A deeper dive into the economy (Who’s driving the buss??)

[lowkey]

I think Buffet himself has been saying for years that the ultra rich are way under taxed. I remember him saying years ago that he thought it was ridiculous that his secretary paid more taxes than he did.

[whiskynovember]

It's appalling, but Citizens United set the stage for its continuance. And now the newly formed GOP House of Representatives is trying on a new push-up bra for the conservative audience: replacing income tax with a consumption tax. Once again, it will favor the rich. Here is a thumbnail sketch how a consumption tax would work:

Suppose the tax would be set at 10%.

Then gazillionaires (the 1 %) would pay approximately 0.00000000000001 of their 'income'.
Probably 60% of the working population would pay about 8% of their income.
The other 39% would pay 10% of their income.
1% of the tax raised would fund Congressional salaries.
The other 99% of the tax raised would fund the military.
There isn't enough funding for anything else. But that's the point, isn't it?
The FAA had to shut down flights today due to antiquated control software.
The answer is to cut funding to the government and let states run their own airspace. Right? RIGHT? Just burn it the fuck down!
What could go wrong?

[whiskynovember]

Fellow Black men,

Next time a wealthy white Republican tells you not to be scared of the police if you’re not doing anything wrong, tell them not to be scared of the IRS if they’re not cheating on their taxes.

https://twitter.com/drjasonnichols/status/1612805978763956224

[lowkey]

Congress is fully and entirely corrupt. Follow the money

[Hear me all]

Fellow Black men,

Next time a wealthy white Republican tells you not to be scared of the police if you’re not doing anything wrong, tell them not to be scared of the IRS if they’re not cheating on their taxes.

https://twitter.com/drjasonnichols/s...05978763956224

Congress created the tax laws that allow businesses to avoid as much tax as possible. They have shaped the laws over the years because it lines their pockets and many have had or do have business interests. They serve themselves first. It doesn't matter what party they claim to run with, most of them take the first piece of cake for themselves.

[lowkey]

Congress created the tax laws that allow businesses to avoid as much tax as possible. They have shaped the laws over the years because it lines their pockets and many have had or do have business interests. They serve themselves first. It doesn't matter what party they claim to run with, most of them take the first piece of cake for themselves.

I agree with every bit of that.

[whiskynovember]

Capitalism is more powerful than government, not only with respect to revenue generation but also human population participation and the advancement of human interest. Incorporation is the core condition of modern capitalistic enterprise, but even before widespread incorporation wealthy individuals had great influence on governmental bodies and their structure. The robber barons of the early American industrial revolution exemplify this as they essentially controlled America's evolution. Their lobbying and influence took an exponential lead forward with the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, enabling corporations to peddle influence with essentially the same rights of speech as humans.

"Corporations are people, my friend." ~ Mitt Romney

Review how the votes went down on the 5-4 SCOTUS decision. Anyone who thinks liberal tenets would have supported the CU decision is smoking crack. With that in mind and in respect of election influence in recent years I could never understand the perception that government poses a greater threat than that posed by business. Business owns government and business owns big data through which all our economic life transpires. While conservatism has historically held the reins of corporate power in America and the world ...... that is changing, so now conservatism is freaking out about made-up cancel culture and wokeism, and passing laws to limit free-market capitalism. The next thing to remember is fascism.

[lowkey]

You are spot on. The amount of money that businesses have to contribute through lobbying is driving lawmaking far more than lawmakers themselves.