Why Trump plan to end tax on Social Security benefits is a fatal mistake

08/17/2024

Senator Larson says it is a fatal mistake as lost revenue is not made up leading to a Medicare insolvency in 2031, and Social Security insolvency in 2033. Social security benefits will then by law will be cut in 2033 by 25%., a dangerous step tragic for many on Social Security who are pushed into poverty.

Linked Articles

Trump's plan to end taxes on Social Security income is a 'fatal mistake,' lawmaker says. What that could mean for benefits

CNBC 08/17/2024

Lorie Konish

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget 08/17/2024

"Pay their fair share of taxes" Biden asks of corporations showing 2017 predecessor tax cuts did not increase investment and added $100 billion yearly to the US Deficit

03/08/2024

By paying their fair share of taxes Biden says in State of Union speech to US Congress 2024 one can increase investment in education, affordable childcare and better living for seniors in their homes, and still cut the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. What is fair share? Certainly not zero percent that 55 of the largest corporations paid on $40 billion in profits in 2020, and corporate minimum tax was introduced at levels of 15% for which most ordinary Americans are not eligible for. And certainly not 8.2% that Biden said was being paid by 1000 billionaires in the US. Not a single penny more is being asked of hard working Americans earning less than $400,000 a year. Biden said he wanted to see the corporate minimum tax at 21% not 15%, and the top corporate tax rate set at 28% not the 21% that it was reduced to in 2017 from 35%. In short his predecessor turned to help companies and billionaires profit from the popular distress of the shipping of jobs overseas and the 2009 financial crisis caused by Bank executives without investing the nation's capital resources in manufacturing at home in scale to match and exceed China's. And at the same time neglecting to do anything about the concerns of the people for ease of living- affordable access to childcare, preschool education, education, health care to match Europe/China/India in quality and cost, and aging transportation infrastructure of airports, subways, roads and bridges. The savings when this is done properly go to cut the deficit by over 4 trillion dollars and keep America as the leader of all G-20 economies.

Linked Articles

Biden Draws Sharp Contrast With Trump in State of the Union

WSJ 03/07/2024

Ken Thomas, Tarini Parti

WSJ 03/07/2024

Andrew Restuccia, Andrew Duehren, Richard Rubin

Clean drinking tap water for every home - the stark contrast between China and India

04/05/2023

What this tells one is that GDP requires a new indicator which is Quality GDP which will mean that if you pollute rivers and air then real GDP as an economic concept is totally inadequate even useless, unless one subtracts from that economic GDP number the amount of investment it would take to clean up the rivers or the air. If regulatory agencies cannot control industries from polluting rivers, the case in China, then an additional number has to be subtracted from economic GDP called regulatory deficiency adjustment. The GDP numbers were gained through indiscriminately burning fossil fuels and this means climate change damage so that to be correctly stated China's GDP number would have to be offset by deducting the adjustment for trillions of dollars in climate change correction action. This would shrink the gap between India and China's GDP to where India may be in a position using advanced technology, renewable energy, regulation, and large foreign investment to close the gap with China in the next 10-15 years. China could also benefit because of the new approaches taken by India could be something to learn from as the two countries each have the population of the EU and the US+ Canada combined.

Linked Articles

In China, the water you drink is as dangerous as the air you breathe | Deng Tingting

The Guardian 06/02/2017

Hindustan Times 04/05/2023

Years of hyper growth followed by slight or shrinking growth in China

07/31/2022

For years China pushed hyper growth without correctly understanding the sources of that hyper growth and its consequences in the long run. Communities in the US and the EU simply could not cope with the hyper shift of factories from local regions to China that created the hyper growth in China. Local governments in China and self interested investment banks in the US and Eu pushed for this growth and the central government failed to act with restraining action. The result is alienated public in the US and EU, intense trade and competitive frictions and permanent damage to friendly US China, US EU relations. The domestic side of this hyper growth was the overdependence on the property sector which was asked to carry a bigger burden for development leading to the crisis today with local governments strained for financing by $900 billion as reported in WSJ today July 31. 2022. This did not need to happen. China entered this experiment with capitalism without restraining action with very little knowledge of the market economy and how it operates correctly only with restraining and corrective action in the interests of the whole people of the country. Too much has gone wrong for peoples on either side, the unintended effects and consequences in the simple unbridled pursuit of self-interest alone.

Linked Articles

China’s Economy Tested by Strained City Finances

WSJ 07/31/2022

Wall Street Journal Staff

WSJ 07/31/2022

Ukraine Railways - stories of courage under fire as Ukraine Rail employees take millions of refugees out of danger

04/15/2022

This The Guardian picture essay and DW.com video tell the story of how millions of refugees are daily making their way on Ukraine Railways from the east and south to safety in the west and in Poland.

Linked Articles

The people who keep the refugee trains running out of Ukraine – photo essay

The Guardian 03/31/2022

DW.COM 04/14/2022

America's self-reliant economy - Biden with Trumpian undertones

01/21/2021

The Biden administration is seen as continuing the efforts of president Trump to pursue American interests in trade, technology, American workers and business to restore America's leadership role in the free world to what it was in the 1950's. Biden from Delaware is in the same tradition as president Harry Truman from Missouri in that period. Because of Biden's age this could be a one term presidency, and strange as it may sound it could be a presidency of Trump in foreign affairs and trade, technological leadership, without the rhetoric, and a socially cohesive presidency of Democrats in the tradition of Harry Truman. What then to make of all the fights of the Trump presidency? Much of this can be seen as an effort to break the status quo which did not benefit American workers.

Linked Articles

Biden’s Economic Team Charts a New Course for Globalization, With Trumpian Undertones

WSJ 12/01/2020

Jon Hilsenrath, Nick Timiraos

France 24 01/21/2021

Learning- learning from failure

07/27/2020

With self-discipline, good humored resolve, and fellow feeling failures can become the stepping stones to build the future.

Linked Articles

The learning opportunities hiding in our failures

BBC News 07/26/2020

BBC News 07/26/2020

Finances stretched to limit by trillions of dollars in coornavirus aid packages and tax revenue from digital

05/15/2020

Linked Articles

Analysis | Why Digital Taxes Are the New Trade War Flashpoint

Washington Post 05/15/2020

France 24 05/15/2020

Carlos Ghosn and Nissan discontent in Japan- the failing Renault-Nissan alliance

12/18/2018

Renault-Nissan's failure to invest in Japan and the lack of interest in Nissan under Ghosn added to worries in Japan about the compensation of Ghosn being larger than all nine top executives of Nissan combined. A deep sense of affront was felt in Japan as one executive put it -"where is the transparency and where is the frugality." This special report by WSJ shows how the ego based executive which is not typical of Japan failed Nissan. It also shows why this type of management is not healthy for companies or the employees and all stakeholders. Its hard driving nature with unhealthy lifestyles is also becoming unpopular today.

Linked Articles

The Fall of the House of Ghosn

WSJ 12/16/2018

Sean Mclain, Phred Dvorak, Sam Schechner, Patricia Kowsmann

WSJ 12/18/2018

William Boston

Do tax cut benefits go mainly to the 10% of Americans who own 84% of the stocks- evidence of corporate buybacks vs increasing wages/new capital investment for growth to help the middle class

03/01/2018

Linked Articles

Boom in Share Buybacks Renews Question of Who Wins From Tax Cuts

WSJ 03/01/2018

Akane Otani, Richard Rubin, Theo Francis

The New York Times 12/19/2017

Andrew Ross Sorkin

Donald Trump and lack of transparency with undisclosed tax returns

08/16/2016

Linked Articles

How Much Does Donald Trump Pay in Taxes? It Could Be Zero

The New York Times 08/11/2016

James B. Stewart

The New York Times 08/15/2016

Mark Sanford

2016 U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush's Tax Plan that spells out details, and takes a shot at 4% growth for restoring lost social and economic mobility in the U.S.

09/09/2015

The efforts to wrestle with the deficit in 2011-2012 led to a vigorous debate on changing the tax code, yet political leaders failed to take up new ideas or spell out the details. Jeb Bush, with advisors Martin Feldstein and Kevin Warsh, takes the unconventional approach of putting in the details, and taking up ideas such as the idea of limiting itemized deductions to 2% of adjusted gross income proposed by Feldstein in that debate. On the $2.1 trillion in income held overseas by U.S. companies Bush proposes 8.75% tax paid over 10 years. On business investment he proposes capital investment be allowed to be deducted in full immediately. It is based on the idea that business investment can drive a vigorous recovery, that workers bear 50% of the burden of higer taxes through sluggish wage growth. It levels the playing field for debt and equity capital, removing "carried interest" provision, as a lesson from the excessive leverage taken by financial institutions in the past.

Linked Articles

The Bush Growth Plan

Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015

Editorial

New York Times 09/09/2015

Alan Rappeport, Alan, Rappeport, Matt Flegenheimer, Matt, Flegenheimer

Hillary Clinton's plan to change the way the capital gains tax works to encourage long term investors

07/27/2015

Under Hillary Clinton's plan the lower rates for capital gains tax would be introduced with a sliding scale at the highest tax bracket of 39.6%, with the rate gradually declining in year 4, and the rate not reaching the current rate of 23.6% (20% plus a 3.6% surcharge) till year 6 following the investment. Clinton calls it a way to restrain "quarterly capitalism," disincentivize "cut and run shareholders," and incentivize investors "to build companies." One unintended effect of this could also be the shift away from investments that do not support improving productivity levels, to investments that have a longer horizon and have a material effect on productivity growth. Especially considering the low productivity growth improvements in the last decade, as productivity growth will be needed to break out of a period of stagnant wages.

Linked Articles

Hillary’s Capital ‘Lock In’

Wall Street Journal 07/29/2015

Editorial

New York Times 07/27/2015

Andrew Ross Sorkin, Andrew, Ross, Sorkin