Tag Archives: Right Wing

Corporate Greed, Political

Billionaires Now Trying to Control the Work of the Church

 
January 1, 2014

Billionaire Ken Langone, the founder of Home Depot issued a warning to Pope Francis during an interview with CNBC which was published this past Monday. In the interview he said that wealthy people such as himself are feeling ostracized by the Pope’s messages in support of the poor, and might stop giving to charity if the Pope continues to make statements criticizing capitalism and income inequality.

Mr. Langone described the Pope’s comments about a “culture of prosperity” as “exclusionary” statements that may make some of the rich “incapable of feeling compassion for the poor.”

The billionaire, who’s a major donor to the Republican Party, is currently working with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, to raise $180 million for the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Langone said that he told the Archbishop about a wealthy donor who could give millions of dollars to the Cathedral project but was worried about the Pope’s “exclusionary” remarks.

“I’ve told the cardinal, ‘Your Eminence, this is one more hurdle I hope we don’t have to deal with. You want to be careful about generalities. Rich people in one country don’t act the same as rich people in another country,'” said Langone.

CNBC also spoke to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who said he told Langone the unnamed donor’s concerns seemed based on “a misunderstanding of the Holy Father’s message.”

“The pope loves poor people. He also loves rich people. So I said, ‘Ken, thanks for bringing it to my attention. We’ve gotta correct, to make sure this gentleman understands the Holy Father’s message properly.’ And then I think he’s gonna say, ‘Oh, OK. If that’s the case, count me in for St. Patrick’s Cathedral,’” Dolan said.

During a speech in Brazil this past July, Pope Francis appealed “to those in possession of greater resources,” saying that they should “never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity. No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world.”

A number of people, from Republican Sen. John McCain to conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, have weighed in on Francis’ statements, with the latter calling it “pure Marxism.”

Dolan calls the Marxist label “hyperbole,” telling CNBC that the pope thinks “money in itself is morally neutral. Money, our wealth, is a gift from God. And the morality comes in the way we use it.

“If it becomes a god, if it becomes an idol, Pope Francis is saying, then it’s wrong. Because there is only one God. If we use it for our own selves and our families, for a secure and a safe present and future, if we use it to reinvest in the community, to help others, and if we share with the poor, then it’s morally good,” Dolan said.

Action, Corporate Greed, Political

Robert Reich

Burger King is in merger talks with Canada-based Tim Hortons restaurant chain (known for its coffee and donuts) in order to become a Canadian company and thereb…y lower its U.S. taxes. BK’s profits have been flat, mainly because its mostly lower-income customers don’t have enough money to boost sales. So the pending deal is welcome news to investors, who today sent its stock up nearly 20 percent. But it’s a lousy deal for you and me and other Americans because we’ll have to make up for the taxes Burger King stops paying.

We’re already subsidizing Burger King because it refuses to raise the pay of its frontline workers, who are now at or near the minimum wage. So we’re paying for the food stamps, Medicaid, and wage subsidies its workers need in order to stay out of poverty. That means when BK deserts America to cut its tax bill, we’ll be paying twice. That’s a whopper of a slap at America. What should we do about it?

Corporate Greed

Needs to Happen to Every Tax Evading Corpretcrap Company

Walgreens has caved to public pressure and announced that they will not move their base overseas to avoid paying US taxes. However, we need to do a heck of a lot more to stop other businesses from moving offshore. The company was considering a move called an “inversion” to acquire a Switzerland-based company called Alliance Boots, and relocate their headquarters to the lower-tax nation. Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson said that the company was “mindful of the public reaction to a potential inversion.” In other words, they recognized that the American people were pretty ticked about Walgreens wanting to dodge taxes.
Public pressure was enough to keep this drug store chain headquartered in Chicago, but it won’t always be enough to stop US corporations from skipping out on their fair share. Congress could change the rules and take away the tax incentives that allow corporations to relocate overseas. However, we all know that it’s highly unlikely that lawmakers will suddenly stop the partisan gridlock and get that done.
In order to get around the obstruction, a group of Democratic senators is calling on President Obama to put a stop to these so-called “inversion” with an executive order. Senators Dick Durbin, Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren, and others wrote a letter to the president warning that billions of dollars in corporate tax revenue will be lost if these inversions aren’t stopped. They wrote, “The coming flood of corporate inversions justifies immediate executive action.”
The President can direct the Treasury to issue rules that would make it more difficult for corporations to dodge taxes by moving overseas. In a speech last month, President Obama said, “You shouldn’t get to call yourself an American company only when you want a handout from American taxpayers.” Whether it’s through executive action, public pressure, or a combination of both, we must force corporations to pay their fair share. Walgreens is staying here, and it’s time for more businesses to prove their economic patriotism.

-Thom

Corporate Greed

We’re Being Robbed Every Time We Fly

Submitted by Thom Hartmann A… on 5. August 2014 – 12:21
There’s a stunning lack of choice for American consumers today, and nowhere is that more evident than in our nation’s ever-shrinking airline industry. According to a new report from the AP, the average roundtrip ticket to anywhere in the U.S. was over $509.15, including taxes, in the first half of this year. That’s up $14 from the same period last year.
The AP also points out that domestic airfare pricing is outpacing inflation, up 2.7% compared to the 2.1% increase in the Consumer Price Index. And, according to data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation, airfare costs have shot up 10.7% over the past five years alone. So, what’s behind these sky-high airfare prices?
Well, as the AP piece points out, airlines have discovered that thanks to the economic recovery, more people want to fly, so airlines have dropped the number of available seats on their planes, which all translates to higher ticket prices. The airlines are taking advantage of simple supply-and-demand economics. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle.
The real reason that airfare costs are so high is because of the stunning lack of competition in the airline industry today. Back in 2001, there were 10 major airlines flying through American skies: American Airlines, TWA, America West, U.S. Airways, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental, Southwest, and AirTran. All those airline choices meant more completion in the marketplace, which translated into lower airfare prices for American consumers.
However, slowly but surely, the competition in the airline industry has disappeared. In 2001, American Airlines bought out TWA. In 2005, America West bought up US Airways, keeping the US Airways name. In 2008, Delta officially began the process of merging with Northwest. In 2010, United and Continental announced that they were joining forces, and just a few months later, Southwest announced that it was taking over AirTran. And finally, last year, US Airways and American Airlines announced that they were merging to form the world’s largest airline.
So, in less than 15 years, the American airline industry has shrunk from ten airlines in the sky to just the big four that are left today.
Similarly, as the number of airlines has dwindled, airfare prices have shot up, because there’s so little competition in the marketplace. The disappearing competition in the airline industry isn’t just some strange phenomenon. In fact, this same sort of thing is happening in just about every other industry in America.
Look at America’s media and telecom industries. Back in 1983 – 90% of American media was owned by 50 companies. As of 2011 – that same 90% was controlled by just 6 massive corporations: GE – Newscorp – Disney – Viacom – Time-Warner – and CBS. Similarly, right now, there are just 10 giant corporations that control, either directly or indirectly, virtually all American consumer products.
And then there’s America’s banking industry. As Mother Jones points out, 37 banks and financial institutions back in 1990 have slowly transformed into the big 4 banks we see today (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo). And we all know how much damage those big banks have done to the American economy.
From fewer airlines in the skies, to fewer banks on Main Street, competition has disappeared from the American marketplace, and it’s all because Ronald Reagan, in 1982, stopped enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Ever since Ronald Reagan came to Washington, “mergers and acquisitions” became the main way to do business, and we’ve all suffered as a result, in the form of things like higher airfare costs.
The steady aggregation of big businesses taking over entire industries over the past 34 years in just about every major commercial sector has concentrated far too much power in the hands of too few players. Americans deserve choice.
We shouldn’t have to feel like we’re being robbed every time we fly home to see family members or jet off for vacations. And the only way to bring that choice back is by undoing the damage that 34 years of failed Reaganomics has caused, by starting again to enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, by breaking up America’s giant corporations, and by thus bringing competition back into our marketplace.