On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss a wide range of topics from around the globe, including top U.S. military officers facing Congress over funding to Ukraine and Israel.
The Final Countdown – 3/25/24 – Budget Passed Amidst Controversy Over Aid to Ukraine and Israel
On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall dissect critical events shaping domestic and international landscapes, featuring expert analysis.
Aquiles Larrea – Finance Expert
Steve Hayes – Tax Attorney
Mark Sleboda – International Relations and Security Analyst
Steve Gill – Lawyer and Political Commentator
In the first hour, the show explores the implications of the U.S. passing the budget while foreign funding remains unresolved. Finance Expert Aquiles Larrea offers insights into the financial intricacies at play.
Simultaneously, the discussion turns to former President Trump’s involvement in a hush money trial and the looming deadline for a $457 million bond. Tax attorney Steve Hayes provides his analysis on the fate of the former U.S. President as he faces several charges.
In the second hour, attention shifts to the tragic Moscow concert hall massacre and Russia’s response. International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda offers insights into the geopolitical implications and potential security measures in response to the attack.
Later, the show discusses the resignation of Boeing’s CEO amid the Max-9 crisis. Lawyer Steve Gill weighs in on the aviation industry’s response and the potential ramifications for Boeing’s future.
The Final Countdown – 3/11/24 – When It Rains, It Pours: Legal Probe Hits Boeing
The Final Countdown – 3/8/24 – Biden’s State of the Union Address Turns into Reelection Speech
The Final Countdown – 2/27/24 – Michigan Primary: Unveiling Biden’s Unpopularity?
The Final Countdown – 2/22/24 – Former Informant Accused of Lying Suddenly Deemed Credible on Russia
The Final Countdown – 1/30/24 – United Airlines Navigates Boeing Woes: Explores Possible Airbus Deal
The Final Countdown – 1/24/24 – Democrats Give New Hampshire Primary a Cold Shoulder: What Does It Mean?
On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss hot topics from around the nation, including the New Hampshire primaries.
SYNDICATED COLUMN: The Phony Budget Crisis
Forget Austerity. Tax the Rich.
Everywhere you look, from the federal government to the states to your hometown, budget crises abound. Services are being slashed. Politicians and pundits from both parties tell us that the good times are over, that we’ve got to start living within our means.
It’s a lie.
Two case studies have made news lately: California, where new/old governor Jerry Brown is trying to close a $25 billion shortfall with a combination of draconian cuts in public services and a series of regressive tax increases, and Wisconsin, where right-winger Scott Walker says getting rid of unions would eliminate the state’s $137 million deficit.
Never mind the economists, most of whom say an economic death spiral is exactly the worst possible time for government to cut spending. Pro-austerity propaganda has won the day with the American public. A new Rasmussen poll funds that 58 percent of likely voters would approve of a shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree on what spending to cut.
The budget “crisis” is a phony construction, the result of right-wing “starve the beast” ideology. There is plenty of money out there—but the pols don’t want it.
There is no need to lay off a single teacher, close a single library for an extra hour, or raise a single fee by one red cent.
Every government can not only balance its budget, but wind up with a surplus.
The solution is simple: tax the rich.
Over the last 50 years tax rates for the bottom 80 percent of wage earners have remained almost static. Meanwhile the rich have received tax cut after tax cut after tax cut. For example, the rate paid by the top 0.01 percent—people who currently get more than $6.5 million a year—fell by half (from 70 to 35 percent).
Times are tough. Someone has to pay. Why not start with those who can most afford it?
Europe has the world’s best food, its best healthcare system and its best vacation policy. It also has one of the fairest ways to generate revenue for government: a wealth tax. In Norway, for example, you pay one percent of your net worth in addition to income tax.
What if we imposed a Norwegian-style wealth tax on the top one percent of U.S. households? We’re not talking upper middle class here: the poorest among them is worth a mere $8.3 million. This top one percent owns 35 percent of all wealth in the United States.
“Such a wealth tax…would raise $191.1 billion each year (one percent of $19.1 trillion), a significant attack on the deficit,” Leon Friedman writes in The Nation. “If we extended the tax to the top 5 percent, we could raise $338.5 billion a year (one percent of 62 percent of $54.6 trillion).”
But that’s just the beginning. Wealthy individuals are nothing next to America’s money-sucking corporations.
Business shills whine that America’s corporate tax rate—35 percent—is one of the world’s highest. But that’s pure theory. Our real corporate rate—the rate companies actually pay after taking advantages of loopholes and deductions—is among the world’s lowest. According to The New York Times, Boeing paid a total tax rate of 4.5 percent over the last five years. (This includes federal, state, local and foreign taxes.) Yahoo paid seven percent. GE paid 14.3 percent. Southwest Airlines paid 6.3 percent. “GE is so good at avoiding taxes that some people consider its tax department to be the best in the world, even better than any law firm’s,” reports the Times‘ David Leonhardt. “One common strategy is maximizing the amount of profit that is officially earned in countries with low tax rates.”
America’s low effective corporate tax rates have left big business swimming in cash while the country goes bust. As of March 2010 non-financial corporations in the U.S. had $26.2 trillion in assets. Seven percent of that was in cash.
The national debt is $14.1 trillion.
Which is a lot. And, you see, entirely by choice.
(Ted Rall is the author of “The Anti-American Manifesto.” His website is tedrall.com.)
COPYRIGHT 2011 TED RALL