Post by the Scribe on Apr 23, 2020 14:48:30 GMT
43,000 million-dollar-plus income earners will reap over 80% of the windfall — coming in at an eye-popping average of $1.6 million each in 2020 alone. That’s 1,300 times what regular Americans are getting with their $1,200 checks going out under the CARES Act.
(Look at the photo below and tell me what you see. BIG smiles on all the Cons standing behind Trump (all millionaires themselves) as he signs this transfer of wealth to the wealthy campaign donors.)
So the rich got PPP and tax cuts, now they can donate to republican elections. Was there ever any doubt that they would use this crisis to enrich themselves?....Its been their first priority since day 1. You can depend on RepubliCONservatives to bring a touch of the swamp to everything they get their hands on.
On top of that the GOP gets to realize their wet dream: Coronavirus could deplete Social Security as early as 'this decade': analysis www.yahoo.com/finance/news/coronavirus-could-deplete-social-security-as-early-as-this-decade-analysis-220347671.html Now tell me, do you think the party that did the ABOVE gift for their campaign donors is going to do anything to shore up social security and medicare? The ONLY way to fix these problems is to rid ourselves of the BORROW AND SPEND REPUBLICONSERVATIVES that constantly feather the nests of their campaign donors. The Republican Party is nothing more than a front group for billionaires and transnational corporations and conservatism is the anointed cult created to do their bidding.
The worst part of this story is 40% of Americans who are not rich support these republicans because they are lied to and manipulated with red meat issues like guns and abortion. It is going to take a very long time for a Democratic President and Congress to straighten out what this corrupt administration has done to our once great Country.
The corrupt tax provision in the CARES Act: Rep. Doggett & Sen. Whitehouse
Lloyd Doggett and Sheldon Whitehouse, Opinion contributors
www.yahoo.com/news/corrupt-tax-provision-cares-act-110031563.html
USA TODAY OpinionApril 23, 2020, 4:00 AM MST
As Americans battled the human and economic devastation of COVID-19, Congress sent rapid relief out to families, our health sector, small businesses and our economy. The most recent relief bill, the CARES Act, enjoyed wide bipartisan support and will help if implemented effectively. But tucked into its 880 pages were Republican-inserted tax provisions. The more we’ve learned about their immense cost and the few that they benefit, the clearer it is that they have to go.
techcrunch.com/2020/03/27/cares-act-stimulus-package-covid-19/
thehill.com/policy/finance/492802-business-tax-provisions-in-coronavirus-relief-law-spark-controversy
These costly tax breaks are an inside hit job. They allow certain investors — particularly real estate speculators and hedge fund managers — to cut their tax bills by shifting losses to prior tax years. Working families who have a bad year would surely love the same chance to use a previous loss to secure a tax refund, but they don’t get this special treatment.
The actual cost of these provisions
The result of the two provisions is stunning in its size: $195 billion taken from the public treasury. According to early analysis from Congress’s nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation on the costlier provision (worth nearly $170 billion), the beneficiaries are few: 43,000 million-dollar-plus income earners will reap over 80% of the windfall — coming in at an eye-popping average of $1.6 million each in 2020 alone. That’s 1,300 times what regular Americans are getting with their $1,200 checks going out under the CARES Act.
www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-doggett-release-new-analysis-showing-gop-tax-provisions-in-cares-act-overwhelmingly-benefit-million-dollar-plus-earners
www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/14/coronavirus-law-congress-tax-change/
President Donald Trump signs the CARES Act on March 27, 2020.
At $195 billion, these reverse-Robin Hood provisions are nearly twice the $100 billion Congress provided to American hospitals and far more than the $150 billion going to state and local governments already buckling under the weight of the crisis.
www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/congress-hospitals-coronavirus-funding-148152
crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46298
Here is another way to think of this massive giveaway: The money spent on these tax breaks would pay for hundreds of N95 masks for every person in America plus 1 million hospital-grade ventilators, eliminating the national shortage. Front-line responders across the country struggle desperately for personal protective equipment (PPE). This money could have surged PPE to the front lines, instead of sending millions to the highest income folks quarantined in their country estates.
Making matters worse, unlike the small business relief in the CARES Act, these tax breaks came with no strings attached. They have no requirement to continue paying employees or to provide sick leave. Even some passive investors with no employees could get the benefit.
It's a bad idea: Why Trump's plan to raise gasoline prices will not help the coronavirus-damaged economy www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/21/oil-production-cuts-further-harm-economy-column/5162535002/
The tax breaks obviously contribute nothing to battling the coronavirus; they also do little to aid workers and the economy. Large corporations were also authorized to convert losses from two years before the pandemic into immediate tax refunds. Businesses with losses when the economy was growing are rewarded for poor management or adverse market conditions that had absolutely nothing to do with the pandemic. As former Vice President Joe Biden correctly observed, the “tax cut overwhelmingly benefits the richest Americans and is unnecessary for addressing the current COVID-19 economic relief efforts.” If we are at war with the coronavirus — as President Trump often claims — this is war profiteering.
www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2020/03/20/the-cares-act-would-suspend-tcja-loss-limitations/#30f11c1035f4
medium.com/@joebiden/joe-biden-outlines-new-steps-to-ease-economic-burden-on-working-people-e3e121037322
time.com/5806657/donald-trump-coronavirus-war-china/
Taking advantage of a crisis
If you need more reason to be concerned, check out whom these provisions likely benefit. Based on the limited information we have, experts have observed that President Trump and his family likely stand to gain immensely from these tax cuts. We don’t know by how much exactly, since the president refuses to release his tax returns, but we do know that real estate businesses like theirs are among the largest beneficiaries of this loophole.
HOTLINE: Share your coronavirus story www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/03/30/share-your-coronavirus-story/5092528002/
We all need to understand exactly how this massive tax giveaway got into the CARES Act. Look at this number: $195,000,000,000. It’s huge. The payoff to wealthy investors is enormous. When that much money goes out the door to such a small group of beneficiaries, the prospect of corruption and quid pro quo political paybacks is obvious. Big string-pulling donors may have seen this crisis as another way to recoup their political investments. That’s why we’ve asked the administration for a full explanation of its role in securing these tax breaks. We hope we will get real answers and that they will dispel any concern that this was done to benefit the president and his family. If this $195 billion tax giveaway was put in at the request of Republican senators, we need then to know by whom and why.
Coronavirus aid: Small business rescue needs not only more money but also fewer rules www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2020/04/20/coronavirus-ppp-small-businesses-more-money-fewer-rules-editorials-debates/5155179002/
While we investigate, let’s reverse the damage. We are offering legislation to unwind this massive tax giveaway, to recover the lost revenues and to use them to combat the pandemic and help small businesses and those truly in need during this challenging time. Our bill will also send a message to whomever demanded this handout: enough. Stop it. Giant special interest tax breaks were not needed before and certainly have no place during a pandemic. Let’s focus on the health and economic carnage caused by coronavirus with assistance to small businesses, struggling families and patients, not those who already have the most.
Democrat Lloyd Doggett represents Texas' 35th district. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse is a senator for the state of Rhode Island. Follow them on Twitter: @replloyddoggett and @senwhitehouse
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doggett & Whitehouse: The corrupt tax provision in the CARES Act
John50 minutes ago
The GOP sure does love select socialism.
TXAmericanVet3 hours ago
1 of the 14 Characteristics of Fascism or 1 of the 14 Characteristics of Republicans:
# 13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption—Fascist regimes are almost always governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions, and who use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Anonymous2 hours ago
Republicans have a massive tax giveaway to fat cats which raids the treasury? That's the core principle of the party.
john1 hour ago
There has to be a way to figure out who put this in. Absent that, every republican, in any race, across the country, should be defeated, period. Then we have to start cleaning up the Judiciary by ridding it of the scump judges who are not qualified with impeachment.
Jackie25 minutes ago
There is a BIGGER PROBLEM! The Fed (BIG BANKS) is making money on every side of the equation. They have been Buying up Stocks (Trillions since March). GIVEN US Bonds( taxpayer DEBT)(Trillions). And making money on the Stimulus LOANS most likely to the same companies that they bought all the STOCK from. Biggest Heist in History!!!! They will have probably stolen 40% of the US economy by the end of this. Where is the Congressional Oversite when we need it.
The GOP sure does love select socialism.
TXAmericanVet3 hours ago
1 of the 14 Characteristics of Fascism or 1 of the 14 Characteristics of Republicans:
# 13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption—Fascist regimes are almost always governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions, and who use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Anonymous2 hours ago
Republicans have a massive tax giveaway to fat cats which raids the treasury? That's the core principle of the party.
john1 hour ago
There has to be a way to figure out who put this in. Absent that, every republican, in any race, across the country, should be defeated, period. Then we have to start cleaning up the Judiciary by ridding it of the scump judges who are not qualified with impeachment.
Jackie25 minutes ago
There is a BIGGER PROBLEM! The Fed (BIG BANKS) is making money on every side of the equation. They have been Buying up Stocks (Trillions since March). GIVEN US Bonds( taxpayer DEBT)(Trillions). And making money on the Stimulus LOANS most likely to the same companies that they bought all the STOCK from. Biggest Heist in History!!!! They will have probably stolen 40% of the US economy by the end of this. Where is the Congressional Oversite when we need it.