Tag: Reaganomics

Why it’s too soon for Davos billionaires to toast Trump’s ‘pro-business’ policies

The following article by Charles Hankla, Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University, was posted on the Conversation website January 29,2018:

SAP CEO Bill McDermott and Siemens chief Joe Kaeser flank Trump as they praise him for his tax cut. Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The moguls of global business, who met recently in Davos for the World Economic Forum, may not like Donald Trump’s style. But, if a series of reports by The New York Times and other outlets are to be believed, Trump’s pro-business policies are making it easier for them to forgive his foibles.

Klaus Schwab, the head of the forum, put it this way as he introduced President Trump before his Jan. 26 speech: “On behalf of the business leaders here in this room, let me particularly congratulate you for the historic tax reform [that is] fostering job creation while providing a tremendous boost to the world economy.” Continue reading “Why it’s too soon for Davos billionaires to toast Trump’s ‘pro-business’ policies”

Paul Ryan credits Koch network for supporting GOP’s tax overhaul

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website January 28, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) credited the network of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch for being “such a critical part of our historic success in 2017,” highlighting its support for the tax code overhaul.

“Your network has been instrumental for allowing us to reach so many milestones that have long been talked about, but until this year, have not been achieved,” Ryan said in a three-minute video message aired to hundreds of Republican mega-donors attending a three-day meeting here. Continue reading “Paul Ryan credits Koch network for supporting GOP’s tax overhaul”

Koch network to spend about another $20 million promoting GOP tax law

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website January 27, 2018:

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch leads the network. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon for The Washington Post)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — After spending $20 million to push the tax-code overhaul through Congress, the influential Koch network plans to spend up to another $20 million to educate the public about the benefits of the new law, network officials announced Saturday.

The network views the education campaign, which will launch in February, as key to holding the Republican congressional majorities in the 2018 midterm elections. Continue reading “Koch network to spend about another $20 million promoting GOP tax law”

IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy

The following article by Graeme Wearden and Larry Elliot was posted on the Guardian website January 26, 2018:

Reforms may threaten recovery and lead to bigger US budget deficit, says Christine Lagarde

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde speaking at Davos. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA

Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reformsas one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the past year.

“While the US tax reforms certainly will have positive effects in the short term, for the US and other countries around, it might also lead to serious risks,” Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos. Continue reading “IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy”

Bonuses Aside, Tax Law’s Trickle-Down Impact Not Yet Clear

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website January 22, 2018:

Employees at an Apple retail store in San Francisco in 2016. Apple is among the companies handing out bonuses to workers in the wake of the $1.5 trillion tax cut.CreditNoah Berger/Reuters

WASHINGTON — There are good ways to start measuring how much the Trump tax cuts might be helping American workers. Tracking the bonus announcements flowing from corporations is not one of them.

Those announcements, which include $2,500 in stock grants for Apple employees, up to $1,000 for certain workers at Walmart and $1,000 bonuses for Bank of America employees, are both real money and smart marketing. President Trump and top Republican lawmakers have praised many of the companies that are disclosing tax-cut-fueled bonuses and wage hikes. Continue reading “Bonuses Aside, Tax Law’s Trickle-Down Impact Not Yet Clear”

Banks Are Big Winners From Tax Cut

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website January 16, 2018:

Big banks like J.P. Morgan are reporting short-term losses as a result of the tax bill but see long-term benefits, including stronger profits, from the overhaul. Credit John Moore/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The nation’s banks are finding a lot to love about the Trump administration’s tax cuts.

The $1.5 trillion tax overhaul signed into law late last year provided deep and lasting tax cuts to all types of businesses, but financial institutions are among the biggest winners so far, reaping benefits from a lower corporate rate and more preferable tax treatment for so-called pass-through companies, which include many small banks.

While some of the biggest banks are reporting fourth-quarter earnings hits stemming from the new tax law, they see rich benefits over the long term, including effective tax rates that are even lower than the new 21 percent corporate rate. Continue reading “Banks Are Big Winners From Tax Cut”

How Republican tax reform eliminated special interest carve-outs — and created a bunch of new ones

The following article by Sam Brodey was posted on the MinnPost website January 17, 2018:

Rep. Erik Paulsen holding a press conference at Insight Brewing in Minneapolis on January 5. Credit: Office of Rep. Erik Paulsen

At Insight Brewing in Minneapolis earlier this month, 3rd District GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen was raising a glass to the Republican tax bill, signed into law by the president just weeks prior.

The assorted craft brewers and beer boosters in the room were, in turn, raising a glass to Paulsen: the Eden Prairie congressman successfully included a provision in the tax legislation that slashes the taxes that brewers — as well as winemakers and distillers — pay to the federal government.

For years, the alcohol industry had been lobbying for lawmakers to cut excise taxes, an additional sales duty they face. In prior sessions of Congress, Paulsen had introduced legislation that would have done just that. That the alcohol tax cuts got wrapped up in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which permanently cuts taxes for corporations and makes other big adjustments to the tax code, is a victory for the booze business and for Paulsen. Continue reading “How Republican tax reform eliminated special interest carve-outs — and created a bunch of new ones”

The Congressman That Sold Out Minnesota

The January 17, 2018, morningtake announced that End Citizens United has developed a 15-second ad that will be running on social media.

You can view the post below:

The Real Reason for Walmart’s Wage Hike

The following article by Charles Fishman was posted on the Politico website January 12, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

Was it really the tax cut? And should the motivation behind such good news even matter?

When Walmart announced that it was giving all employees raises, bonuses—or both—thanks to the new tax cut, it didn’t take long for the political spinning to start around the news. For Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump, it added up: This was the trickle-down effect that proponents of the law promised. Many conservative websites headlined Walmart’s explanation—“Walmart Sharing Tax Cut Savings Via Pay Boost, $1,000 Bonuses,” the Fox News story read; others went a step further, offering it as proof that the “Trump tax cut is working.” Some, though, were more skeptical. Tweeters were quick to jump on the fact that Walmart sibling Sam’s Club had also shuttered 63 stores that same day as evidence that these might not exactly be boom times for the retail giant. For these people, Walmart’s announcement was political spin from a famously stingy company eager to prove that only after Walmart got the tax law it wanted would it finally be able to give its employees a little more—and do Republicans a political favor in the process. Continue reading “The Real Reason for Walmart’s Wage Hike”