"For years they've been cutting the jobs and wages of American workers in order to generate larger profits and higher share prices." (Photo: Fight Back! News/Kim DeFranco)
Corporation and Nation
So it shouldn’t be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing well by most measures, the benefits are not trickling down to most Americans.
Trump and congressional Republicans are engineering the largest corporate tax cut in history in order "to restore our competitive edge," as Trump says.
Our competitive edge? Who's us?
Most American corporations - especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts - have no particular allegiance to America. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders.
For years they've been cutting the jobs and wages of American workers in order to generate larger profits and higher share prices.
Some of these jobs have gone abroad or been outsourced to lower-paid contractors in America. Others have been automated. Most of the remaining jobs pay no more than they did four decades ago, adjusted for inflation.
When GM went public again in 2010 after being bailed out by American taxpayers, it boasted of making 43 percent of its cars in places where labor is less than $15 an hour - often outside the United States. And it got its American unions to agree that new hires would be paid half the wages and benefits of its old workers.
Capital is global. Big American corporations are "American" only because they're headquartered and legally incorporated in the United States. But they could (and sometimes do) leave at a moment's notice. They also employ or contract with workers all over the world.
And they're owned by shareholders all over the world.
According to research by the Tax Policy Center's Steven Rosenthal, about 35 percent of stock in U.S. corporations is now held by foreign investors.
So when taxes of "American" corporations are cut, foreign investors get a windfall.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the Senate majority's tax bill would give foreign investors a tax cut of $31 billion in 2019. The House bill would give them $50.4 billion.
That's money that foreign investors would otherwise be paying into the U.S. Treasury.
By way of comparison, the combined tax cuts for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution in the 30 states won by President Donald Trump comes to $39.4 billion, far less than the House bill gives away to foreign investors.
I'm not blaming American corporations. They're in business to make profits and maximize their share prices, not to serve America.
I'm blaming politicians who are trying to persuade Americans that tax cuts on American corporations will be good for Americans.
Big corporations headquartered in other rich nations are far more responsible for the well-being of the people living in those nations. That's mainly because labor unions there are typically stronger than they are here - able to exert pressure both at the company level and nationally.
So it shouldn't be surprising that American corporations distribute a smaller share of their earnings to their workers than do European or Canadian-based corporations. And top American executives make far more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.
Governments in other rich nations often devise laws through bargains involving big corporations and organized labor. This process further binds their corporations to their nations.
But in America, lawmakers respond almost exclusively to the demands of big corporations and of wealthy individuals (typically corporate executives and Wall Street moguls) with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to bankroll campaigns. Meanwhile, unions are weak, and "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy," according to researchers.
Which is one reason why most Europeans and Canadians receive essentially free health care, generous unemployment benefits, paid medical leave, and an average of five weeks paid vacation.
So it shouldn't be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing well by most measures, the benefits are not trickling down to most Americans.
Given the overwhelming dominance of American corporations on American politics, combined with their singular concern for share prices rather than the well-being of Americans, it's folly to think they'll turn tax cuts into good American jobs.
The tax bills big corporations are pushing through Congress are designed to boost their share prices, not boost most Americans.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Trump and congressional Republicans are engineering the largest corporate tax cut in history in order "to restore our competitive edge," as Trump says.
Our competitive edge? Who's us?
Most American corporations - especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts - have no particular allegiance to America. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders.
For years they've been cutting the jobs and wages of American workers in order to generate larger profits and higher share prices.
Some of these jobs have gone abroad or been outsourced to lower-paid contractors in America. Others have been automated. Most of the remaining jobs pay no more than they did four decades ago, adjusted for inflation.
When GM went public again in 2010 after being bailed out by American taxpayers, it boasted of making 43 percent of its cars in places where labor is less than $15 an hour - often outside the United States. And it got its American unions to agree that new hires would be paid half the wages and benefits of its old workers.
Capital is global. Big American corporations are "American" only because they're headquartered and legally incorporated in the United States. But they could (and sometimes do) leave at a moment's notice. They also employ or contract with workers all over the world.
And they're owned by shareholders all over the world.
According to research by the Tax Policy Center's Steven Rosenthal, about 35 percent of stock in U.S. corporations is now held by foreign investors.
So when taxes of "American" corporations are cut, foreign investors get a windfall.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the Senate majority's tax bill would give foreign investors a tax cut of $31 billion in 2019. The House bill would give them $50.4 billion.
That's money that foreign investors would otherwise be paying into the U.S. Treasury.
By way of comparison, the combined tax cuts for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution in the 30 states won by President Donald Trump comes to $39.4 billion, far less than the House bill gives away to foreign investors.
I'm not blaming American corporations. They're in business to make profits and maximize their share prices, not to serve America.
I'm blaming politicians who are trying to persuade Americans that tax cuts on American corporations will be good for Americans.
Big corporations headquartered in other rich nations are far more responsible for the well-being of the people living in those nations. That's mainly because labor unions there are typically stronger than they are here - able to exert pressure both at the company level and nationally.
So it shouldn't be surprising that American corporations distribute a smaller share of their earnings to their workers than do European or Canadian-based corporations. And top American executives make far more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.
Governments in other rich nations often devise laws through bargains involving big corporations and organized labor. This process further binds their corporations to their nations.
But in America, lawmakers respond almost exclusively to the demands of big corporations and of wealthy individuals (typically corporate executives and Wall Street moguls) with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to bankroll campaigns. Meanwhile, unions are weak, and "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy," according to researchers.
Which is one reason why most Europeans and Canadians receive essentially free health care, generous unemployment benefits, paid medical leave, and an average of five weeks paid vacation.
So it shouldn't be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing well by most measures, the benefits are not trickling down to most Americans.
Given the overwhelming dominance of American corporations on American politics, combined with their singular concern for share prices rather than the well-being of Americans, it's folly to think they'll turn tax cuts into good American jobs.
The tax bills big corporations are pushing through Congress are designed to boost their share prices, not boost most Americans.
Trump and congressional Republicans are engineering the largest corporate tax cut in history in order "to restore our competitive edge," as Trump says.
Our competitive edge? Who's us?
Most American corporations - especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts - have no particular allegiance to America. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders.
For years they've been cutting the jobs and wages of American workers in order to generate larger profits and higher share prices.
Some of these jobs have gone abroad or been outsourced to lower-paid contractors in America. Others have been automated. Most of the remaining jobs pay no more than they did four decades ago, adjusted for inflation.
When GM went public again in 2010 after being bailed out by American taxpayers, it boasted of making 43 percent of its cars in places where labor is less than $15 an hour - often outside the United States. And it got its American unions to agree that new hires would be paid half the wages and benefits of its old workers.
Capital is global. Big American corporations are "American" only because they're headquartered and legally incorporated in the United States. But they could (and sometimes do) leave at a moment's notice. They also employ or contract with workers all over the world.
And they're owned by shareholders all over the world.
According to research by the Tax Policy Center's Steven Rosenthal, about 35 percent of stock in U.S. corporations is now held by foreign investors.
So when taxes of "American" corporations are cut, foreign investors get a windfall.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the Senate majority's tax bill would give foreign investors a tax cut of $31 billion in 2019. The House bill would give them $50.4 billion.
That's money that foreign investors would otherwise be paying into the U.S. Treasury.
By way of comparison, the combined tax cuts for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution in the 30 states won by President Donald Trump comes to $39.4 billion, far less than the House bill gives away to foreign investors.
I'm not blaming American corporations. They're in business to make profits and maximize their share prices, not to serve America.
I'm blaming politicians who are trying to persuade Americans that tax cuts on American corporations will be good for Americans.
Big corporations headquartered in other rich nations are far more responsible for the well-being of the people living in those nations. That's mainly because labor unions there are typically stronger than they are here - able to exert pressure both at the company level and nationally.
So it shouldn't be surprising that American corporations distribute a smaller share of their earnings to their workers than do European or Canadian-based corporations. And top American executives make far more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.
Governments in other rich nations often devise laws through bargains involving big corporations and organized labor. This process further binds their corporations to their nations.
But in America, lawmakers respond almost exclusively to the demands of big corporations and of wealthy individuals (typically corporate executives and Wall Street moguls) with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to bankroll campaigns. Meanwhile, unions are weak, and "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy," according to researchers.
Which is one reason why most Europeans and Canadians receive essentially free health care, generous unemployment benefits, paid medical leave, and an average of five weeks paid vacation.
So it shouldn't be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing well by most measures, the benefits are not trickling down to most Americans.
Given the overwhelming dominance of American corporations on American politics, combined with their singular concern for share prices rather than the well-being of Americans, it's folly to think they'll turn tax cuts into good American jobs.
The tax bills big corporations are pushing through Congress are designed to boost their share prices, not boost most Americans.