Category Archives: Taxes

Tax Havens Make US and Europe Look Poorer than They Are, Exaggerate Size of “Global Imbalances”

Peculiarly, despite the importance of tax havens, a pathbreaking paper published in 2013 by Gabriel Zucman of the Paris School of Economics, The Missing Wealth of Nations: Are Europe and the U.S. Net Debtors or Net Creditors? (hat tip Dikaios Logos) has received perilous little attention. Perhaps that’s because, among other things, it undercuts the Bernanke-flattering claim that “global imbalances” were a major driver of the financial crisis.

Randy Wray: When Will They Ever Learn – Uncle Sam is not Robin Hood

Why Obama’s budget is yet another economic policy failure.

Money and Elections in Washington: Pro Wrestling, but With More Respectable Clothes

kayfabe: Term in pro wrestling. Kayfabe was the unsaid rule that the wrestlers should stay in character during the show and in public appearances in order to maintain a feeling of reality (albeit suspended) among the fans.

The Economics of the 1%: Neoliberal Lies About Government

Yves here. This is a short, straightforward Real News Network interview with John Weeks, Professor Emeritus of the University of London, which dissects the logic, such as it is, by which neoliberals argue against taxes and for smaller government.

Can Democracy Help With Inequality?

Inequality is currently a prominent topic of debate in Western democracies. In democratic countries, we might expect rising inequality to be partially offset by an increase in political support for redistribution. A new paper argues that the relationship between democracy, redistribution, and inequality is more complicated than that.

Wall Street Journal Exposes Entirely New Private Equity Tax Scam

Yet another private equity tax swindle has come to light.

Another Obama Corporate Gimmie: Broadens Corporate R&D Tax Credits

Obama is looking more and more like an ideal Republican president with every passing day.

Obama Lame Duck Watch: House Democrats Stymieing Trade Deal “Fast Track;” Silicon Valley Surveillance Payoff Language Published

As we discussed earlier, even though there’s abundant evidence that the Administration’s plans to push through its trade deals, the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Transstlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, are in trouble, the official messaging has been to keep pretending that the pacts are still moving forward smartly.

Diagrams and Dollars: Modern Money Illustrated (Part 1)

Yves here. I continue to get requests to explain Modern Monetary Theory. It isn’t easily done in a few words, but fortunately, the academics and writers associated with the New Economics Perspectives blog keep publishing primers of various sorts. This one takes a different approach in using visuals to help illustrate the difference between how most people believe the money system operates versus how it really works.

Slate Tries Presenting Amazon’s Abusive Warehouse Jobs as Great Opportunities

A mere day after strikes at Amazon warehouses in Germany, which caught the attention of the media in the US, Slate ran as its lead piece in Moneybox an article that bears all the hallmarks of being a PR plant: Amazon Warehouses Are the New Factories.

I suspect the author, Emma Roller, wouldn’t recognize a factory if it fell on her.

How the Budget Deal Perpetuates Austerity Policies

Yves here. This Real News Network segment provides an overview of the budget deal, cutting through the hype to lay bare its impact on ordinary Americans. It’s not a pretty picture.

New Study Confirms that Lower Corporate Tax Rates Don’t Create Jobs

orporate executives love to peddle the notion that they need to have their low tax payments reduced even further, even as the share of GDP represented by company profits is at unprecedentedly high levels.

The Skunk Party Manifesto

The best political system that money can buy is doing a great job for its customers and a lousy job for the rest of us.