid and then I'll let you go for today, this being tax day and all. Now for last year's taxes, the ones you're filing today, well, on that you're just screwed. But for next year, remember to hire the accountancy shanty:
I Don’t Think Corporate Taxes Are Too Low
Ok, just a quickie about taxes with two more startling graphs. Another proposal that's making the rounds in Washington is to cut the corporate income tax rate. This proposal is originally coming from the Republicans, but it looks like Obama has drunk the kool-aid too. The argument goes that corporations in the U.S. are taxed … Continue reading I Don’t Think Corporate Taxes Are Too Low
Can We Afford to Raise Taxes On High Incomes? Can We Afford Not To?
Another tax related post. It appears that taxes, in particular, taxes on the top income bracket will be a major topic of debate propaganda for the next year and a half until the next presidential election. Part of the reason is because the tax deal done last December (2010) between Republicans and Obama last December (2010) perpetuated the Bush-era … Continue reading Can We Afford to Raise Taxes On High Incomes? Can We Afford Not To?
More on Tax Fairness – We Pretty Much Have Flat Taxes Now
In the last couple of days I've posted a couple times on taxes. In one post, I observed how hedge fund managers have radically lower tax rates than the most of us because of a loophole introduced in the Bush-era tax cuts. Yesterday, I showed graphically how average income tax rates are actually lower than … Continue reading More on Tax Fairness – We Pretty Much Have Flat Taxes Now
CEO’s Pay Grows, Average Worker Pay Stagnates
The top end of the income distribution has recovered from any ill effects of the Great Recession, but the average worker has not. CEO's in particular saw their compensation increase 27% in 2010, while the workers at the corporations these CEO's "lead" has barely moved. Wonkroom notes: Households across the country are still feeling the … Continue reading CEO’s Pay Grows, Average Worker Pay Stagnates
EconProph 