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Call to Action Presentation 11Nov2019 V2
Month: October 2019
In 2018 the super-rich paid a lower tax rate than the bottom 50%
A recent study published by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman of the University of California at Berkeley concluded that the 400 richest families in the U.S. paid a lower effective tax rate than the bottom 50% of taxpayers in the U.S.
While some economists are disputing some technicalities regarding calculations that might have a small impact on the result, the fact is that the effective tax rate paid by the richest Americans went down my more than half while the effective tax rate on the bottom 50% went up.
The super-rich saw the biggest tax cuts come during Ronald Reagan’s first term as president, Bill Clinton’s second term, and as a result of the tax legislation/reform passed in 2018. So this is not a partisan problem.
Among social benefits and services lost largely as a consequence of the tax cuts include education subsidies that kept tuitions at state colleges and universities very low until the mid-1980’s, and mental health facilities and care, which is considered to be one cause for the dramatic increase in homeless persons living on streets in major American cities.
It also points to a major issue with implementing a national health care or “medicare-for-all” system in the U.S. In addition to medical costs that are less than half of the U.S. per capita, effective tax rates in most industrialized countries, particularly on the wealthiest families and individuals, are 1.5 to 2 times higher than in the U.S.
REVISITED -Hunter Biden joins Ukraine gas company board
I found this Associated Press release published in the Christian Science Monitor on Mary 14, 2014.
Note that Hunter believed that his “assistance in consulting the company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine”.
Note also the statement from Joe Biden’s spokesman that Biden has no involvement in young Biden’s activities.
It would seem to me that there was honorable intent, full transparency and nothing nepharious about this.
Hunter Biden, the younger son of Vice President Joe Biden, will head the Burisma’s legal unit, and will also seek support for the company among international organizations.
WASHINGTON
Hunter Biden, the younger son of Vice President Joe Biden, is joining the board of a gas company operating in Ukraine, the company announced Tuesday, as the West seeks to help Ukraine wean itself off its dependence on Russian energy.
Burisma Holdings said Biden, an attorney and chairman of the board of the World Food Program USA, will head the Burisma’s legal unit, and will also seek support for the company among international organizations.
“I believe that my assistance in consulting the company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine,”Biden said in a statement released by the company.
The announcement comes as Ukraine and the U.S. are looking to decrease Ukraine’s reliance on Russian energy amid threats from Moscow to cut Ukraine off if it doesn’t pay massive debts. Western countries believe Russia would have less leverage in the crisis with Ukraine if Europe was less dependent on Russian gas.
“Hunter Biden is a private citizen and a lawyer,” said Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff. “The vice president does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company.”
Still, Vice President Biden has spoken frequently about the need to increase Ukraine’s energy independence, including during a recent visit to Kiev. He’s also a key interlocutor for the Obama administration with Kiev and other anxious nations in the region as the crisis there has unfolded.
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